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Baucus: Bill will change to make premiums more affordable

"Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said Monday he intends to ease what he called the financial burden his health bill would impose on middle-income families, making adjustments financed in part by paring back the amount of deficit reduction in the legislation," The Wall Street Journal reports. "In an interview, the Montana Democrat said some $28 billion of the funds now dedicated to deficit reduction could be diverted into proposals that would make the bill more affordable to working-class Americans."

22 Sep 2009

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences launches new academic center

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences today officially opened a new 30,000 square foot, $10M academic center at 40 Foster St. in downtown Worcester. On hand at the event were Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Worcester City Manager Michael O’Brien, Worcester Mayor Konstantina Lukes and MCPHS President Charles F. Monahan Jr.

21 Sep 2009

Seniors worry about Democratic proposals as well as so-called myths spread by opponents

In response to Democratic health reform proposals, seniors are attending town halls, writing letters to lawmakers, showing support for the GOP in polls, and "giving their legislators a piece of their mind that a way of life is slipping away," The Washington Times reports.

21 Sep 2009

More on Massachusetts' reform lessons

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: "Massachusetts is the only state that has adopted the core elements of the plan outlined by President Obama and congressional Democrats: an individual mandate; an employer mandate; subsidies for the poor; insurance market reforms; and an 'exchange,' under which consumers can shop for coverage."

21 Sep 2009

Millions more in Horn of Africa could face food shortages this year, FAO says

Millions of additional people in the Horn of Africa could face food shortages this year because of poor harvests from a lack of rain, worsening conflicts and the El Nino climatic effect, the U.N. Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) said on Monday, Reuters reports.

21 Sep 2009

Some religious groups seek health care for illegal immigrants

NPR reports: "In the Hispanic community, there are issues in the debate over health care that spill over into the debate over immigration policy."

21 Sep 2009

Obama pushes new message while opposition continues

In his Sunday talk show offensive (related story: Obama Blankets Airwaves To Push For Health Reform) President Barack Obama called for civility, advertised his willingness to consider malpractice reform, said a proposed tax on health benefits would not have a large impact on working people and reiterated that illegal immigrants would not receive government coverage under the plans, the Washington Post reports.

21 Sep 2009

Illinois court to weigh how much charity nonprofit hospitals must perform

Illinois' highest court on Wednesday will consider how much charity care a nonprofit hospital must provide to earn its property tax exemption, the Chicago Tribune reports. Nonprofit hospitals provide charity care in the form of unreimbursed services to low-income people and the uninsured, and in exchange, receive tax benefits.

21 Sep 2009

IRIN examines HIV/AIDS advocates' reaction to U.N. agency for women

IRIN examines how a recent resolution to create an agency to promote women's "rights and wellbeing" by the U.N. General Assembly is being welcomed by international HIV/AIDS advocates. According to IRIN, "[w]omen make up 60 percent of people living with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, a figure that rises to 75 percent in the 15-24 age range. In Asia, nearly 50 million women are at risk of becoming infected with HIV from their partners."

21 Sep 2009

GOP lawmakers opposed to reform reflect on their own experiences

Two Republican lawmakers with extensive personal interactions with the health care system warn of the dangers in health overhaul.

21 Sep 2009

U.N. report calls for $1.48B to help developing nations cope with H1N1

The U.N. this week will request that wealthy nations and development banks donate $1.48 billion to help developing countries fight H1N1 (swine flu), Bloomberg reports. "Most of the money is needed for vaccines and drugs … to help the least-developed nations cope with the influenza pandemic, according to a U.N. report obtained" Monday by the news service.

21 Sep 2009

Full Senate Finance Committee to take up health reform

The full Senate Finance Committee takes up health care legislation this week and there are already a slew of amendments that would significantly alter the proposal from the chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

21 Sep 2009

Confusing insurance jargon prompts call for reform

Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times, reports on the challenges consumers confront in trying to understand insurance industry jargon. "Insurance industry critics say some insurers intentionally make their policies and procedures confusing, and some policy experts believe Congress should require standardized plan information as part of any overhaul of the health system" (Meyer, 9/21).

21 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV/aids in Zambia; Ugandan medical workers; Obama administration officials' Q&A, speech; South African health care reform efforts; texting to combat drug shortages in Africa

The Post of Zambia examines the findings of a recent report revealing "the devastating effects" the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia is having on the country's ability to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. The article also looks at the relationship between HIV/AIDS and nutrition, maternal health and education (Chackwe, 9/21).

21 Sep 2009

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

Obama's Nontax Tax Wall Street Journal It turns out the President thinks a health-care tax is not a tax if he thinks the tax is for your own good (9/21).

21 Sep 2009

Medicare round up: News coverage of cost issues and leadership gap

"The national average for Medicare spending on such patients was $46,412, including outpatient care," the Times reports. "But in Los Angeles County, the average cost was nearly double that, $84,179, according to a Los Angeles Times review of Dartmouth data. In seeking to explain why, some researchers have concluded that doctors in areas such as Los Angeles, with more hospitals and other resources, are more likely to have patients admitted, order tests and schedule visits, largely because they can."

21 Sep 2009

Mayo Clinic may prove to be a difficult model to replicate

The Mayo Clinic looms out of the prairie here like the mecca it has become, a world-renowned medical complex that is often cited by President Obama. ... Few dispute the prowess of Mayo, which brings in $9 billion in revenue a year and hosts 250 surgeries a day. But a battle is underway among health-care experts and lawmakers over whether its success can be so easily replicated.

21 Sep 2009

Inhalable H1N1 vaccine to arrive in U.S. first week of October, CDC says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced it anticipates 3.4 million doses of inhalable H1N1 vaccines will be available by the first week of October - the initial influx of 195 million doses purchased by the U.S. government, CNN reports. The vaccine is approved for healthy people between the ages of two and 49, but not for pregnant women (9/18).

21 Sep 2009

Malpractice reform in spotlight, earns mixed reviews

"Republican lawmakers have long touted federal tort reform as way to bring down health-care costs. Democrats are coming around to the same position in response to what they've heard from constituents. ... President Barack Obama recently raised the issue as an olive branch to Republicans, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to spend $25 million to help states and health-care systems try alternative methods of resolving malpractice allegations."

21 Sep 2009