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Medicare as a political weapon

NPR details Medicare's political muscle. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports on a Florida representative who is unabashed in his defense of his support for the GOP plan to privatize Medicare.

15 Jun 2011

Flip-flops and baseball caps could pose a hidden health risk from skin cancer

Cheap, convenient and casual, baseball caps and flip-flops have a trendy charm. Those qualities make them must-wear accessories for teens, outdoor enthusiasts, gardeners or anyone trying to keep cool during the sweltering days of summer.

15 Jun 2011

InstaMed, Superior Vision partner to offer electronic healthcare payments solution

Superior Vision, a leader in managed vision care benefits, has partnered with InstaMed, the leading Healthcare Payments Network, to offer Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) to its eye care providers through InstaMed's Claims Settlement solution with Integrated ERA/EFT transactions.

14 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 14, 2011

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "When you're calling for an ambulance, chances are good that you won't think to ask for one that's in your health plan's provider network. And in most cases, you wouldn't have much control over who it is anyway. That could leave you with hassles and extra charges for an out-of-network ride".

14 Jun 2011

U.S. to provide up to $30M per year for African trade expansion

Feed the Future Deputy Coordinator for Development Julie Howard writes on State's "DipNote" blog about attending the 10th annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum in Zambia and an announcement from U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk that the U.S. will provide "up to $30 million per year for four years to support trade expansion in Africa".

14 Jun 2011

Clinton announces plans to increase food program funding in Tanzania

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Obama administration plans to increase funding for nutrition programs in Tanzania as part of its Feed the Future initiative, VOA News reports.

14 Jun 2011

U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS declaration sets new targets in fight against disease

World leaders on Friday at the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS adopted by consensus a declaration stating that HIV is "an unprecedented human catastrophe" and set new targets in the fight against the disease, the Associated Press/Forbes reports.

14 Jun 2011

Science Speaks series interviews key players in global AIDS fight

In the final installment of a series recognizing the 30th anniversary of AIDS on the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog, John Donnelly interviews Warren "Buck" Buckingham, director of the Office of AIDS Relief at the Peace Corps, about his work in the field.

14 Jun 2011

Number of E. coli deaths in Germany reaches 35, authorities say

"Four more people have died in Germany, health officials said Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths from an E. coli outbreak to 35," CNN reports. As of Sunday, 3,256 had been infected with E. coli and 812 of those have the severe form of the disease, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the news agency notes.

14 Jun 2011

WKK Heide hospital uses Ekahau technology to assure staff safety, track available wheelchairs

Ekahau Inc., the world's leading provider of high-performance Wi-Fi based real-time locating systems (RTLS) and tools, announced today that German hospital Westküstenklinikum Heide (WKK) is using Ekahau technology to assure the safety of its psychiatric- and night-duty staff, and to track the locations of wheelchairs.

14 Jun 2011

Republican candidates bash health reform law in first debate

Republican White House hopefuls assailed President Barack Obama's handling of the economy from the opening moments of their first major debate of the campaign season Monday night and pledged emphatically to repeal the administration's year-old health care law.

14 Jun 2011

Universal influenza vaccination may reduce health care costs in the U.S.

Implementing a recommendation that all Americans be vaccinated against influenza may dramatically reduce health care costs and the number of people infected with seasonal influenza in the United States.

14 Jun 2011

Development through foreign aid requires global cooperation

The GAVI Alliance pledging conference is "being seen as a litmus test of how well aid can survive in the age of austerity," columnist Madeleine Bunting writes in a Guardian commentary, addressing how foreign aid is viewed as "soft power … to establish influence and spread values - which is often more useful than diplomacy or defence in a post-cold war world."

14 Jun 2011

Texas House approves major changes to Medicaid; N.J. officials release details of cuts

Texas would seek relief from federal Medicaid rules and nudge the needy into private health insurance with taxpayer subsidies under a bill the House tentatively approved Friday. The vote, mostly along party lines, was 97-45.

14 Jun 2011

Pawlenty makes 'Obamneycare' a buzz word in contest for GOP presidential nomination

The Los Angeles Times predicts that the GOP candidates will be making "bold right turns" during Monday night's New Hampshire debate, which is considered the first major debate of the 2012 campaign. In advance of this contest, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty took swipes at former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney — connecting his state health overhaul to that of the federal health law.

14 Jun 2011

U.K., U.S., Australia, Gates Foundation promise funds to GAVI Alliance at pledging conference

At a pledging conference for the GAVI Alliance in London on Monday, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Microsoft founder, announced his foundation will provide an additional $1 billion in funding for the organization over the next five years, while Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said his country will provide $210 million over the next three years, Reuters reports.

14 Jun 2011

Now is not the time to give up on fighting AIDS

Accomplishing the targets set forth in the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS declaration "would cost billions more per year from all sources," a New York Times editorial states.

14 Jun 2011

Perceived racism linked to elevated risk of self-reported sleep disturbance

Perceived racial discrimination is associated with an increased risk of sleep disturbance, which may have a negative impact on mental and physical health, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

14 Jun 2011

How foreign policy influences health

In a BMJ analysis, Ilona Kickbusch of the Graduate Institute of International Studies' Global Health Program, outlines four ways in which foreign policy and health can interact.

14 Jun 2011

Gates Foundation, Chinese search engine company launch initiative to reduce smoking in China

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Robin Li, CEO of the Chinese search engine company Baidu Inc., on Saturday announced the formation of a global alliance for public health with its first initiative focused on smoking cessation, Bloomberg reports.

14 Jun 2011