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Medicaid Health Plans Provide Cost Savings To States And High Quality And Value To Beneficiaries, New Analysis Shows
Medicaid health plans are producing cost savings for states, increasing access to services for individuals covered by Medicaid, improving quality of care, and earning high satisfaction ratings from enrollees, according to a Lewin Group report released today by America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Twenty-four existing studies were analyzed by the Lewin Group to determine the savings achieved when states have implemented private Medicaid health plans.

Red Wine Ingredient Demonstrates Significant Health Benefits: Research Review
The benefits of alcohol are all about moderation. Low to moderate drinking - especially of red wine - appears to reduce causes of mortality, while too much drinking causes multiple organ damage.
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World Leaders Must Take Action To Support Commitments To Lower Maternal Mortality, Opinion Piece Says
"I stood up and applauded for women everywhere when I heard the news" that the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the U.S., "recognized maternal death as a human rights issue," CARE President and CEO Helene Gayle writes in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece. Gayle writes that governments for the past 15 years "have failed to meet the commitments made and targets set to reduce the more than half a million maternal deaths every year."According to Gayle, preventing maternal death "requires three well-coordinated actions: sustain political leadership, secure adequate res and strengthen health systems." She adds that the resolution "is a positive step" but that it is "only effective if it translates into action." She continues, "It"s great to see the Obama administration places women and girls high on the agenda," adding that many members of Congress also support these issues.Reducing maternal mortality "requires significant res," Gayle writes. She adds, "To be blunt, an estimated global commitment of $39 billion over 10 years is needed to make significant progress." Such a commitment would be "an investment in women, their families and the economic productivity of nations," according to Gayle."The cost of not investing is far greater," Gayle continues. She notes that women "do two-thirds of the world"s work and produce nearly 60% of the world"s food." In addition, "children who lose their mothers are 10 times more likely to die in childhood than children with mothers," and maternal and newborn deaths "represent an estimated annual loss of $15.5 billion in productivity," according to Gayle. "Clearly, other development goals cannot be met without healthy mothers," she adds.She continues that the "most tragic and infuriating point" is that the "death of a woman in childbirth is one of the most inexcusable deaths on earth." Because high maternal mortality is a "barometer of weak health systems, often reflecting the low status of women," strengthening health systems to improve maternal health will therefore enable the system to "address other health needs," Gayle writes. She adds that countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Peru have improved mortality rates "through four lifesaving programs: family planning, skilled and culturally sensitive care during pregnancy and childbirth, emergency care for complications and postpartum care."Gayle writes, "The U.S. can spearhead a comprehensive maternal health action plan and, by doing so, set an example for world leaders to join and invest in." She concludes, "The actions we take now can make maternal death a problem of the past and not one of our children"s future" (Gayle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/10).
Cardiovascular

Patients In St. Jude Medical Deep Brain Stimulation For Depression Pilot Study Demonstrate Sustained Improvement In Depression Symptoms

According to the latest data in a clinical study supported by St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy for depression may provide sustainable improvement in depression symptoms among patients with major depressive disorder. Study results will be presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting in San Francisco. This study profiles 21 patients with DBS therapy in the area of the brain known as Brodmann Area 25, most of whom have completed one year of post-surgery evaluation. At six months, 62 percent of the patients experienced at least a 40-percent decrease in symptoms of depression as measured by a standardized test called the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Of these patients, 92 percent maintained this improvement at their last follow-up visit (typically at one year). Additionally, 71 percent of all patients in the study exhibited at least a 40-percent decrease in symptoms of depression as measured by the Hamilton scale. "Typically these patients do not maintain responses to traditional approaches such as medications and electroconvulsive therapy," said Peter Giacobbe, M.D., psychiatrist with the University Health Network in Toronto and presenter of the study results. "We are encouraged that this data indicates DBS therapy may provide sustainable improvement in the quality of life for these patients." Ongoing at three leading Canadian academic medical centers, the study utilizes the St. Jude Medical Libra® Deep Brain Stimulation System to deliver stimulation to an area of the brain known as Brodmann Area 25, which appears to become overactive in severely depressed people. The pilot study builds upon the research of Helen Mayberg, M.D., and Andres Lozano, M.D. Patients in the study had suffered from depression for an average of 20 years, had tried in excess of 12 depression medications and were considered disabled or unable to work at the time of enrollment. At the 12-month evaluation point, eight of the study patients had returned to daily life activities such as school, work and sustaining relationships with family and friends, and two patients were considered to be in remission. "These results are important as they contribute to the growing body of research about the potential benefits deep brain stimulation may provide this patient population," said Chris Chavez, president of the St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division. "We are committed to expanding our research into the field of depression and to completing the BROADEN™ study to determine whether stimulation of Brodmann Area 25 is clinically significant in treating severely depressed patients who have exhausted other treatment options." The early results of the Brodmann Area 25 pilot study led to the establishment of the BROADEN (BROdmann Area 25 DEep brain Neuromodulation) study, a larger controlled, blinded pivotal study. The BROADEN study is being conducted under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemption (IDE). For more information about this clinical study, call toll-free 866-787-4332 or visit http://www.BROADENstudy.com. An estimated 21 million adult Americans suffer from depression according to the National Mental Health Advisory Council. Of these, approximately 4 million live with severe depression that does not respond to medications, psychotherapy and, in certain cases, electroconvulsive therapy. The Libra Deep Brain Stimulation System is currently approved in Europe for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson"s disease. St. Jude Medical has clinical studies underway in the U.S. for Parkinson"s disease and essential tremor. More than 45,000 patients in 35 countries have been implanted with St. Jude Medical neurostimulation systems. For more information about St. Jude Medical pain therapies, visit http://www.PowerOverYourPain.com. St. Jude Medical


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