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Some states limit Medicaid hospital coverage; Food stamp, benefit systems revamped

States, facing budget shortfalls, look for ways to save money on their Medicaid programs, including limiting hospital stays for enrollees. Wisconsin is holding hearings on plans to alter the programs there, and California is looking at restructuring the way health care is delivered to people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Stateline reports that a number of states are using new technology to run their benefits programs.

24 Oct 2011

Using spousal communication to increase family planning in Africa

Helen Epstein, author of "The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS," examines the implications of the world's growing population for Africa in this New York Times opinion piece, writing, "Before this century ends, there could well be 10 billion of us, a billion more than previously expected.

24 Oct 2011

MSF suspends measles vaccination campaign in Mogadishu area because of violence

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) last week cut short a three-week measles vaccination campaign intended to reach 35,000 children in the Daynile area near the Somali capital Mogadishu, after intense fighting erupted between the militant group al-Shabab and forces of Somalia's Transitional National Government, backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia, VOA News reports.

24 Oct 2011

With much at stake, lobbyists stay close to super committee

Politico reports that the high stakes that involve everything from the health industry to Native American tribes in the deficit panel's deliberations have created a veritable "swarm" of lobbyists.

24 Oct 2011

Co-branded newsletter for contract research organization industry launched

CenterWatch and Plutus Capital Partners today announce the launch of Clinical Trials Quarterly, a co-branded newsletter for the contract research organization (CRO) industry that expands CenterWatch's reach to financial clients in Asia and Europe.

24 Oct 2011

World Health Summit provides platform to discuss incorporating NTDs into MDGs

In anticipation of next week's 2011 World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease, recaps gains in the treatment and prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) around the world through the commitment of the U.S., the U.K. and other G8 countries and makes the case for a global NTD initiative in the network's "End the Neglect" blog.

24 Oct 2011

India polio free for 9 months, raising hopes of eradication, health experts say

"India has not had a case of polio in nine months, raising hopes the country is on the verge of defeating the disease, health officials said Monday," the Associated Press reports.

24 Oct 2011

Together for Girls Partnership works to end sexual violence

In this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby writes about the Together for Girls Partnership, an initiative that "generates a powerful advocacy platform to stop sexual violence by supporting countries' efforts to fully understand and cope with the scope of the epidemic."

24 Oct 2011

Social determinants of health conference releases final declaration

The final document of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, which concluded last week in Rio de Janeiro, "calls for better governance for health and development, with transparent decision-making and social participation," and "[g]overnments are urged to develop policies and measure progress towards defined goals," Inter Press Service reports.

24 Oct 2011

Challenging the view that the world's growing population represents power, prosperity

As the world's population approaches seven billion, Joel Cohen, a mathematical biologist and the head of the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller University and Columbia University, examines the implications of "the enormous increases in households, cities, material consumption and waste" on health, agriculture, water security, the environment and poverty in this New York Times opinion piece.

24 Oct 2011

VA reviewing millions spent outside the agency on care in Phoenix

The Arizona Republic reports that the Veterans Administration is looking into spending after noting that the system had surpassed its budget for community fee care.

24 Oct 2011

Though declared over, CLASS Act still draws attention

A group of House and Senate Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week reiterating earlier criticisms of the long-term care insurance program and noting that ending the program did not completely address their concerns.

24 Oct 2011

House to consider bill to scale back health law's Medicaid expansion

In other Medicaid news, AIDS experts worry that the current model of HIV/AIDS care could be put at risk by fiscal pressures and the changes that will occur as a result of the health law.

24 Oct 2011

Holes appearing in some states' safety nets for disabled, seniors; Ohio referendum looms

Health care news from Georgia, Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts and Texas.

24 Oct 2011

Supreme Court will choose among issues and lawsuits as it decides health law's fate

The moving parts involved in the Supreme Court's determination about whether to review challenges to the health law and which issues it wants to hear are quite complicated.

24 Oct 2011

Nexidia's Enterprise Speech Intelligence solution to be implemented at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina

Nexidia, a leading provider of customer interaction analytics solutions for business transformation, today announced that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has selected Nexidia's Enterprise Speech Intelligence (ESI) solution to support the company in determining enhancements to its service center operations.

24 Oct 2011

Romney's next health policy challenge: Medical help for illegal immigrants

A new issue from the Massachusetts health law has surfaced and is now haunting GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, other candidates - specifically Rick Perry and Herman Cain - take on abortion issues and positions.

24 Oct 2011

Exploring palliative care's positives and negatives

What if a new medication for severely ill patients had no role in curing them but made them feel much better despite being sick?

24 Oct 2011

Wal-Mart increases premium costs, cuts benefits

Costs for this employer's most popular health coverage plan will increase to about $15 per two-week pay period. It's current cost is $11 per pay period.

24 Oct 2011

Study finds measuring quality does improve care

The Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality was founded on a simple premise: To improve the quality of health care, you must be able to measure it. ... Yet the premise that tracking the quality of care truly prods physicians to change the way they practice medicine has been more accepted than studied.

24 Oct 2011