Latest KFF Health News Stories
Widespread Cholera Vaccination Needed In Haiti While Improvements Made To Water, Sanitation Systems
“As the world’s worst outbreak of cholera continues to ravage Haiti, international donors have averted their gaze,” a Washington Post editorial writes. The editorial notes that a “pilot project to vaccinate Haitians against the disease … reached only one percent of the population, with no immediate prospect of expansion,” and “[o]f the 100 or so cholera treatment centers that sprang up around the country after the disease was detected 19 months ago, fewer than a third remain.” The solution to the epidemic is “equally well known and costly,” the editorial states, adding, “Haiti needs modern water and sanitation infrastructure, an undertaking that might cost $1 billion. But while donors tend to respond generously to emergencies, such as the earthquake that devastated Haiti in early 2010, they lose interest in long-term fixes of the sort that would deal decisively with cholera.”
House GOP Plans New Votes Repealing Parts Of Health Law
The two bills would repeal a tax on medical devices and ease restrictions on health savings accounts, and leaders plan to have the votes before the Supreme Court decision on the law.
Paper Examines Global Health And Climate Change
In paper published online by the journal Globalization and Health, Kathryn Bowen and Sharon Friel of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University examine how global health fits into climate change adaptation activities. According to the abstract, “The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of adaptation and its relevance to global health, and highlight the opportunities to improve health and reduce health inequities via the new and additional funding that is available for climate change adaptation activities” (5/27).
A selection of opinions and editorials about the health law — what it’s doing and where it’s going.
Viewpoints: Contraception Indignation ‘Built On Air’; Frustration With VA’s Backlog
A selection of health care opinions and editorials from around the U.S.
Today’s early morning highlights from major news organizations, including articles on higher drug costs for some consumers and both parties’ efforts to influence voters with claims about Medicare.
Proposed Changes To Psychiatric Manual Could Impact Addiction Diagnosis
Supporters say the new guidelines will make it easier to address drug or alcohol problems before they become serious. But others worry that one of the tools to evaluate such problems falsely suggests there is a natural escalation from non-use to occasional use to risky use to addiction.
Cardinal Wuerl Says Bishops Are United In Fight With Administration Over Contraception Rule
Archbishop of Washington denies a split in the church over recent lawsuit filed by some bishops.
Louisville’s Strategy For The Future: Stick With The Old Folks
The Kentucky city hosts the largest concentration of nursing-home and extended-care companies in the world.
When Is A Life Too Long?; The Rising Cost Of Children’s Health Care
Every week, KHN reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. New York Magazine: A Life Worth Ending I will tell you, what I feel most intensely when I sit by my mother’s bed is a crushing sense of guilt for keeping her alive. Who can accept such suffering—who can so conscientiously […]
Today’s Headlines – May 25, 2012
Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy, but first, here are your Friday headlines … Politico: FDA User Fee Bill Passed By Senate With little bickering and no effort to repeal the Obama administration’s health reform law, the Senate passed the massive Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act on Thursday well ahead of schedule. … The […]
Blog Examines Kaiser Family Foundation Survey On Americans’ Views Of U.S. Global Health Efforts
Highlighting the findings of a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released on Monday that examines Americans’ views on U.S. global health efforts, journalist Tom Paulson writes in KPLU’s “Humanosphere” blog, “The news media … largely ignored this but it deserves more attention.” He briefly summarizes the findings by writing, “[M]ost Americans don’t know how little we spend on foreign aid,” but “once Americans know how little we spend on foreign aid many say we should spend more.” Finally, he says the report found that “most Americans think we should work with others internationally … rather than try to do things on our own.” He concludes that the survey “includes some critical analysis and not always good news. But on the whole, it’s evidence that Americans do want to play a big role in making the world a better place — and evidence, if we needed it, of how disconnected the political dialogue has become from reality” (5/24).
While GOP Pledges Austerity, Democrats Hesitant To Revamp Medicare, Medicaid
Health care continues to play a major role this political season. News outlets look at the parties’ differences on spending, Sen. Baucus’ early reelection calculations and a protest against Rep. Steve King.
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY13 State And Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a $52.1 billion appropriations bill to fund U.S. state and foreign operations in FY 2013, Devex reports. “The committee voted 29-1 to send the … bill to the full Senate floor for consideration,” the news service writes, adding, “It is still unclear when the bill will be scheduled for a full Senate vote” (Mungcal, 5/25). “The Senate bill would provide $8.5 billion to the [Global Health Initiative (GHI)], which is approximately $600 million more than the President’s FY13 request ($7.9 billion) and $500 million more than the House FY13 appropriations bill [.pdf] ($8.0 billion),” the Kaiser Family Foundation’s “Policy Tracker” writes, noting, “It is also approximately $300 million above the FY12 amount ($8.2 billion)” (5/24).
Mass. Hospital Agrees To $750,000 Settlement Over 2010 Data Breach
The data breach compromised the personal information of more than 800,000 people.
Illinois Legislature Passes Bill With Deep Medicaid Cuts
The $1.6 billion in budget cuts would also cut deeply into other Illinois health programs.
Commentary Addresses Status Of The U.S. Global Health Initiative
In this Lancet opinion piece, Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Josh Michaud, principal policy analyst at the Foundation, examine the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI), which “represents the bulk of the U.S. global health budget and bilateral activities in more than 80 countries.” Kates and Michaud provide a brief overview of the initiative, identify the principles upon which it was founded and say that four years into the GHI, “The picture is one of both successes and challenges.”
Editorial, Opinion Piece Examine Future Of World Health Organization
As the World Health Assembly draws to a close in Geneva this week, and Margaret Chan accepts her appointment to a second five-year term as director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), an editorial and an opinion piece examine the future of the U.N. health agency. Summaries of these pieces appear below.
Research Roundup: Do Mandatory Screening Laws Affect Disparities?; Mass. Health Law, 6 Years Later
A selection of studies and briefs from The Kaiser Family Foundation, the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Genetics in Medicine and other news outlets.
Insurance Refunds In Arizona; Mass. House Passes Dementia Care Standards
A selection of health policy news from Arizona, Massachusetts, Texas and California.