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Massive Medicare fraud case highlights Miami's increased enforcement

Eight defendants were indicted in a massive Florida Medicare fraud case. The Associated Press reports: "It may be the center for Medicare fraud, but even Miami officials said Tuesday they were surprised by the breadth of a ring they say spanned five states, used 29 fake storefronts and attempted to steal $100 million from Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

25 Jun 2009

California Medicaid providers win legal challenge

Medicaid providers in California won a legal challenge over program cuts in the case "Maxwell-Jolly v. Independent Living Center of Southern California."

25 Jun 2009

Lawmakers, spouses ties to health industry shape views

Nearly 50 lawmakers in Congress have spouses who work in the health care industry and that may be influencing their thinking on health reform, CQ Politics reports.

25 Jun 2009

Baucus takes center stage as health reform deal maker

"As President Obama's effort to overhaul the health care system seems to hit one roadblock after another in Congress, he is counting on Senator Max Baucus [D-Mont.], a political shape-shifter and crafty deal maker who is not fully trusted by either party, to help him clinch his top domestic priority," the New York Times reports in a profile of the Senate Finance Committee leader.

25 Jun 2009

Business groups note faults in House Democrats' overhaul plan

House Democrats readying a health reform bill without a price tag or a budget analysis will hear from business interests today that their plan is irrevocably broken and that they need to start from scratch, CongressDaily reports.

25 Jun 2009

HHS Secretary presses lawmakers on health care

"Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a U.S. House panel Wednesday that the Obama administration is willing to negotiate how health overhaul legislation is paid for, but not whether it is paid for," according to the Dow Jones Newswires.

25 Jun 2009

Finance Committee continues work on health overhaul, benefits tax advances in negotiations

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee continued its mark up of health care reform legislation while the Senate Finance Committee "was hunkered down in negotiations on its version, with Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) shuttling between closed-door meetings to try to reach a consensus," Roll Call reports.

25 Jun 2009

Lancet Infectious Diseases examines spread of XDR-TB

The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines the worldwide spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Currently, about 500,000 of the 9 million new cases of TB that are identified each year are strains of XDR-TB. "Drug resistance is largely man-made - it is vitally important to review antibiotic treatment strategies and to ensure the Stop TB Strategy is fully applied to prevent further selection of drug-resistant mutants," Leonard Amaral of Universidade Nova de Lisboa said.

24 Jun 2009

IRIN examines PEPFAR funding of IDU programs

IRIN examines a recent comment piece in the journal Lancet that argues PEPFAR can do more to prevent the spread of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Africa (IRIN, 6/24).

24 Jun 2009

Malaria cases reported in Cambodian public facilities drop more than 50%

There was more than a 50 percent drop in the total number of malaria cases reported by public facilities in Cambodia between 2003 and 2008, according to the National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control's annual report, which was released on Tuesday, the Phnom Penh Post reports. Officials are attributing the decrease to village-based treatment and education programs.

24 Jun 2009

Lancet examines Obama's pledge to fight HIV/AIDS

The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines whether President Obama is fulfilling his campaign promises to tackle HIV/AIDS abroad and at home. Although Obama has surrounded himself "[w]ith lauded experts … concerns have been raised by activists that investment plans are not matching up to the rhetoric," Lancet writes.

24 Jun 2009

NewsHour features two health experts on President Obama's global health initiative

On the NewsHour Insider Forum, Ray Suarez interviews global health experts Michele Moloney-Kitts, assistant U.S. global AIDS coordinator, and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy about President Obama's $63 billion global health initiative.

24 Jun 2009

HHS awards $35 million contract to company in hopes of faster flu vaccine production

The HHS on Tuesday announced its decision to award a $35 million contract to a U.S. company using "insect cell technology" to develop flu vaccines, AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 6/23).

24 Jun 2009

Namibia close to reaching some MDGs

Namibia's recently released second MDG Report 2008 finds that the country is making progress toward achieving some of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. However, the Prime Minister says the global economic situation could reverse progress and notes that the country is behind on some health-related targets, New Era reports.

24 Jun 2009

Scientists investigate health benefits of molecule associated with male sexual arousal

Medical scientists at the University of Leicester are investigating how signalling molecules known to control blood pressure and penile erection act to regulate brain function and which have potential for treatments of migraine, chronic pain, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

24 Jun 2009

New piece found in colorectal cancer puzzle

Prostasin, a relatively unknown protease enzyme expressed in most epithelial cells, may play a role in the genesis of colorectal cancer. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Cancer have associated a reduction in the expression of inhibitors of the enzyme with malignant cellular behavior.

24 Jun 2009

Cognitive health among seniors in the United States and in England

American over-65s scored significantly better than their English counterparts at a memory and awareness test. The authors of the research, published in the open access journal BMC Geriatrics, suggest that differences in relative levels of depression, education, and the aggressiveness of treatment for heart disease may be to blame.

24 Jun 2009