Latest KFF Health News Stories
Mental Health System Problems Emerge In Calif.
Two stories focus on California’s mental health system – one about hospitals, the other on the access problem.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health policy from around the country.
How Health Policy Is Playing On The Campaign Trail
Today’s news from various sections of the campaign trail include reports about whether President Barack Obama’s gamble on health care will pay off, details of GOP presidential candidates’ plans to hold down health care costs, and some of the policy particulars being advanced by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
Calif. Judge Suspends Cuts To Senior Services
In California and Washington state, judges are taking action on seniors’ care.
New Wrinkle Emerging For Legal Challenge To Health Overhaul
The Wall Street Journal reports on a development that could further complicate the pending legal challenges to the health law.
First Edition: December 5, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports examining the pivotal week ahead for Congress and the hurdle that challenges to the health law now will face.
Candidates Answer GOP Attorneys General’s Questions At Campaign Forum
Three AGs questioned six of the Republican candidates at a forum aired by Fox News. Perry and Romney talked about health care.
Berwick’s Exit Interview With NY Times: ‘I Came With An Agenda’ For Improvement
The New York Times’ Robert Pear interviewed CMS chief Donald Berwick before his last day, which was yesterday.
Just A Few Days Left For Medicare Open Enrollment
Beneficiaries have until Wednesday, Dec. 7 to sign up for a prescription drug or Medicare Advantage plan.
HHS Unveils Insurance Rule: Brokers Do Not Count As ‘Health Costs’
The medical loss ratio rules directs that any rebates paid to consumers by insurers for failure to meet the MLR benchmarks will be tax-free.
Government Leaders Make Statements In Recognition Of World AIDS Day
A number of government leaders made statements on Thursday in recognition of World AIDS Day. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a press statement said, “We have come a long way in the fight against AIDS, but there is still a long road ahead to realize our ambitious goals. If we continue to work together and coordinate a global effort guided by science, we may one day live in an AIDS-free generation” (12/1). In a post on the White House Blog, Gayle Smith, special assistant to the President, and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby write, “As President Obama made clear, the fight against global AIDS is a shared responsibility, not one the U.S. can meet alone.
End To AIDS In Reach, U.N. Officials Say On World AIDS Day
“As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, [U.N.] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said [Thursday], leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal,” the U.N. News Centre reports. “‘Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS — once and for all,’ Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day,” the news service writes (12/1).
Political Leaders, Celebrities Come Together For World AIDS Day Event
“A star-studded array of political and religious leaders — from President Obama to rock legend Bono to AIDS activist Kay Warren — came together Thursday for World AIDS Day to call for an entirely AIDS-free generation by 2015,” the Washington Post reports, adding, “The event was sponsored by ONE and (RED),” both of which were co-founded by Bono (Kuhn, 12/1). “Former President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton, as well as Tanzania President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, telecom magnate Carlos Slim of Mexico, and singer/songwriter Elton John also joined the two-hour-long talkfest via video satellite link,” ScienceInsider writes (Cohen, 12/1).
Multipronged Approach Needed To Conquer Malaria
“A malaria vaccine could be a powerful new tool,” but “[c]ontrolling mosquitoes and diagnosing malaria remain essential. Among the highest priorities now is to develop new methods to do both,” a Bloomberg editorial states. “There is both less and more than meets the eye in the recent news that an experimental malaria vaccine cut in half the risk that children would contract the illness,” according to the editorial, which adds, “Many of the headlines that followed promised a life-saving vaccine around the corner — a prospect that in truth remains a maybe. At the same time, the trial results affirmed the benefits of a multipronged attack on malaria.”
South African President Introduces National Strategic Plan On HIV, STIs, TB
South African President Jacob Zuma in a speech on Thursday to mark World AIDS Day introduced a new five-year National Strategic Plan (.pdf) on HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB), which “calls for stepped-up prevention efforts to halve new infections of HIV and tuberculosis by 2016 and to put 80 percent of eligible patients on antiretroviral drugs to fight AIDS,” Agence France-Presse reports (12/1). In addition, the plan aims to reduce the number of mother-to-child HIV transmission cases, which Zuma noted was halved between 2008 and 2010, reduce HIV- and TB-related stigma, target high-risk populations, and promote education among youth to reduce their risk of HIV infection, according to Times Live (Chauke/Mclea, 12/2).
Latin American, Caribbean National Rotavirus Immunization Campaigns Show Success, CDC Report Says
“Fourteen of the 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean make the rotavirus vaccine available for all infants via national programs,” according to a report published Friday in the CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,” United Press International reports. Approximately “seven million infants, 66 percent of the infants born in Latin America and the Caribbean, were immunized in 2010 against rotavirus infection — the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children, and one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu,” the news agency writes. The WHO recommends rotavirus vaccination for children worldwide, the report noted, stating, “Studies from countries in this region have shown declines in the burden of hospitalizations and deaths related to severe diarrhea after rotavirus vaccine introduction,” according to UPI (12/2).
