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Medicaid A factor in Minnesota budget surplus

The state's unexpected $876 million surplus is partly due to lower-than-expected Medicaid enrollment.

3 Dec 2011

Multidisciplinary prevention programme not effective in improving perceived employee health

Most of us would agree that prevention is better than cure. But new results out in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation, published by SAGE, indicate that a costly intervention programme designed to reduce early retirement on health grounds in Finland had no measurable effect.

3 Dec 2011

GAO report: Medicare Advantage enrollment still rising

Democrats applauded the report's findings that enrollment in Medicare's private plans continues to grow at a brisk pace.

3 Dec 2011

Foster children on Medicaid are overly medicated, says report

A study of five states found that foster children are more likely than other kids to be given mind-altering drugs, including antipsychotics and antidepressants.

3 Dec 2011

Better medical care for kidney failure in Germany

In complex cases of kidney failure, medical care in Germany evidently operates better than in the US. Scientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin were able to show that German patients who have an increased risk of rejection reactions due to prior immunization have better survival rates than people with diseases of similar severity in the US.

3 Dec 2011

Genitourinary injuries now on list of payable losses under TSGLI program

Servicemembers who suffer severe injuries to the genitourinary organs will now be eligible for Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection, or TSGLI.

3 Dec 2011

Obama announces new U.S. commitments to end AIDS domestically, globally

Speaking at the ONE campaign and (RED)'s "Beginning of the End of AIDS" event at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to mark World AIDS Day on Thursday, "President Obama ... announced a deepened U.S. commitment to fighting the pandemic, declaring 'make no mistake, we are going to win this fight,'" ABC News reports (Bruce, 12/1).

3 Dec 2011

Court OKs payment for bone marrow donation

A federal appeals court called bone marrow donation blood parts, not organ parts. The new reading of the federal prohibition could attract thousands more donors.

3 Dec 2011

Opinion pieces, editorial recognize World AIDS Day

Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal and Ashley Grosso, Huffington Post's "Impact": Blumenthal, senior policy and medical adviser at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and Grosso, an Allan Rosenfield fellow at amfAR, outline steps they feel necessary to reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation.

3 Dec 2011

As Gingrich gains support in polls, his policies draw attention, too

News outlets analyze GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's policy positions, including those regarding Medicare and other health issues.

3 Dec 2011

Multipronged approach needed to conquer malaria

"A malaria vaccine could be a powerful new tool," but "[c]ontrolling mosquitoes and diagnosing malaria remain essential. Among the highest priorities now is to develop new methods to do both," a Bloomberg editorial states.

3 Dec 2011

State Department, USAID, MCC announce first major update of Foreign Assistance Dashboard

The Department of State, USAID, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on Thursday "announce[d] the first major update of the Foreign Assistance Dashboard," according to a State Department media note.

3 Dec 2011

South African President introduces National Strategic Plan on HIV, STIs, TB

South African President Jacob Zuma in a speech on Thursday to mark World AIDS Day introduced a new five-year National Strategic Plan on HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB), which "calls for stepped-up prevention efforts to halve new infections of HIV and tuberculosis by 2016 and to put 80 percent of eligible patients on antiretroviral drugs to fight AIDS," Agence France-Presse reports.

3 Dec 2011

'Sin tax' on sugary goods may not be efficient, effective

A 'sin tax' applied to sweetened goods on store shelves is not the most efficient, effective method of lowering caloric intake from sweet food and would be more disruptive to consumers than necessary, according to Iowa State University research.

3 Dec 2011

HHS unveils MLR rule

The Department of Health and Human Services today released its final medical loss ratio rule. According to an HHS press release, the rule will ensure that health insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of consumers' health insurance premiums on medical care rather than on income, overhead and marketing expenses.

3 Dec 2011

Institutional discrimination and people's attitudes affect disabled children

Many disabled children fail to reach their full potential because they continue to be marginalised in schools, health and social care, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

3 Dec 2011

Berwick's CMS exit

Today is Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick's last day. News outlets offer views on the agency's work during his tenure at its helm.

3 Dec 2011

Letter from Secretary of State Clinton to attendees of International Conference on Family Planning

The U.S. Department of State has posted on its website a letter from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "delivered by the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal to the International Conference on Family Planning in Dakar."

2 Dec 2011

House Energy and Commerce Committee gives nod to CLASS Act repeal bill

House Republicans inched closer to their goal of eliminating the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Program, or CLASS Act, on Wednesday when the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill to repeal the long-term care program established in last year's healthcare reform law.

2 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 2, 2011

In today's headlines, reports on congressional efforts to extend a payroll tax break and other work Congress must do before the end of the year -- including the Medicare doc fix.

2 Dec 2011