Latest KFF Health News Stories
Global Economic Downturn May Thwart Progress In Fight Against Poverty, Disease, Gates Says
“The global economic downturn and the euro-zone crisis may stand in the way of efforts to reduce poverty and disease around the world,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said on Wednesday in a talk at the London School of Economics sponsored by the Global Poverty Project, Bloomberg reports. Gates noted that “‘incredible progress’ had been made toward reducing poverty and disease,” and said, “There are many things going on in terms of the euro-zone crisis, budget cutbacks, that would make it easy to turn inward and actually reduce the financing that has led to so much progress,” according to the news service.
MSF Warns About Lack Of Access To Antiretroviral Treatment In DRC, Urges Government, Donor Action
“Eighty-six percent of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] have no access to antiretrovirals, medical charity Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday,” calling the “conditions of access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS … catastrophic,” Agence France-Presse reports (1/25). Approximately 15,000 people living with HIV in the DRC “likely will die waiting for lifesaving drugs in the next three years,” the organization, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said, the Associated Press reports. A statement from the organization “called for Congo’s government to meet its commitment to provide free treatment to people living with HIV and AIDS, and for donors to immediately mobilize resources ‘to ensure that patients waiting for ARV treatment are not condemned to die,'” according to the AP. Of an estimated 350,000 people in need of antiretroviral treatment, only 44,000 are receiving therapy, the AP notes (Mwanamilongo, 1/25).
Financial Times Examines Global Food Security Issues
This Financial Times analysis examines food security, writing, “Climate change, ill-judged policies, protectionism, urbanization and plain greed have all conspired to reignite Malthusian prophesies of a growing world population unable to feed itself.” The article states, “The prospect of more starving people as staples become unaffordable has put the question of food security firmly on to the top table of global policymaking,” and discusses the economics of food; production, access, and waste; and genetic modification of crops (Lucas/Fontanella-Khan, 1/25).
Bird Flu Investigator Says Continuation Of Research Remains ‘Urgent’ Despite Moratorium
Research into transmissible bird flu strains remains “urgent” despite flu investigators’ recent declaration of a “60-day moratorium on avian flu transmission because of the current controversy,” Yoshihiro Kawaoka of Tokyo University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “a lead researcher on one of two recent studies showing how H5N1 can be transmitted through airborne droplets” among ferrets, writes in a commentary published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Reuters reports. In December, the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity “asked two leading journals, Nature and Science, to withhold details of both studies for fear it could be used by bioterrorists,” the news agency notes.
Moody’s Retains Negative Investment Outlook On Non-Profit Hospitals
Moody’s investing outlook for non-profit hospitals remains negative because of slow revenue growth and recent Medicaid reductions in some states.
Hurt By Costly Medicare Claims, WellPoint Misses Analysts’ Profit Expectations
WellPoint — hurt by high medical costs for seniors in its Medicare plans — missed analysts’ quarterly profit expectations. WellPoint says it met its own expectations for the quarter.
State Of The Union: Reading Between The Lines For Health Policy Impact
News reports analyze why President Barack Obama gave only scant reference to the health law in his State of the Union address, how his push for regulatory reform may play out in the health care sector and how the speech represents his return to familiar themes.
An Examination Of The Premium Support Concept
Politico Pro reports on dueling essays published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine that explore the Medicare plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Survey: Mass. Health Law Increased Coverage, But Struggles On Cost
A new survey released in the journal Health Affairs found that the 2006 Massachusetts health insurance law has gotten health insurance to 94 percent of residents, cut ER visits, and made people feel healthier, but has also done little to control costs there.
Medicaid: Penn. Enrollment Up; Fla. Hospitals Protesting Cuts; Fraud In Kansas
A selection of Medicaid news from Pennsylvania, Kansas, Florida and Washington state.
State Roundup: Conn. Home Worker Demand Soars
A collection of health policy stories from around the United States.
Viewpoints: Massachusetts’ Health Care Success; Employers Are Key To Curbing Health Costs
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
Poll: Many Think Justices’ Ideologies Will Affect High Court’s Health Law Decision
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation January tracking poll, a majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court’s health law ruling will result from the justices’ own ideology rather than legal analysis. The poll also found that the public believes the uninsured will benefit most from the overhaul.
House GOP Renews Demand For Obama’s Health Reform-Related Memos
The New Yorker on Monday published an in-depth look at previously unreleased White House documents, including some related to negotiations surrounding the development and passage of the health law. Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have been seeking such internal communications for more than two years.
Longer Looks: Obama’s Health Reform Memos; Romney’s Medicare Mistake?
Each week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reads from around the Web.
First Edition: January 26, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about House GOP plans to offer a ‘replace’ bill after the Supreme Court rules on the health law.
Congressional Negotiators Begin Talks On Payroll Tax Cut, ‘Doc Fix’
Although Demcratic and Republican lawmakers differ on how to pay for it, they seem to agree there needs to be a deal in order to prevent a deep, scheduled cut in Medicare physician payments.
In State Of The Union Speech, Health Law Gets Short Shrift
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address was light on health policy references, but he did say he would not “go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men.” News outlets also reported on Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Republican response and looked forward to what Obama is doing today to spin his speech.
PMI-Supported Study Aims To Measure Malaria Among Pregnant Women In Rwanda
This post in the Malaria Free Future blog reports on a study underway in Rwanda that aims to measure the prevalence of malaria in pregnancy (MIP). The research is supported by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and is being carried out through its Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) “so that the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) can have data to design appropriate MIP interventions as the country moves towards malaria elimination,” the blog notes. According to the blog, the study of more than 4,000 women “focuses on pregnant women during their first visit to focused antenatal care (FANC) for their current pregnancy” and is currently at the half way mark (Brieger, 1/25).
Global Fund Executive Director Kazatchkine Steps Down; Board Appoints General Manager
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine on Tuesday announced he will “step down in mid-March after leading the organization for five years,” according to a Global Fund press release (1/24). In a message to staff, Kazatchkine said he “concluded that I should not continue as executive director” following a November decision by the Global Fund Board to “appoint a general manager to oversee implementation of the Consolidated Transformation Plan who will report directly to the Board.” The statement continues, “I respect this decision and trust that it was made in the best interests of the Global Fund. … I am committed to an orderly transition, and I will do all that I can to ensure that the Global Fund emerges from it as a stronger organization” (1/24). In a statement, Board Chair Simon Bland said, “I thank Michel for his remarkable contribution and I look forward to working with him to ensure an efficient transition” (1/24).
