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PlusNews examines the difficulties in diagnosing and treating multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in children, writing, "With weaker immune systems, children who contract TB -- most often from parents -- progress to active disease in about a year. But just how many children are affected is not known as there is almost no research into children and MDR-TB -- and very little useful guidance on how to treat them."
Frank Carlucci, former national security adviser and secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan; Lee Hamilton, a retired Democratic congressman and former vice chair of the 9/11 Commission; and Tom Ridge, former homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush -- all members of the Advisory Council for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition -- write in this Washington Times editorial, "At a time of economic distress and huge deficits that demand tough choices, it is tempting for elected officials to scale back this country's engagement around the globe, in particular by making cuts to programs that support diplomacy and international development. Yet too much is at stake to diminish America's leadership and competitiveness in a world that is growing more interconnected and interdependent -- as well as more turbulent -- virtually every day."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court weighs hearing arguments on the measure's constitutionality.
Republicans said Tuesday that they might allow $250 billion to $300 billion of additional tax revenue as part of a deal to shave $1.2 trillion from federal deficits over the next 10 years. Democrats, though, did not seem to view the plan as a major concession. It includes non-tax revenue primarily from the sale of government assets and leases for revenue as well as $700 billion in cuts to Medicare and other government programs.
Natasha Bilimoria, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes about a report (.pdf) issued in September by an independent high-level panel commissioned by the Global Fund in a post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, saying the report "focuses on the Global Fund's transition from a highly effective emergency response to the three pandemics, to a long-term sustainable mechanism for ensuring that its lifesaving work can continue in times of limited resources." She continues, "As it heads toward its 10-year anniversary, the Global Fund is embracing the panel's recommendations, strengthening its commitment to best practices and 'turning the page' in its fight against the three diseases."
The New York Times reports that a $20 million government-supported study regarding an operation to prevent strokes was cut short when it found the surgery was not helping patients. Also, a Commonwealth Fund study concluded that the U.S. ranks near the bottom when compared to other countries on how it cares for the sickest patients. Lastly, the Health and Human Services inspector general finds a quarter of hospitalized Medicare patients received improper treatment.
Georgia was granted some delay in the law's MLR requirements, and in Tennessee and Minnesota, insurance exchange decisions are slowly being made.
Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment to block implementation of the individual mandate, but that measure could easily become moot if the Supreme Court rules on the issue.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health policy from around the country.
Also in the news from Capitol Hill, the Senate appears poised to fix the Medicaid glitch that allowed middle-income couples to qualify for Medicaid, and a bill to repeal the health law runs afoul of some conservatives.
A selection of health care stories from Alaska, California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Maryland.
Kaiser Health News reports that the presidential hopeful's plan to overhaul Medicare would rely on the power of the marketplace to bring down costs. But, by doing so, it would fudnamentally change the program. Meanwhile, in other news, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is taking her fight against illegal immigration and the health law nationwide with her JAN PAC.
Brownback's plan would put nearly all Medicaid enrollees into private, managed-care plans.
Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg on Tuesday "urged donors to give generously to assist Nicaragua and El Salvador cope with the aftermath of the recent floods, saying that the scale of the disaster is beyond what the small Central American nations can handle on their own," the U.N. News Centre reports. According to the news service, approximately 1.2 million people in the region are affected by flooding, "[t]housands of homes have been damaged and hundreds of schools, roads and health facilities are closed," and [w]ater-borne diseases are spreading ..., she added." Bragg also said food security was a concern, as thousands of acres of crops were destroyed, "'making it increasingly difficult for people to get enough food for the next six months,' she stated," the news service notes (11/8).
The U.N. and several other international aid groups, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Care and ACTED, on Wednesday "warn[ed] they are running short of money and supplies to help millions of people affected by floods in Pakistan," the Associated Press reports (11/9). "Floods in August hit Sindh province in the south, killing at least 430 people and disrupting the lives of nine million. Many people are still camping out in the open with little food, water or shelter," Reuters writes, adding "agencies fear flood victims could suffer from a major outbreak of dengue fever, malaria and acute respiratory infection" (Conway, 11/9). The U.N., which has raised just $96.5 million of the $357 million it wants for flood relief, called the appeal 'distressingly underfunded,'" the Guardian notes (Ford, 11/9).
"Using GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix vaccine to protect girls against the [human papillomavirus (HPV)] that causes cervical cancer is so effective that health authorities could reduce the need for later cervical screening," according to two studies published Wednesday in the journal Lancet Oncology, Reuters reports. In a large efficacy trial involving 20,000 healthy women from 14 countries on four continents, researchers from the U.S. and Finland found the vaccine "'offers excellent protection' against two key strains of [HPV], particularly when given to young adolescent girls before they become sexually active" and "found the vaccine partially protects against several other cancer-causing HPV types that it is not specifically designed to target, giving protection against a group of strains that together cause about 85 percent of cervical cancer worldwide," the news service writes.
The Boston-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti on Tuesday "filed claims with the United Nations seeking damages on behalf of more than 5,000 Haitian cholera victims and their families," the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports (Daniel, 11/8).
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on the latest super committee' developments, an appeals court upholds the health law and results from yesterday's elections.
IT systems can improve care but have also led to "dosing errors, failure to detect fatal ailments and treatment delays."
The Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria has delayed the closing date for applications for its next round of funding, reduced the estimated amount of money that will be available in that round, and potentially delayed the disbursement of the funds until 2013, PlusNews reports. "The delay in Round 11 funding was announced at the Fund's latest board meeting on 26 September, the second such delay, which has pushed the application deadline back to at least 1 March 2012," the news service notes.
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