Insights

Most Americans favor Medicaid expansion, Accretive Health settles, bird flu jumps to seals and more from our Daily Briefing.

Some health experts may wonder whether Ugandans, or to be more precise, the health planners in this part of the world ever take their lessons from their past.

When Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his intention to ban the sale of sodas larger than 16 ounces at some establishments in New York City, it caused a huge kerfuffle. Among all of the craziness of the debate, I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not this kind of policy really makes a difference.

It comes as no surprise that health facilities in Uganda are in a sorry state, medicines are not in hospitals, doctors are complaining and need a bare minimum of salary to sustain their livelihoods and some districts like Kalangala do not have fulltime doctors. And all this while, the technocrats at the Ministry of Health, steal a little.

Obamacare will intensify the doctor shortage, blood supplies low, babesiosis spreading and more from our Daily Briefing.

Research from a commonly cited study in Scotland never says there are 150 million people in pain. They never even use the word “million." So why are people citing this paper as evidence that 75 million to 150 million people are in pain?

The Alliance for Health Reform in Washington, DC is looking for a communications manager to help them connect in new ways with reporters and users on their website.

Insurers are cooperating to fight fraud, three cured of HIV, more early elective births, a cheap way to test for food pathogens and more from our Daily Briefing.

What if the real answer to runaway health care costs isn’t to be found in the legislative boxing rings of Washington, but rather in something as seemingly simple as curbing our sugar intake?

The media and researchers alike often cite that pain affects 75-150 million Americans. Taken in isolation, it could be true. Haven’t we all been affected by pain? But these stats are being used to define the “phenomenon of chronic pain,” not just any pain at any time. So, are 150 million Americans –