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Measles making a comeback in the U.S.

The rise in the number of measles cases in the U.S. is concerning health authorities who fear the disease is making a comeback after a decade of being eradicated.

11 Jun 2008

Horse industry let off the hook over horse flu debt

The horse industry in Australia has been let off the hook over last year's equine influenza (EI) outbreak.

11 Jun 2008

Turn up the lights and slow down dementia!

A team of Dutch scientists are suggesting that the progression of dementia can be significantly slowed down by treatments which reset the body's natural clock.

11 Jun 2008

Man presumed dead recovers during surgery to remove his organs for donation

The revelation that a man whose heart had stopped beating, woke up just as surgeons were about to remove his organs for donation, is disconcerting to say the least.

11 Jun 2008

Government and nurses call for a major shake-up of Australia's health system

Plans by the federal government to address the dire shortage of general practitioners by making better use of other health professionals is in some ways in line with calls from the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) for a major reform to the way health services are funded and delivered.

11 Jun 2008

The Politico examines prospects for U.S. health care system overhaul

The Politico on Tuesday examined how "the skyrocketing cost of health care is putting everyone in a much more chatty and cooperative mood" about overhauling the U.S. health care system.

11 Jun 2008

Bush Administration requests $275 million increase for FDA in FY 2009 budget

The Bush Administration on Monday requested that Congress allocate an additional $275 million in fiscal year 2009 for FDA, the New York Times reports. The funds would be used to improve drug and food safety in the U.S. (Harris, New York Times, 6/10).

11 Jun 2008

Bill 'best way to ensure' transparency of possible conflicts of interest, editorial states

A report published last week that found three researchers from Harvard Medical School were "vastly underreporting their income from drug companies" offers "striking proof that today's requirements for reporting payments from industry -- essentially an honor system in which researchers are supposed to reveal their outside income to their institutions" -- must "be strengthened," a New York Times editorial states.

11 Jun 2008

Utah Medicaid program to launch initiative to reduce unnecessary ED visits

The Bureau of Managed Health Care at the Utah Department of Health will launch a program geared toward state Medicaid beneficiaries that will "reroute patients to personal physicians who can provide better continual care at a lower cost," the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

11 Jun 2008

Obama launches economic tour, promotes health care proposal

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Monday began a two-week economic tour in Raleigh, N.C., where he discussed his proposals to address the economy, health care and other issues, the AP/Philadelphia Daily News reports (Babington, AP/Philadelphia Daily News, 6/10).

11 Jun 2008

Study finds obese people have higher lifetime medical costs despite shorter life expectancies

Obese U.S. residents in their 20s will incur lifetime medical bills between $5,340 and $29,460 more than their healthy-weight peers despite shorter life spans, according to a study published online in the journal Obesity, USA Today reports.

11 Jun 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report feature highlights recent blogs

While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics.

11 Jun 2008

CMS announces $15 million funding increase for Medicare counseling programs

CMS officials on Friday announced that the agency this year will increase funding by $15 million to a total of $50 million to organizations that advise Medicare beneficiaries on prescription drug and health plan choices, CQ HealthBeat reports.

11 Jun 2008

Few HIV-positive people receiving antiretrovirals in Mozambique despite no-cost treatment program

Few HIV-positive people in Mozambique are coming forward to receive no-cost antiretroviral drugs despite a government program that provides access to the medications, Mozambican Health Minister Ivo Garrido said recently at a news conference, Reuters reports.

11 Jun 2008

U.N. high level meeting on AIDS to review progress in fighting disease

World leaders are expected to review progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide during the United Nations 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in New York, the Washington Post reports (Lynch, Washington Post, 6/10).

11 Jun 2008