Latest KFF Health News Stories
U.N. Officials Warn Additional Funding Will Be Needed To Fight Food Insecurity In African Sahel
“Sahelian governments and local and international aid groups are struggling to cope with both the continual arrivals of people fleeing … northern Mali, and the mounting number of hungry people across the region as the lean season gets underway,” IRIN reports. According to UNHCR, nearly 300,000 people have been displaced within Mali or fled to surrounding countries, and IRIN reports “governments are already struggling to get aid to millions of their inhabitants, who are facing hunger due to drought.” The news service writes, “The U.N. estimates that 16 million people across the Sahel are facing hunger this year, and hunger levels are rising.” IRIN continues, “This complex mix of slow and fast-onset crises means the U.N. will be revising or launching new funding appeals from the current $1 billion to $1.5 billion in coming weeks, said Noel Tsekouras, deputy head of office at the West Africa bureau of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Dakar” (5/4).
PEPFAR Releases 8th Annual Report To Congress
The Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog notes that PEPFAR recently released its 8th annual report (.pdf) to Congress. “The five-page document outlines the program’s progress as of the end of fiscal year 2011 in various areas,” including the provision of antiretroviral treatment, care, and support; HIV testing and counseling for pregnant women; and prevention of mother-to-child transmission services, the blog notes. The report includes sections on “leading with science,” “smart investments,” “country ownership,” and “shared responsibility,” according to the blog (Mazzotta, 5/4).
Humanitarian Groups Call On G8 To Address Food Security At Upcoming Summit
Several humanitarian groups say that despite the G8’s pledge made at the 2009 L’Aquila Summit to provide $22 billion over three years to improve agriculture and food security, “the commitment is about to expire” and “much more needs to be done to end hunger,” VOA News reports. Neil Watkins, director of policy and campaigns at ActionAid, said he expects G8 leaders at their upcoming summit at Camp David later this month will promote a new food security initiative with greater private sector involvement, according to VOA. “Gawain Kripke of Oxfam America praised President Obama’s food security efforts since 2009,” the news service writes, adding that Kripke said, “[W]e’ve been calling for President Obama to keep that momentum up — to keep pushing for bigger and better and more ambitious goals and more ambitious resource commitments.”
Scientific American Examines Worldwide Spread Of Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea
Scientific American examines how strains of cephalosporin-resistant gonnorhea have “been emerging in Japan, and moving east and west from there, for at least a decade.” The magazine writes, “Rapid international travel allowed the resistance mutation to hopscotch the globe,” noting antibiotic-resistant strains that have been identified in Sweden, England, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, and France. “‘We can’t go back to older antibiotics,’ says Peter Leone, who is board chair of the National Coalition of STD Directors and medical director of North Carolina’s STD prevention program. ‘Once resistance emerges in gonorrhea, it is there for good. Cephalosporins are all we have left,'” he added, according to Scientific American. The magazine writes that efforts “to educate physicians and patients, to track resistant strains and to develop new treatments … must be carefully targeted and well coordinated with one another,” and concludes, “If not, truly untreatable gonorrhea, and its expensive, destructive consequences, could be the worldwide result” (McKenna, 5/4).
House GOP Budget Cuts Social Programs
As Congress returns after a weeklong recess, House Republicans will advance legislation to trim almost $380 billion from the federal budget, with social programs bearing the brunt of the cuts. On the Senate side, lawmakers will work on legislation to prevent the doubling of interest rates on college loans. The real issue continues to be how to pay for the fix: whether to use the health law’s prevention trust fund or increase Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes for high earners.
CMS Delays Sunshine Act Data Collection Until 2013
Implementation of this provision of the health law, which is designed to shed light on the financial arrangements between doctors, drug makers and medical device companies, will now begin in 2013.
Obama, Romney And Their Supporters Debate Government Role In Health Care
News outlets cover health care issues in the 2012 campaign as it heats up.
Ariz. Governor Signs Bill Banning Public Funding Of Planned Parenthood
Supporters of the Arizona bill said the law was needed to keep money from indirectly funding abortions. In the Texas case, the panel of appeals judges said Texas must continue funding Planned Parenthood until a lower court decides the case.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
Calif., Ore. And Mass. Try New Ways To Control Health Costs
In Massachusetts, House lawmakers released their proposal to curb health care spending by setting a goal.
State Roundup: Conn. Retiree Health Plan Expansion Could Endanger Protections
A selection of health policy stories from California, New York, Iowa, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Alaska and North Carolina.
Recession Drives Medicaid Spending
Job losses and diminishing income habe pushed Medicaid spending to new heights, according to a study released Friday.
Medicaid Programs In Ga., Ill. Under Microscope
States wrestle with Medicaid funding and opportunities to reshape the programs.
Health Costs, Disability Issues Cause Concern Among People Nearing Retirement
USA Today reports on new poll findings that indicate health care costs are a prominent fear among older workers. Also, Reuters reports on what might be behind the recent rise in disability claims among people in that same age group.
Obama On The Stump: Don’t Turn Back The Clock On Health Reform
In a pair of speeches on Saturday, President Obama fired up Democratic party faithful in Ohio and Virginia. He spoke about his plans for — and record on — Medicare, health insurance and birth control. And he vowed that the country “will not go back to the days when insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports detailing what’s ahead this week on Capitol Hill as well as state-level developments.
‘Virtual’ Consultations: A Physician’s View
Once a month, Dr. Ankush Bansal, an internist, travels to his home in Miami to see patients virtually via computer for three different health care companies. Bansal said he doesn’t think telemedicine will replace practicing traditional medicine.
Insurers Embrace ‘Virtual’ Doctor Visits
The explosion of Web- and telephone-based medical services is transforming the delivery of primary health care, giving consumers access from home for inexpensive, round-the-clock care.
War On Smoking Offers Some Lessons For Obesity Fight
But the scope of the nation’s weight problem is much more extensive than tobacco ever was and public health campaigns must address issues as complex as food and beverage choices, television viewing, exercise routines and even the design of cities.
Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law that cuts off state funding for health care providers that also perform abortions. In the Texas case, a panel of federal appeals court judges tell the state it cannot ban Planned Parenthood from a state program until a federal lawsuit is decided.