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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
U.S. Congress Votes to End Medicare Subsidies for Viagra
Joining an earlier House of Representatives initiative, the U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to end Medicare and Medicaid payments for erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, the Associated Press reported.
As part of aid legislation for victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Senate voted without debate to end Medicaid payments as of Jan. 1, and to end Medicare payments for such drugs as of Jan. 1, 2007, the wire service said.
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), who sponsored the original House bill, said the moves could save the federal government some $690 million over five years, the AP reported.
Under Medicaid, states would only be allowed to subsidize use of Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs if a doctor deems them medically necessary, the wire service said. Earlier this year, the AP reported that nearly 800 convicted sex offenders nationwide were receiving Medicaid subsidies for erectile dysfunction drugs.
Also on Thursday, the consumer group Public Citizen called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to add its most serious "black box" warning to erectile dysfunction drugs that the group said could cause a rare form of irreversible vision loss called ischemic optic neuropathy (ION).
Of the 50 related cases of ION reported to the FDA, Viagra accounts for more than any other drug, and more than double the percentage of the next most often-reported medication, Public Citizen said in its petition to the agency.
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Experts Deride Use of Antibacterial Soaps
Antibacterial soaps and body washes are no more effective in preventing illness than regular soaps, experts told a panel advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.
In fact, the experts said, the antibacterial products could actually cause harm by breeding resistance to antibiotics, the Associated Press reported.
Representatives of the soap industry argued that antibacterials are as safe and far more effective than regular soaps.
The AP said it had obtained FDA documents raising concern about whether antibacterial soaps breed drug-resistant bacteria, and questioning whether the products actually lead to fewer infections.
The panel is expected to issue its recommendations to the agency shortly. The FDA is not bound by its advisory panel suggestions, but usually follows them.
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European Health Officials Map Bird Flu Strategy
Leading European health officials met in Britain on Thursday to decide on a strategy against a lethal strain of bird flu that has been confirmed in fowl in Romania, Russia and Turkey. Despite fears that the virus could mutate into a strain that would unleash a worldwide human pandemic, Britain's health secretary said the risk posed to Europeans is still "very low," the Associated Press reported.
Also Thursday, the European Union banned imports of pet birds and products containing feathers from Russia, following confirmation of the virus in a village 200 miles south of Moscow.
In Thailand, meanwhile, authorities announced the country's 13th human bird flu death, a 48-year-old man who had handled his neighbor's sick chickens. Sixty-one people in Asia have died of the disease since 2003, the AP reported.
In the United States, two senators announced that the Swiss manufacturer of the antiviral drug Tamiflu would begin negotiations with generic drug makers to increase production of the medicine. Tamiflu, made by Roche Holding AG, is said to be the most effective bird-flu drug available, the wire service reported.
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Florida Medicaid Plan Sets Patient Cost Limits
A new Medicaid plan for Florida that gives private health plans more power to restrict benefits and limits spending on many of the state's 2.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries was approved Wednesday by the Bush administration.
This new model shifts from the traditional Medicaid "defined benefit" plan to a "defined contribution" plan where Florida sets a spending limit for each patient, based on medical condition and historic use of health care, The New York Times reported.
The spending ceilings won't apply to pregnant women or children under the age of 21.
The Florida program is likely to be a model for, and will closely observed by, many other states, The Times reported.
"Florida's proposal is one of the most far-reaching and radical proposals we've seen to restructure Medicaid. The federal government and the states now decide which benefits people get. Under the Florida plan, many of those decisions will be made by private health plans, out of public view," Vernon K. Smith, a former Medicaid director in Michigan and currently a consultant to many states, told The Times.
The Bush administration has proposed similar changes at the federal level but has been rebuffed by Congress.
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U.S. Airlines Sign Drinking Water Deals with EPA
Agreements on passenger aircraft drinking water safeguards have been signed between 24 U.S. airlines and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Under the deals, airlines face fines of up to $27,500 if they fail to adopt more stringent rules for monitoring and disinfecting drinking water on passenger aircraft, the Associated Press reported.
The agreements, which include 11 major and 13 smaller airlines, are meant to reduce the threat of disease-carrying bacteria in aircraft drinking water. This move comes after an EPA investigation in 2004 found total coliform bacteria in 15 percent of 327 airplanes inspected at 19 U.S. airports.
While total coliform is usually harmless, it does serve as a sign that the water may contain other disease-causing organisms, the AP reported.
The Air Transport Association, the airline's trade group, says drinking water on airliners is generally as safe as the municipal water sources that are used to supply airliners. One reason why the airlines signed the agreements with the EPA was to set the record straight on airliner water quality, said Air Transport Association spokeswoman Katherine Andrus.
The EPA is still negotiating deals with a few more airlines, including Delta, Southwest and JetBlue.
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Anheuser-Busch Pulls Drinking Game
A drinking game called "Bud Pong" is being pulled by beer maker Anheuser-Busch.
The company said it decided to stop marketing the game after hearing reports that some people where drinking beer during the game instead of water, as the game directions specified, The Associated Press reported.
"Bud Pong", which has been sent to beer wholesalers in 18 states since July, is played by bouncing ping pong balls into cups of liquid. Participants have to take a drink when they lose a point. The game instructions suggested players fill the cups with water.
However, a New York Times article said that "Bud Pong" players were using beer instead of water. Anheuser-Busch insists the game was never intended to promote drinking.
"I don't put any credence in it," Glynn Birch, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told the AP.
She said it's irresponsible to suggest that water be used during a bar game. Birch noted that such games may be especially dangerous for young drinkers and college students who get carried away with the game.
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