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How team Romney-Ryan is playing on the campaign trail

The Medicare plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who has been tapped by GOP presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney to be his running mate, almost immediately emerged as a campaign flashpoint.

15 Aug 2012

CSIS report examines global polio eradication efforts

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on Monday released a report called "Eradicating Polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan." According to the report summary, efforts to eradicate the virus globally "have proved largely successful, in part thanks to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), launched by the international community in 1988," and "[t]he number of new cases has dropped in the past decade, even in countries where the virus has never been eradicated."

15 Aug 2012

North Dakota State University student runs 400 miles to raise $10,000 for AARDA

North Dakota State University student, Ben Clark, is currently trekking 400 miles in an effort to raise $10,000 for the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA).

15 Aug 2012

Infantile hemangiomas grow rapidly in babies much earlier than previously thought

Strawberry-shaped birthmarks called infantile hemangiomas grow rapidly in infants much earlier than previously thought, Mayo Clinic and University of California, San Francisco, researchers found.

15 Aug 2012

VOA examines food security situation in rural Zimbabwe

"The United Nations' World Food Program [WFP] is appealing for $87 million to avert starvation in Zimbabwe's rural areas where close to two million people need food aid," VOA News reports, adding, "The U.N. agency says because of poor rainfall, this year's hunger season in Zimbabwe has started earlier than in the past."

15 Aug 2012

Nonsurgical circumcision device for adults to be tested in Africa

"PrePex, a bloodless circumcision device for adults, will be tested in at least nine African countries in the next year, according to the backers of the tests," the New York Times reports.

15 Aug 2012

Center for Global Development blog responds to London hunger summit

This post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Views from the Center" blog, Owen Barder, a senior fellow and the director for Europe at CGD, addresses the recent hunger summit in London, citing two reasons for concern surrounding the discussion.

15 Aug 2012

Chicago, Blue Cross Blue Shield to team on health care fraud task force

Chicago officials are teaming up with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois on health care fraud detection and prevention. A task force will be made up of representatives of the city and the health insurer. Members will work to assess potential health care fraud and instances of wasteful spending.

15 Aug 2012

Obama administration urges states to move forward on health exchanges

Administration officials will "try to encourage reluctant states" to move forward with health exchanges, even as time appears to be running out, Reuters reports. Also in the news, consumer representatives from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners offered state and federal officials suggestions about how they should write regulations to implement the health law's key consumer protections.

15 Aug 2012

PPMC earns Gold Seal of Approval for hip and knee joint replacement services

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) has earned the Gold Seal of Approval- from The Joint Commission for its hip and knee joint replacement services. PPMC's certification is the first of its kind for Penn Medicine, and demonstrates the hospital's high level of compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety.

15 Aug 2012

Democrats hammer GOP candidates over Ryan's plan to overhaul Medicare

Democrats running for seats in the House and Senate are spotlighting Republican plans to refashion the health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.

15 Aug 2012

Budgets, exchanges and rebates: States consider health law's moving parts

States are considering what the different parts of the health law will mean for their budgets, their citizens' budgets and how their residents purchase and keep health insurance.

15 Aug 2012

Universal HIV treatment, if achieved, would not mean eradication of AIDS

In this post in BMJ's "Yankee Doodling," Douglas Kamerow, chief scientist at RTI International and an associate editor for the journal, reflects on the possibility of achieving an AIDS-free generation "if somehow we succeeded in getting all HIV positive people in the world identified and under long term treatment."

15 Aug 2012

Under the microscope: Ryan's plans for Medicare, Medicaid and the federal budget

News outlets examine how Medicare and Medicaid fare in the budget blueprint advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick.

15 Aug 2012

With 1 billion people chronically hungry, now is the time to address family planning

"With one billion people chronically hungry and Earth's population expected to increase by 50 percent before the end of the century, it's time to get serious about family planning," a Los Angeles Times editorial states.

15 Aug 2012

Systematic approach to improve colorectal cancer screening rates

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) is cost-effective and saves lives by early detection. The ability to screen large numbers of individuals is especially important for states with tight health insurance budgets dealing with aging populations. However, in 2010 only 65 percent of US adults between ages 50 and 75 got the recommended screening.

15 Aug 2012

Simpson: Medicare on 'auto-pilot' to squeeze out the rest of federal domestic spending

Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, co-chairman of President Barack Obama's fiscal commission, said escalating Medicare costs stand to squeeze out the rest of domestic government spending. "Medicare is on automatic pilot. It will use up every resource in the government," the Republican former senator from Wyoming said in an interview today on Bloomberg Television.

15 Aug 2012

Study to test how osteopathic treatment helps patients with COPD

Researchers at Michigan State University are working to show how a noninvasive, drug-free form of hands-on medical care can help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease improve their breathing.

15 Aug 2012

U.S. support of PEPFAR, Global Fund helping to achieve global AIDS, TB, malaria goals

In this post in Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, examines "the success of U.S. efforts to promote better global health through support for [PEPFAR] and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."

15 Aug 2012

Overtreatment of malaria in central, south Asia leading to neglect of other diseases, study finds

"Over diagnosis and mistreatment of malaria in central and south Asia may be widespread, leading to the neglect of other serious illnesses, according to a new study from Afghanistan," published in the British Medical Journal last month, SciDev.Net reports.

15 Aug 2012