A cross-section of articles we've read this week about HIV/AIDS, STIs and a wide cross-section of structural and systemic factors impacting HIV/AIDS in Black communities.

MSM

In US, Gay Men Clash Over HIV Prevention Pill 

A single daily pill may help prevent HIV. And in America, gay men who have lost countless loved ones to AIDS can't stop fighting about it.

Science

Can Disparities be Deadly? 

Controversial research explores whether living in an unequal society can make people sick.

Testing & Diagnostics

Paper-Based Diagnostics, Made with a Scrapbooking Tool, Could Curb Hepatitis C Pandemic 

To the relief of patients diagnosed with hepatitis C, the US Food and Drug Administration approved two new treatments late last year, and a few more are on the way. Now scientists are solving another side of the disease's problem: identifying the millions more who have the virus but don't know it -- and unwittingly pass it on. A new report describes a novel, scrapbook-inspired test that does just that.

Miscellaneous

Favoritism, Not Hostility, Causes Most Discrimination 

Most discrimination in the U.S. is not caused by intention to harm people different from us, but by ordinary favoritism directed at helping people similar to us, according to a theoretical review.

Federal HIV/AIDS Grant up by 10 Percent for Boston 

Funding to combat HIV/AIDS in the city has been boosted by 10 percent as part of a new federal Ryan White grant announced today and health officials say they intend to focus on minorities and men.

Feds: Man Phoned in Bogus HIV-Med Scripts, Sold Pills for Cash 

A Philadelphia man is facing federal charges for allegedly calling in fraudulent prescriptions for HIV medications, then selling the pills for cash.

HIV-Positive Children More Likely to Develop Drug Resistance 

74 percent of HIV-positive children in a study developed resistance to at least one form of drug treatment. The researchers followed almost 450 children enrolled in the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study, one of the largest studies of HIV-positive children in the United States. "The problem with drug resistance is that once you develop it, it never goes away," said the principal investigator. "Some patients with very resistant virus have no effective treatment options. Resistant virus is the major reason for death among youth with perinatal HIV."

Hospitals Look to Health Law, Cutting Charity 

Hospital systems around the country have started scaling back financial assistance for lower- and middle-income people without health insurance, hoping to push them into signing up for coverage through the new online marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act.

New York Wants to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2020 

New York City has joined the ranks of other progressive and forward-thinking jurisdictions like San Francisco with the release of an ambitious plan end the HIV/AIDS epidemic there by 2020. Internationally, UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, recently called for global action to end AIDS by 2020 and to relegate the disease to the history books. amfAR's CEO Kevin Frost has also committed the organization to raising $100 million for a cure by 2020. What is your organization doing to end the epidemic? 2020 is only 6 years away. Are we really at a place to end the epidemic so soon?

Researchers Seek Best Methods for Screening and Counting HIV in the Hospital

The fight against HIV remains a top priority for physicians across the country-and includes questions on how best to understand its prevalence and when to test patients for the virus.

When Hospital Systems Buy Health Insurers 

Another hospital system wants to buy another health insurance company, and consumers may well wonder what this trend could mean for them.