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USAID-supported 'MAMA' program brings health information, services to mothers through mobile phones

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Kirsten Gagnaire, global partnership director of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), discusses the program's operations in Bangladesh.

12 Apr 2012

ACOs, IRS role in health reform implementation grab headlines

The inside joke among lobbyists as the health care law took shape was that it was so big and so sprawling, it would provide enough work for all of them for years to come. It became known as the "Full Employment Act." Now, it's not looking like such a sure thing anymore.

12 Apr 2012

Entrepreneurs dig into health IT

If ever an industry were ready for disruption, it is the American health care industry. Americans spend about $7,600 a year per person on health care, one in two adults lives with a chronic disease and the average wait time to see a doctor in a metropolitan area is 20 days.

12 Apr 2012

Political cartoon: 'Pick-Up Line?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Pick-Up Line?" by Joel Pett.

12 Apr 2012

Families USA: Ryan budget health cuts would tally $3 trillion

Health care cuts in House Republicans' budget -- not including their controversial Medicare overhaul -- would add up to nearly $3 trillion, according to a new report from the advocacy group Families USA.

12 Apr 2012

Financial Times analysis examines efforts to address dual risk research

A Financial Times analysis examines how the international community is working "to ensure scientific work can proceed without falling prey to accidental leaks or malevolent intent," following controversy surrounding two studies on the H5N1 bird flu virus.

12 Apr 2012

Shoes play vital role in protecting children's health, development

"As we have seen in our work in Haiti and around the world, shoes are a first level of defense when it comes to good health, and are a great complement to the Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Control program IMA World Health implements in Haiti," Rick Santos, president and CEO of IMA World Health, writes in the Huffington Post Blog, commemorating One Day Without Shoes, observed on Tuesday.

12 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 12, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about Massachusetts' health reform's sixth birthday.

From Medtronic 12 Apr 2012

Efforts to improve maternal health in Uganda moving forward

This post on RH Reality Check examines a Ugandan court case "alleging that the Ugandan government failed to protect the ... constitutional rights to life and health [of several women] by allowing them to die in ill-equipped and poorly managed public hospitals, or failing to provide them with basic maternal care."

12 Apr 2012

Berwick: Six categories represent 20% of nation's health care expenditures

In an article in the April 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Donald Berwick, former CMS administrator and current senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and Andrew Hackbarth, an assistant policy analyst for the RAND Corp., listed six categories of waste they say represent more than 20% of the nation's ever-increasing healthcare expenditures...

12 Apr 2012

Global review offers vote of confidence for dental therapists

A report released Tuesday suggests that, based on a worldwide review, dental therapists could help the U.S. address some of its difficulties with access to dental care.

12 Apr 2012

Many Medi-Cal caregivers in California lack access to health insurance, adequate food

The demand for caregivers is growing rapidly as California's population ages, but the majority of state's Medi-Cal caregivers earn poverty or near-poverty wages and have poor access to health care and food, a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has found.

12 Apr 2012

MSF expresses concern over proposed FY13 spending reduction for PEPFAR

Medical aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has expressed concern over proposed cuts to PEPFAR under the White House FY 2013 budget proposal, "saying it will undermine the president's own goals" of "treating six million people infected with HIV around the world by the end of 2013," VOA News reports.

12 Apr 2012

Parsing the impact of the high court's health law arguments

A new Washington Post/ABC poll uncovered skepticism among Americans about whether the health law decision expected from the Supreme Court justices in June will be rooted "on the basis of the law." The poll also found that public support for the overhaul hit an all-time low, with the mandate being a bigger sticking point than ever. Meanwhile, according to The Associated Press, some of these views may be the result of "misconceptions" that resulted from the oral arguments.

12 Apr 2012

Integrated programming necessary to address root causes of poverty, poor health

"From the rural villages in northern Uganda to the bustling city of Kampala, the poverty-fighting programs I visited last week have something notable in common: they demonstrate how integrated programming can help achieve sustainable changes in the lives of women, men and their families," Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE USA, writes in the Huffington Post Blog.

12 Apr 2012

Scientists create reference guide for harmful germs in sand

On warm days, the beach seems an ideal destination for family rest and relaxation. Who hasn't built a sand castle or been buried up to the neck in sand? However, that family fun has a dark side -- sand can harbor illness-causing microbes. Unfortunately, there are no guidelines for sand quality at recreational sites.

12 Apr 2012

Tenet to pay $43M to settle Medicare overbilling claims

The settlement ends an investigation into allegations the Dallas-based hospital operator overbilled Medicare for treating patients at certain inpatient rehabilitation centers.

12 Apr 2012

AFAR to distribute nearly $2.5 million in career development awards

The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) announced today it will distribute nearly $2.5 million in career development awards to 83 advanced fellows and junior faculty members at 28 Hartford Centers of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and Training.

12 Apr 2012

IOM report: Tax medical care, double public health spending

An Institute of Medicine panel recommended a new tax on medical care to generate more funding for public health initiatives to help prevent disease.

12 Apr 2012

Fighting words: White House responds to claim that health law would add to deficit

The White House criticized the findings of a report by a conservative economist who serves as a trustee overseeing Medicare and Social Security finances, saying they represented a partisan analysis.

12 Apr 2012