Efforts To Change U.S. Health Care System Must Combine Public, Private Sectors, AHIP CEO Says
Restructuring the U.S. health care system will require cooperation between the public and private sectors, America's Health Insurance Plans CEO Karen Ignagni said at the Montana Healthcare Forum on Monday, the Billings Gazette reports. Ignagni said, "I think we're going to have a mixed system, and we have to figure out how to get the best of both" sectors to provide coverage for all U.S.

Non Emergency Caesarean Doubles Risk For The Mother
A study of births in Latin America has found that women who have non-emergency caesarean deliveries have double the risk of illness and complications or even death compared to women who have vaginal deliveries. However, the study found that caesarean delivery prevented deaths in breech born infants.

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Recent Health Insurance News
Several newspapers recently reported on news related to health insurance. Summaries appear below.Benefits: Most workers with employer-sponsored health benefits "assume their coverage will remain intact" from year to year, but many companies engage in an ongoing process of re-evaluating their offerings, the Houston Chronicle reports. According to Hewitt Associates, only about 40% of U.S.

WFP Aims To Raise $103M For Program In Malawi To Help People Affected By HIV/AIDS, Natural Disasters, Officials Say
The World Food Programme over the next three years hopes to raise $103 million for a relief program in Malawi aimed at people affected by HIV/AIDS and natural disasters, WFP officials said on Monday, Reuters Africa reports. According to Mathews Nyirenda, WFP information officer, WFP earlier this month approved the relief program, which is scheduled to run from January 2008 to December 2010.

Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidates Differ On How To Expand Health Coverage
The Louisville Courier-Journal on Tuesday examined health care proposals from Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear (D) and incumbent Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R). According to the Courier-Journal, Fletcher and Beshear "agree on some health care issues but have different approaches to one pressing problem -- extending health coverage to more than half a million residents who lack it.

Former African Leaders To Meet In Zambia To Outline HIV/AIDS Control Strategies
Former African heads of state, as well as diplomats and representatives from international organizations, next month are scheduled to meet in Livingstone, Zambia, for a regional meeting on HIV/AIDS, Xinhua News Agency reports. The two-day conference -- which starts Nov. 21 and will be led by former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda -- aims to outline strategies to fight the disease.

St. Petersburg Times Series Examines Medicare
The St. Petersburg Times on Tuesday published a series on Medicare and the prescription drug benefit. Headlines and summaries appear below."The A, B, Ds of Medicare ... and HMOs and PPOs. The Good News: Most of You Have Until Dec. 31 To Pick a Plan. The Bad News: There's a Lot of Homework To Be Done": The article explains how to "sort through Medicare's dizzying array of options.

House Hearing To Address Lack Of FDA Inspections Of Foreign Prescription Drugs
The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Thursday will hold a hearing to address a recent decrease in FDA inspections of foreign companies that manufacture medications and medication ingredients despite an increase in volume of imports of such products, the Washington Post reports.

Concurrent Sexual Relationships Not Uncommon Among U.S. Men, Contributing To Spread Of HIV, Study Says
Eleven percent of men in the U.S. report that they have conducted multiple sexual relationships at the same time during the past year -- a behavior that could be contributing to the spread of HIV in the country -- according to a study published online on Tuesday in the American Journal of Public Health, Reuters Health reports.

Report Examines Medicaid Coverage For Family Planning Services; NEJM Perspectives Examine Physician-Industry Relationship, Health Care Costs
"Medicaid's Role in Family Planning," Guttmacher Institute, Kaiser Family Foundation: The issue brief examines coverage provided by Medicaid for women of reproductive age at the national and state levels; the range of services covered as part of family planning; state-initiated family planning expa

Although U.S. Spends Twice As Much As Other Industrialized Nations On Health Care, More In This Country Have Access Problems, Survey Finds
Though the U.S. spends twice as much on health care per capita as those in other industrialized nations, adults in the U.S. experience more problems with access to care and more medical errors, according to a survey published on Thursday on the Web site of the journal Health Affairs, Reuters reports.

Ohio Not Applying For Federal Funds Aimed At Preventing HIV Among Teenagers
Officials at the Ohio Department of Education are not applying for a $1.25 million, five-year grant from CDC intended to prevent the spread of HIV among teenagers, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.