Latest KFF Health News Stories
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).
Opinion Pieces, Editorial Recognize World AIDS Day
Thursday, December 1 was World AIDS Day. The following is a summary of several opinion pieces and an editorial published in recognition of the day.
Product Development Partnerships ‘Essential’ In Fight Against Global Diseases
“If the momentum gained in the last few years” in fighting global diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, measles, and meningitis “is any indicator of our future trajectory, we are standing on the threshold of a revolutionary change in the state of global health,” Wendy Taylor, senior adviser of Innovative Finance and Public Private Partnerships at USAID, and David Cook, executive vice president and COO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), write in this opinion piece in The Hill’s “Congress Blog.” They discuss the importance of “Product Development Partnerships, or PDPs for short,” which “are great examples of public-private collaborations [that] are starting to build deep pipelines for new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools.”
Nations At Busan Forum Sign Non-Binding Declaration To Form Worldwide Aid Partnership
Representatives of organizations and governments from 160 countries “agreed on Thursday to form a worldwide partnership to ensure tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid goes to help the neediest,” Agence France-Presse reports. The declaration (.pdf) concluded the three-day 4th High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan, Korea, where major donors, including the U.S., Japan, and European nations, “tried to bring emerging donors like China — which does not co-ordinate with other major aid-givers — into the international fold,” according to the news agency (Jung, 12/1).
IOM Essential Benefits Recommendations Draw Criticism
A letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from more than 2,400 health care providers and advocates offered objections to the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations regarding what benefits must be covered in state health insurance marketplaces. Additionally, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, offered a warning regarding an Internal Revenue Service proposal on premium assistance in the health law’s insurance exchanges.
Senate Republicans Reject Payroll Tax Extension Measures
Proposals to extend payroll tax relief, as well as take steps to prevent a scheduled 30 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements from taking effect in January, are high on the congressional to-do list. A House vote on a doc-fix patch could take place as soon as next week.
Viewpoints: Is Berwick A Scapegoat?; Rep. Smith On Kagan; Daschle On Health IT
A selection of today’s opinions and editorials from around America.
Court OKs Payment For Bone Marrow Donation
A federal appeals court called bone marrow donation blood parts, not organ parts. The new reading of the federal prohibition could attract thousands more donors.
