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New MERS virus spreads easily, deadlier than SARS

UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013 | MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — A mysterious new respiratory virus that originated in the Middle East spreads easily between people and appears more deadly than SARS, doctors reported Wednesday after investigating the biggest outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

More than 60 cases of what is now called MERS, including 38 deaths, have been recorded by the World Health Organization in the past year, mostly in Saudi Arabia. So far, illnesses haven't spread as quickly as SARS did in 2003, ultimately triggering a global outbreak that killed about 800 people.

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UPDATED 16:58 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Launch Uncertainty

There's no guarantee that President Barack Obama's health care law will launch smoothly and on time, congressional investigators say in the first in-depth independent look at its progress.

But in a report released Wednesday, the congressional Government Accountability Office also sees positive signs as the Oct. 1 deadline approaches for new health insurance markets called exchanges to open in each state — in many cases over the objections of Republican governors.

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UPDATED 16:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Study: Wiser medication use could cut health costs

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — If doctors and patients used prescription drugs more wisely, they could save the U.S. health care system at least $213 billion a year, by reducing medication overuse, underuse and other flaws in care that cause complications and longer, more-expensive treatments, researchers conclude.

The new findings by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics improve on numerous prior efforts to quantify the dollars wasted on health care.

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UPDATED 19:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teen girls

ATLANTA (AP) — A vaccine against a cervical cancer virus cut infections in teen girls by half in the first study to measure the shot's impact since it came on the market. The results impressed health experts and a top government top health official called them striking.

The research released Wednesday echoes studies done before the HPV vaccine became available in 2006. But the new study is the first evidence of just how well it works now that it is in general use.

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UPDATED 16:24 PM EDT, June 18, 2013

Nonprofit launches campaign to reach uninsured

CHICAGO (AP) — A nonprofit group helping to spread the word about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul launched a campaign Tuesday that will target states with high numbers of uninsured Americans and tackle their skepticism with straightforward messages.

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UPDATED 15:24 PM EDT, June 18, 2013

Medicare: Cost-saving changes coming for diabetics

WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar.

On July 1, Medicare opens a national mail-order program that will dramatically drop the prices the government pays for those products but patients will have to use designated suppliers. The goal is to save taxpayers money but seniors should see their copays drop, too.

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UPDATED 6:23 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Report: Slowdown in health care costs to continue

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's good news for most companies that provide health benefits for their employees: America's slowdown in medical costs may be turning into a trend, rather than a mere pause.

A report Tuesday from accounting and consulting giant PwC projects lower overall growth in medical costs for next year, even as the economy gains strength and millions of uninsured people receive coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law.

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UPDATED 21:26 PM EDT, June 18, 2013

Especially grim encephalitis toll feared in India

GORAKHPUR, India (AP) — A mosquito-borne disease that preys on the young and malnourished is sweeping across poverty-riven northern India again this monsoon season in what officials worry could be the deadliest outbreak in nearly a decade.

Encephalitis has killed at least 118 children so far this year and authorities fear the death toll could reach about 1,000, said Dr. R.N. Singh of the Encephalitis Eradication Movement, an Indian nonprofit.

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UPDATED 3:22 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Gender report of Shah Rukh Khan baby investigated

NEW DELHI (AP) — Health officials in Mumbai are investigating reports that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his wife know the sex of a baby they are having through a surrogate mother.

Sex determination tests are banned in India to stop the practice of aborting female fetuses due to a preference for sons.

Press Trust of India reports Khan was not at home when municipal authorities tried to question him about reports that the woman had such a test.

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UPDATED 6:23 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Report: US adult smoking rate dips to 18 percent

ATLANTA (AP) — Fewer U.S. adults are smoking, a new government report says.

Last year, about 18 percent of adults participating in a national health survey described themselves as current smokers.

The nation's smoking rate generally has been falling for decades, but had seemed to stall at around 20 to 21 percent for about seven years. In 2011, the rate fell to 19 percent, but that might have been a statistical blip.

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