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U.S. fetal death rate declines nationally, though racial/ethnic disparities remain

The rate of fetal deaths in the U.S. declined significantly from 1990 to 2003, but the rate remains higher among racial and ethnic minorities than among whites, according to a CDC report released on Wednesday, the Washington Times reports.

25 Feb 2007

Texas Gov. Perry says Merck campaign contribution had no effect on decision to mandate Gardasil

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Thursday said that contributions made by a Merck political action committee to his campaign had no influence on his decision to issue an executive order requiring that all girls entering the sixth grade receive a human papillomavirus vaccine, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports

25 Feb 2007

U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority approves compensation for eggs donated for research

The United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on Wednesday approved a policy that will allow women who donate eggs for human embryonic stem cell research to receive up to $500 for each cycle to cover costs associated with travel and lost wages, the AP/Washington Post reports

25 Feb 2007

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rules against authorities for prolonged detention of abortion-rights opponents

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled against law enforcement authorities from Springboro, Ohio, and the FBI for detaining abortion-rights opponents for three hours after they protested in the city, the AP/Zanesville Times Recorder reports.

25 Feb 2007

CDC says Gardasil's side effects minor

CDC officials on Thursday plan to present data at a meeting in Atlanta showing that 542 adverse health complaints have been reported about Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, but agency officials said the side effects of the vaccine are minor and that the vaccine does not require additional warning labels, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports .

25 Feb 2007

Federal agencies sued over medical Marijuana statements

The Oakland, Calif.-based advocacy group Americans for Safe Access on Wednesday filed suit in Oakland federal court against HHS and FDA over statements the organizations have made about medical marijuana, citing several studies that found the drug might benefit HIV-positive people, the Los Angeles Times reports.

25 Feb 2007

Injection drug use fueling spread of HIV in Mauritius

Injection drug users have become one of the groups most at risk of HIV transmission in Mauritius, prompting the governments to establish a needle-exchange program in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, Inter Press Service reports.

25 Feb 2007

Call for South Carolina Legislature to provide $8 million for HIV/AIDS care services

About 80 HIV/AIDS advocates on Tuesday called on the South Carolina Legislature to allocate $8 million for HIV/AIDS care services for low-income, HIV-positive people in the state, the Columbia State reports.

25 Feb 2007

Gambian President claims to cure HIV/AIDS

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh since January has claimed that he can cure HIV/AIDS with an herbal remedy, prompting concern among some public health workers in Africa who already are "struggling against faith healers dispensing herbal remedies," the AP/Monterey County Herald reports.

25 Feb 2007

Male circumcision reduces men's HIV infection risk by 65%

Routine male circumcision could reduce a man's risk of HIV infection through heterosexual sex by 65%, according to final data from two NIH-funded studies conducted in Kenya and Uganda published in the Feb. 23 issue of the journal Lancet, the New York Times reports.

25 Feb 2007

Chinese HIV/AIDS advocate Gao says international pressure helped persuade officials to allow her to travel to U.S. to accept award

Chinese HIV/AIDS advocate and retired physician Gao Yaojie on Thursday said she believes international pressure helped persuade Chinese authorities to allow her to travel to the U.S. to accept an award from Vital Voices Global Partnership, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

25 Feb 2007

Herpes treatment could slow HIV progression in people living with both viruses

Treatment of genital herpes could slow the progression of HIV in people living with both viruses, according to a study published in the Feb. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

25 Feb 2007

Employer health care costs to increase by 8% in 2007

Employer health care costs last year increased by 8%, and companies expect the same rate of growth this year and in 2008, according to a survey released on Wednesday by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the AP/Detroit News reports.

25 Feb 2007

Medicare MA plan payments might increase by less than 3% in 2008

The estimated reimbursement rate increase for private Medicare Advantage plans in 2008 likely would not equal the increase in medical costs, according to Wall Street analysts, Dow Jones reports.

25 Feb 2007

Pharmaceutical companies overcharging federal health care programs

Pharmaceutical companies have been systematically overcharging federal health care programs, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, according to federal officials, members of Congress and an advocacy group, the Newhouse News/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

25 Feb 2007

Federation of American Hospitals announces near universal health insurance proposal

As expected, the Federation of American Hospitals on Thursday announced a proposal that would require all U.S. residents to obtain health insurance, Reuters/Los Angeles Times reports (Reuters/Los Angeles Times, 2/23).

25 Feb 2007

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Paul Feldman, chair of the privacy and security workgroup of the American Health Information Community, on Wednesday announced his resignation because the workgroup "has not made substantial progress towards the development of comprehensive privacy and security policies that must be at the core of a nationwide health information network," CQ HealthBeat reports.

25 Feb 2007

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries have trouble finding primary care physicians

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries experience greater difficulty than beneficiaries in other states in finding primary care physicians, and "evidence indicates" the problem is "worsening" amid a growing physician shortage and low federal reimbursements rates, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

25 Feb 2007

Tennessee's CoverRX program stops enrollment due to high demand

Enrollment has been suspended for CoverRX, Tennessee's new prescription drug program for low-income adults, as a result of high demand, the Tennessean reports.

25 Feb 2007

WHO and UNAIDS welcome findings of trials assessing impact of male circumcision on HIV risk

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNAIDS Secretariat have welcomed the publication in The Lancet of the detailed findings of two trials undertaken in Kenya and Uganda to determine whether male circumcision has a protective effect against acquiring HIV infection.

25 Feb 2007

Medical News

U.S. fetal death rate declines nationally, though racial/ethnic disparities remain

Texas Gov. Perry says Merck campaign contribution had no effect on decision to mandate Gardasil

U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority approves compensation for eggs donated for research

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rules against authorities for prolonged detention of abortion-rights opponents

CDC says Gardasil's side effects minor

Federal agencies sued over medical Marijuana statements

Injection drug use fueling spread of HIV in Mauritius

Call for South Carolina Legislature to provide $8 million for HIV/AIDS care services

Gambian President claims to cure HIV/AIDS

Male circumcision reduces men's HIV infection risk by 65%

Chinese HIV/AIDS advocate Gao says international pressure helped persuade officials to allow her to travel to U.S. to accept award

Herpes treatment could slow HIV progression in people living with both viruses

Employer health care costs to increase by 8% in 2007

Medicare MA plan payments might increase by less than 3% in 2008

Pharmaceutical companies overcharging federal health care programs

Federation of American Hospitals announces near universal health insurance proposal

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries have trouble finding primary care physicians

Tennessee's CoverRX program stops enrollment due to high demand

WHO and UNAIDS welcome findings of trials assessing impact of male circumcision on HIV risk

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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