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House lawmakers laud new CBO score of $871 billion, including a public option

A government-run public insurance option is in the House Democrats' health overhaul measure which the Congressional Budget Office has "scored" at $871 billion over 10 years.

22 Oct 2009

Gates Foundation awards Vanderbilt University $100,000 for developing a malaria diagnostic test

Vanderbilt University announced Oct. 21 that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Associate Professor of Chemistry David Wright and Professor of Biomedical Engineering Rick Haselton, titled "Coffee Ring Stain Diagnostics for Malaria."

22 Oct 2009

Women more likely than men to curb swine flu

A new American Red Cross poll shows that while concerns about exposure to the H1N1 (swine flu) virus remain high, women are more likely than men to make extra efforts to cover coughs and sneezes with tissue, wash their hands more carefully and use hand sanitizer more often.

22 Oct 2009

White House offer on malpractice finds takers; Obama tells Dems to 'focus'

Since President Obama proposed using $25 million to test new ways to handle malpractice lawsuits, suitors have been lining up, the The Asssociated Press reports. One leading idea is to appoint expert panels to sort fact from fiction in malpractice claims.

22 Oct 2009

Independent panel to rein in health costs gaining support

"As Congress grapples with how to rein in the high cost of healthcare in America, the option of outsourcing hard decisions to a new, independent commission is gaining momentum," the Christian Science Monitor reports.

22 Oct 2009

FAO plans broad reforms for World Food Security committee

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Committee on World Food Security (CFS) agreed Tuesday to "wide-ranging" reforms in an effort to make the committee the most "comprehensive international and intergovernmental platform dealing with food security and nutrition," Xinhua reports (10/20). "The CFS reforms are designed to focus the Committee's vision and role on the global coordination of efforts to eliminate hunger and ensure food security for all," according to an FAO press release (10/20).

22 Oct 2009

Excise tax in Senate health care bill violates Obama's tax pledge

Americans for Tax Reform noted today that the Senate health care bill (S. 1796) indeed uses the term "excise tax" to describe the excise tax levied on Americans who do not purchase health insurance. If signed into law, the tax would break President Barack Obama's "firm pledge" not to raise "any form" of taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year.

22 Oct 2009

Harry Reid faces public option dilemma

The Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid is facing intensifying pressure from liberal lawmakers to revive a proposed government insurance plan before health-care reform legislation reaches the Senate floor, amid signs that moderate Democrats may be warming to the idea." Although the Senate Finance Committee rejected two versions of this mechanism, "the idea has gained momentum in recent weeks as Democrats look to ensure that the policies Americans would be required to buy would be affordable."

22 Oct 2009

New partnership to create Translational Orthopedic Research Program

The creation of the Translational Orthopedic Research Program (TORP), a new partnership of Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) and its affiliate the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Spectrum Health, Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan (OAM), and the Michigan State University (MSU) College of Human Medicine, was announced today by officials of the sponsoring organizations who gathered at Van Andel Institute for the World Osteoporosis Day Summit, a meeting spotlighting local osteoporosis efforts.

22 Oct 2009

Opinion: Fighting world hunger; U.S. leadership on global issues

In a USA Today column, writer DeWayne Wickham examines the connection between hunger and global security. "Helping poor countries feed their hungry masses is not just a grand humanitarian gesture; it is good diplomacy — a refreshing change from the jingoism and dollar diplomacy of previous administrations," he writes.

22 Oct 2009

Crux Biomedical receives U.S. patent for its novel vena cava filter

Crux Biomedical Inc. announced today that it was awarded a U.S. patent, (US 7,582,100 B2), for its novel vena cava filter.

22 Oct 2009

Eyes may mirror Alzheimer's disease

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but new research indicates they also may mirror a brain ravaged by Alzheimer's disease.

22 Oct 2009

Funding cuts continue to plague state health programs

State health agencies and Medicaid programs continue to take hits from spending cuts. A new program in Florida may be backfiring against some health workers with criminal records, while a novel health benefits program in Houston hopes to lower the number of uninsured.

22 Oct 2009

AAAS and partners to launch online social-networking sites for scientists

To help scientists and science trainees who hope to translate laboratory research into clinical medicine and to help minority scientists navigate their career paths, AAAS, Science Careers, and Science are launching a pair of online social-networking sites.

22 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Nigeria Global Fund grant; Pakistani refugees; Guinea violence

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria awarded Nigeria a $669 million Round 8 grant for health system strengthening over five years, This Day/allAfrica.com reports. "During the grant signing ceremony in Abuja yesterday, Chairman of the occasion and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, disclosed that the [The Global Fund] had spent $15.6 billion in 140 countries worldwide especially in Africa to support large scale prevention treatment and care programmes against these diseases.

22 Oct 2009

EU policies threaten developing countries drug supplies, report says

A report, released Tuesday, from Oxfam International and Health Action International says the EU is putting big drug companies' interests ahead of "millions of people" in developing countries who do not have access to essential medicines, Agence France-Presse reports (10/20).

22 Oct 2009

Lake Health opens TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Township

Lake Health, formerly Lake Hospital System, today is celebrating the grand opening of its $155 million TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Township. A state-of-the-art digital hospital, TriPoint Medical Center is redefining the health care experience for patients, families and the community.

22 Oct 2009