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National Strategy To Address HIV/AIDS 'Desperately Needed,' Editorial Says
Statistics showing that blacks and men who have sex with men are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and the impact of the virus on Washington, D.C., residents "should shock the conscience - and spur action," a Washington Post editorial states. "The national strategy being crafted for the president must include efforts to destigmatize the disease and to get people tested and into treatment," and "HIV testing must become a routine part of medical care (akin to testing for diabetes, for instance)," the Post writes. "But none of this will work if all people from all ages and backgrounds don"t know or refuse to learn their HIV status," the editorial adds. The editorial says that the national strategy expected to be developed within the next year by Jeffery Crowley, director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, is "long overdue and desperately needed" (7/21).
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Sapient Delivers New Online Multilingual Re To Support Thousands Of Families Affected By Rare Congenital Syndrome
Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE) announced that it has designed and delivered a Web-based multilingual solution to support the efforts of CdLS World, an international federation of non-profit organizations committed to assisting those affected by Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS), a rare congenital disorder. While there is as yet no cure for CdLS, information and access to early therapeutic interventions and therapies is the key to helping children with CdLS reach their full potential. Sapient"s Ask the Doctor - which can be accessed at http://www.cdlsworld.org or through local CdLS country websites - brings a vast online re of up-to-date, relevant medical information to families and medical professionals around the world.
News of the day
Telemonitoring Systems At Heart Failure Congress 2009
Telemonitoring systems, by which the symptoms of heart failure can be remotely assessed, now provide a strategy for the improved personalised care of patients, according to Professor John Cleland from the University of Hull, UK.1 He told Heart Failure Congress 2009 that the management of heart failure is complex but most effective when tailored to the individual patients" needs and condition.2 "Unfortunately," he added, "the res required to offer this tailored treatment outside a hospital setting are generally not available. Current services provide, at best, only a crude attempt to deliver long-term, personalised healthcare, but telemonitoring provides a strategy which could radically change this situation."
Health Insurance

Lobbying Draws On Ranks Of Former Government Officials, Health Industry Coffers

"The nation"s largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records," the Washington Post reports. The Post"s analysis of lobbying disclosure records shows that three-quarters of major health firms have hired an insider to lobby on their behalf; half of those insiders once worked for the key senators and congressional committees that are now shaping the reform proposals. The Post says: "Nearly half of the insiders previously worked for the key committees and lawmakers, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), debating whether to adopt a public insurance option opposed by major industry groups. At least 10 others have been members of Congress, such as former House majority leaders Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), both of whom represent a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm. The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records ... A June 10 meeting between aides to Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and health-care lobbyists included two former Baucus chiefs of staff: David Castagnetti, whose clients include PhRMA and America"s Health Insurance Plans, and Jeffrey A. Forbes, who represents PhRMA, Amgen, Genentech, Merck and others" "The senator and his staff meet daily with individuals, nonprofits and interests from across the health-care spectrum, and are proud that all interests are treated equally and that no one receives special treatment of any kind," Baucus spokesman Scott Mulhauser told the Post. The paper reports: "The aim of the lobbying blitz is simple: to minimize the damage to insurers, hospitals and other major sectors while maximizing the potential of up to 46 million uninsured Americans as new customers. Although many firms have vowed to help cut costs, major players such as PhRMA, America"s Health Insurance Plans and others remain opposed to the public-insurance option, a key proposal that President Obama has endorsed." The feature includes a graphic that shows how 41 lobbyists are connected to specific members of the Senate Finance Committee (Eggen and Kindy, 7/6). Meanwhile, Politico looked into pharmaceutical lobbying: "Having struck a bargain with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the industry is aggressively targeting individual House Democrats, warning of repercussions in the 2010 elections if they go along with a tougher set of savings advocated by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) ... What Baucus agreed to specifically in his June 20 bargain is still in some dispute. But PhRMA is bluntly telling House moderates that the senator will oppose the rebates demanded by Waxman and that the smart move is to kill that provision outright and save themselves political pain in 2010" (Rogers, 7/6). Medical firms aren"t the only ones weighing in on the reform debate. One proposal to finance reform is a new tax on soda, beer and wine, the Associated Press/Palm Beach Post reports, calling to action beverage industry lobbyists as well as lobbyists for "[a]dvertisers, corn refiners -- even addiction treatment centers." The lobbying surge reflects "a tax increase for a handful of popular products can reverberate broadly across Washington"s interest groups" (Fram 7/6). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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