Can doctors afford HPV vaccine?

Plus, lesbians are twice as likely as straight women to be obese, says a new study.

Published May 2, 2007 12:06AM (EDT)

Washington Post: Some doctors have decided against carrying Gardasil, the new HPV vaccine (the most expensive vaccine ever approved), because of insufficient reimbursement from insurance companies. Just how bad are insurers sticking it to doctors? "Some insurance companies are paying doctors $122 per shot -- just $2 more than the price doctors pay for a dose of Gardasil -- an amount not sufficient to cover the cost of stocking and administering the vaccine," reports the Post.

Associated Press: This warrants an update: Remember the recent "America's Most Wanted" sting that used Miss America to lure predators? Reports surfaced this morning that 20-year-old beauty queen Lauren Nelson had no intention of actually testifying against the 11 men she helped to nab -- potentially putting the cases in peril. But, before I could blink, a rep from the Miss America Organization announced that Lauren would be "fully cooperating with the law enforcement officials." Michael Brown, an attorney for one of the men she helped to arrest, said: "You've now made Miss America a witness."

Gothamist: The truly disturbing story of a sexual assault victim who testified in court today is quickly making the rounds on the Web. She alleges that in 2005, a man she had occasionally seen in passing at work set two fires outside of her apartment and then knocked on her door wearing a firefighter's uniform, demanding to be let in. Once inside, he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her repeatedly, and ultimately held her captive for a total of 13 hours.

The Irish Times: Thanks to a reader for passing this story along to us: Ireland's Health Service Executive has restricted a 17-year-old from traveling to Britain to have a legal abortion. The girl is four months pregnant and recently discovered that her fetus has a brain defect that would cause it to live no more than three days after birth. The girl, known publicly as "Miss D," has filed a challenge with the Roman Catholic country's High Court. Good luck to her!

Advocate.com: According to a new study, lesbians are twice as likely to be obese as straight women. "The results of these studies indicate that lesbian women have a better body image than do heterosexual women," the study says. (Note: An eagle-eyed reader noted that the study previously linked to was not the same one mentioned in The Advocate article. We've corrected the error!)


By Tracy Clark-Flory

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