Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Sen. Kennedy Circulates Draft Of Health Reform Legislation
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, the legislation "closely resembles" the Massachusetts health insurance law enacted in 2006, the Post reports. According to the draft summary, the bill calls for a public, government-sponsored health insurance option that would compete with private insurers. The measure also would expand Medicaid eligibility, according to the Post. Kennedy spokesperson Anthony Coley said that the outline is not yet finalized. He said, "We are still actively negotiating with members" of the Senate HELP Committee. According to a top White House official, Kennedy is expected to introduce his measure on Monday. A timetable released by Kennedy"s office calls for Senate HELP Committee Democrats to meet June 2 (Connolly, Washington Post, 5/29). A bipartisan walk-through of Kennedy"s bill is scheduled for June 5 and June 9. Hearings on the bill would then take place on June 10 or June 11. The mark up of the bill is scheduled from June 16 through June 25 (Bogardus, The Hill, 5/28). If Kennedy holds to the schedule, he will be ahead of other congressional Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), on proposing overhaul legislation (Washington Post, 5/29). Coley said, "These are target dates that are not set in stone." Although Senate Democrats are hoping to pass health care reform legislation before the August recess, several senators have questioned whether that timeline is feasible (The Hill, 5/28). Reform Supporters Call For Removal of Ad

UnitedHealth Group Offers 15 Recommendations To Reduce Federal Health Spending By $540B Over 10 Years
UnitedHealth Group"s Center for Health Reform and Modernization on Wednesday suggested 15 steps that could be taken to save $540 billion in federal in health care costs over the next 10 years, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Werner, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/27). Simon Stevens, head of the center, said that the report "puts some flesh on the bones" of the pledge made by health care industry groups earlier this month to cut health care costs, noting that the recommendations already are being used by UnitedHealth to reduce costs and can be applied to Medicare (Reuters, 5/27).The recommended steps include:
News of the day
Food Manufacturers Must Step Up To The Plate And Reduce Salt Levels, Says Heart Charity
In response to Food Standards Agency"s new guidelines on voluntary salt reduction targets, Alex Callaghan, Policy Officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said:
Cardiovascular

Scientists Discover New Strain Of HIV Closely Related To Simian Virus

Scientists have discovered a new strain of HIV in a 62-year-old woman from Cameroon that "differs from the three known strains ò€¦ and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas" according to a study in today"s edition of the journal Nature Medicine, AP/Washington Times reports. The study was funded by the NIH and the Tietze Foundation (8/3). "The discovery of this novel HIV-1 lineage highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa, the origin of all existing HIV-1 groups," researchers note in the study (Reuters, 8/3). According to the AP/San Francisco Chronicle, the woman had no contact with gorillas or meat from wild animals and "currently shows no signs of AIDS and remains untreated, though she still carries the virus, the researchers said." The article adds, "How widespread this strain is remains to be determined. Researchers said it could be circulating unnoticed in Cameroon or elsewhere." A separate paper also in today"s edition of Nature Medicine, "reports that people with genital herpes remain at increased risk of HIV infection even after the herpes sores have healed and the skin appears normal," according to the AP/Chronicle (Schmid, 8/3). This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009