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Denver Post Examines Efforts To Establish Needle-Exchange Programs In Colorado
The Denver Post on Friday examined efforts to establish needle-exchange programs in Colorado to reduce the risk of HIV and hepatitis C among injection drug users. According to the Post, 185 cities in Colorado have needle-exchange programs, but legislation that would have legalized needle exchanges statewide did not advance in the Legislature this year. "The issue is more complex than it perhaps first appears," Evan Dreyer, a spokesperson for Gov. Bill Ritter (D), said, adding that "law enforcement and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment both expressed serious reservations" about a proposal that would have legalized needle-exchanges statewide. A coalition of public health officials, treatment providers and advocates are increasing efforts to establish a needle-exchange program in Denver, the Post reports. The Denver Drug Strategy Commission in February recommended that Mayor John Hickenlooper consider a pilot needle-exchange program, DDSC Director Karla Maraccini said. The commission is looking at different programs to develop a model following Hickenlooper"s request for additional research. However, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has concerns that a local needle-exchange program would violate state law, according to Morrissey"s spokesperson Lynn Kimbrough. Eric Brown, a spokesperson for Hickenlooper, added, "Anything in contradiction to city or state law would have to be carefully considered." Proponents of needle-exchange programs say they prevent HIV and hepatitis C, but opponents say they condone injection drug use. Mark Thrun, director of HIV prevention for Denver Public Health, said, adding that needle-exchange programs prevent IDUs from "getting these chronic, potentially fatal diseases" and give public health workers "an opportunity to link them into treatment; and it lessens the economic burden on the already overburdened health care system." Thrun noted that several studies have found that needle-exchange programs do not encourage or prolong injection drug use and make IDUs more likely to seek treatment. In addition, a 2005 CDC study found that 86% of exchange programs make treatment referrals and that more than 80% offer counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.Nancy Steinfurth, executive director of the Hep C Connection, noted that an estimated 10% of HIV cases and 70% of hepatitis C cases are transmitted through needles (Auge, Denver Post, 5/15).
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Cayenne Medical Launches CrossFix™ System For Repair Of Meniscal Tears
Cayenne Medical, Inc., a privately held sports medicine company based in Scottsdale, announced the commercial launch of its CrossFix™ System for the repair of meniscal tears at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) annual meeting in Keystone, Colorado last week.
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Rwanda Launches Campaign To Address Cross-Generational Sex
The Rwanda Ministry of Youth recently launched a six-month campaign aimed at reducing the trend of cross-generational sex, which some health officials say is contributing to the spread of HIV among young people in the country, the New Times/AllAfrica.com reports. Rwanda"s National Commission for the Fight Against AIDS, USAID and Population Services International launched the campaign urging youth to avoid having sex with older people. The minister of youth, Protais Mitali, said that all institutions in the country should help address the trend in order to curb the spread of HIV among young people. According to Anita Asiimwe, executive secretary of the commission, data show that Rwandan women ages 20 to 24 are five times more likely to be HIV-positive than men their age. She added that statistics indicate that one out of every 10 girls had her first sexual experience with a man 10 or more years older. She added, "Since older men are much more likely to be [HIV-positive] than their male counterparts, young girls appear to be getting infected by older men, rather than by boys of their age." Staci Leuschuer with PSI Rwanda said that there are lower rates of condom use among young people, noting that about 40% of young people report condom use and that about 24% to 25% of girls ages 15 to 24 are using condoms (Mutara, New Times/AllAfrica.com, 5/24).
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A Selection Of Thursday's Editorials And Opinions

The GOP Can Stop ObamaCare Wall Street Journal Americans will listen more closely to Republicans if they make empirical and specific arguments against Mr. Obama"s attempted government takeover of the nation"s health system. But they must also offer proposals that families, small-businesspeople and health-care providers will applaud (Karl Rove, 6/18). Give GOP Proposal For Health Care Respectful Hearing Houston Chronicle Conventional wisdom has it that Democrats in this Age of Obama "own" health care as a political and, some would argue, a moral issue. But that hasn"t prevented congressional Republicans from coming up with their own plan for reform - nor should it (6/17). The Individual Mandate - An Affordable and Fair Approach to Achieving Universal Coverage New England Journal of Medicine The orientation of our system and the distorted incentives that it creates can be changed. A vital component of such a change would be bringing all U.S. residents into our health insurance system through an individual mandate (Linda Blumberg and John Holahan, 6/17). "Public Option": Son Of Medicaid Wall Street Journal It seems to me, if we"re honest, that one other contributor to the health-care morass should have been on the president"s list: Congress (Daniel Henninger, 6/18). Government Guidelines May Harm Health Care San Francisco Chronicle Although supported by some, the notion of guidelines has not won universal approval among practicing clinicians, who are apprehensive and suspicious that federal treatment protocols will bind medical practitioners to treat Medicare beneficiaries with particular ailments in a certain way or mandate justification for deviating from government-set standards (Sidney Marchasin, 6/18). Reform Needs To Improve Medicare Reimbursements The Buffalo News Paradoxically, while this region"s work force and employers contribute equally to the Medicare premium, they do not receive an average share of revenues. This has unintended consequences that need to be addressed by national health care reform (Dennis Horrigan, 6/17). Strategy Corner: Health Care Reform Done Right Politico The unions want universal coverage as a victory for their members and for them. They are pushing the administration to be tougher, and they can move a lot of members and money in a campaign to counter the industry. So Obama really has three basic strategies before him (Mark Penn, 6/18). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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