PHOENIX — A House committee voted Wednesday to stop a Tucson nurse practitioner from performing surgical abortions. The legislation, HB 2269, does not identify Mary Andrews, who works for Planned Parenthood Arizona. Instead, it prohibits nurse practitioners from performing abortions. The state Board of Nursing is already reviewing a complaint against Andrews. It has yet to decide if she is doing anything illegal. But Rep. Bob Stump, R-Peoria, who chairs the House Health Committee, said he sees no need to…

SEATTLE – If you have an unorthodox, unproven idea that can prevent HIV infection or help protect against infectious diseases, one of the richest men in the world wants to hear from you. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has set aside $100 million to encourage innovation in global health research, offering grants to those with innovative ideas on four topics: Tuberculosis, HIV, infectious diseases and drug resistance. The foundation’s new Grand Challenges Explorations program plans to give $100,000 each…

A new study from the AARP group points to increased drug costs putting extra strain on the elderly in the United States. AARP released information that brand name drug prices went up by an average of 7.4% last year. This increased price far exceeds the current national interest rate. AARP points to a possibility in the prices rising due to the Medicare added drug benefit released in January 2006. The manufacturer’s wholesale pricing is one of the most significant factors…

WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both. The 268-148 roll call was cheered by advocates who have been fighting more than a decade for what has come to be called mental-health parity. Supporters said the measure would help end the stigma of mental illness and create greater access for people needing mental health and addiction treatment. Opponents said it could drive up health-care costs and force…

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nearly 40,000 people learned this week that a trip to the doctor may have made them sick. In a type of scandal more often associated with Third World countries, a Las Vegas clinic was found to be reusing syringes and vials of medication for nearly four years. The shoddy practices may have led to an outbreak of the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus and exposed patients to HIV, too. The discovery led to the biggest public…

Citing an increase in flu cases in New York City, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene today called on Albany to pass a bill allowing pharmacists to give flu and pneumonia shots. The bill, similar to legislation already adopted in 47 states, could increase the number of older New York City residents who get the shots by at least 50,000, officials said. Legislation to give pharmacists such authority has been stymied for several years in New York State….

MONDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) — For teens looking to keep weight off, it doesn’t have to be a breakfast of champions, but it should be some kind of breakfast — and preferably a healthy one. Yet another study is confirming that adolescents who skip breakfast have a higher risk of being overweight. “There’s a pretty significant inverse association between how frequently kids report eating breakfast and how much weight they gain over time, and we took into account other…

ATLANTA (AP) — The government announced Friday that it has said goodbye to one of the world’s greatest lifesavers — the oldest smallpox vaccine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month made arrangements to dispose of the last of its 12 million doses of Dryvax, and notified other health departments and the military to do the same by Feb. 29. Dryvax — produced by scraping virus off the skin of infected calves — is being replaced in…

Two California companies are recalling alfalfa sprouts sold across the West, including Arizona, because tests detected salmonella, which can be fatal. The California Department of Public Health says no illnesses have been reported. The bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever and vomiting. J.H. Caldwell and Sons of Maywood is recalling Always Fresh and Alfa One sprouts distributed to Trader Joes grocery stores in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. It also is recalling shipments to Beach Market, KV Mart…

In his recent guest column (Tuesday, Feb. 21) in the Sun-News, Charlie Alfero, CEO of Hidalgo Medical Services, wrote “Thirty years of swimming upstream in the torrent which is the U. S. health care system is exhausting. Article Launched: 03/03/2008 12:00:00 AM MST Mr. Alfero then explains that much of the inequality in health care is due to the efforts of “major business, including health insurance interests, trying to squash anything that might take away from their current more-than-healthy bottom…