Latest KFF Health News Stories
Congress Blocks Funding Meant For Food Aid, Health Care To Palestinian Authority
“Congress has … blocked $200 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority [PA] since August, in a move a PA official described as ‘collective punishment’ for its United Nations bid” for statehood, GlobalPost reports (10/1). “The economic package is separate from security aid, which the U.S. lawmakers say would be counterproductive to block,” Agence France-Presse writes (10/2).
Supreme Court Opens New Term; Health Law Challenge Tops Agenda
Although action related to the lawsuits challenging the health law have not yet officially made it on to the high court’s docket, it is generally accepted that this question will likely be decided this term.
Justices Hear Arguments In Calif. Medicaid Case
Justices will hear arguments today regarding California’s plan to cut Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals and other medical providers in an effort to address the state’s budget issues. Experts say the case has national implications because its central issue involves states’ rights to regulate their Medicaid programs.
Columbian Scientists Tap Global Computer Network In Search Of Leishmaniasis Drugs
“Colombian scientists are using a global network of personal and institutional computers to search for potential drugs against leishmaniasis, a disease that affects 12 million people worldwide,” SciDev.Net reports. The researchers at the University of Antioquia “will harness the calculation potential of the almost two million computers that make up the World Community Grid, funded by the IBM Corporation,” the news service writes.
Health Issues Fuel Hostile Turn In GOP Presidential Primary Race
The state health law former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney oversaw in his state is the flashpoint.
Cholera Death Toll In Haiti Rises To 6,435; U.N. Official Says Hardships Remain In Camps
Haitian health authorities on Friday said the death toll from cholera has risen to 6,435 since October and that “the number of people infected with cholera almost reached half a million, although the ministry repeated the epidemic was decreasing,” Xinhua reports (9/30). U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos wrapped up a three-day visit to Haiti on Friday, saying the “number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) still in camps in Haiti after their homes were destroyed by last year’s catastrophic earthquake has declined from 1.5 million to 600,000, but hardship in the settlements has not eased,” the U.N. News Centre reports. “Limited funding has led to a decline in the number of humanitarian agencies working in key sectors, such as water and sanitation and camp management. Hundreds of latrines are now unusable and overflow, especially during the current rainy season, posing significant health risks, even as efforts to keep the cholera epidemic at bay continue,” the news service writes (9/30).
Hospital Execs, Other ‘Local’ VIPs Tend to Get Fast Care In ER
MSNBC reports on a letter published in this week’s Annals of Emergency Medicine that details this phenomenon.
New Report Details Mental Health Care Gaps In Indian Country
According to the Health and Human Services Inspector General’s office, one in five hospitals and clinics in Indian Country provides no mental health services. Meanwhile, The Fiscal Times reports on the mental health toll being taken by the recession.
Pakistan Facing Dengue Outbreak, Humanitarian Aid Shortages For Flood Victims
“More than 12,000 have been infected and 125 people have died over the past two months in Pakistan after coming down with dengue fever, a health department spokesman said Friday,” CNN reports (Habib, 10/1). Citing the same numbers, WHO spokesperson Tarek Jasarevic said the agency is providing support for “case management, community mobilization, vector control and public awareness campaigns,” according to the U.N. News Centre. “Last year, 11,024 confirmed cases of dengue fever and 40 deaths were reported in Pakistan, but this year the number of cases has climbed to 12,466,” the news service writes (9/30).
Medicare Home-Health Firms Under Scrutiny
The Wall Street Journal reports on a Senate Finance Committee inquiry that concluded that some home-health firms tailor the care care they provide to maximize Medicare reimbursement.
Drug Shortages Lead To Rationing Of Critical Medicines
Though a number of reasons have created the shortfalls, everyone agrees that the proliferation of “gray markets” is one of the biggest factors.
Federal Officials Extend Ariz. Medicaid Program While Reviewing New Plan
In other state Medicaid news, doctors in Washington state are suing to stop a new rule that limits enrollees’ visits to the emergency department and Gov. Cuomo’s administration dismisses a proposal for N.Y. to pay for transgender surgery.
Kenya National AIDS Program Considering Mandatory HIV Testing
VOA News examines how Kenya’s National Aids Control Council and STI Control Program (NASCOP) is considering proposing mandatory HIV testing for adults and children who seek medical care for other conditions, noting that some AIDS organizations are expressing ethical concerns because of continuing stigma and discrimination. For now, “fears of mandatory testing in Kenya are premature, as Kenyan law currently bans such practices,” the news service writes (Onyiego, 9/30).
India Launches Month-Long Campaign To Promote Awareness Of Public Hygiene
India’s minister of development is promoting a campaign on public hygiene, after a UNICEF report found “that India accounts for 58 percent of the world’s population practicing open defecation,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. “Jairam Ramesh says the revelation is a source of national shame and a ‘sad commentary’ on society’s failure to address the issue through education and better sanitation,” the AP writes. According to the AP, the Indian government “says it spends $350 million a year to build rural toilets, but some 638 million still rely on fields or quiet corners” (10/2). The public awareness campaign is expected to last one month, according to Xinhua (10/2).
Chad Launches Three-Day Polio Vaccination Campaign
Chad’s President Idris Deby, alongside Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday launched a three-day polio vaccination campaign at the Friendship China-Chad hospital “as part of efforts to rid the central African nation of the infectious disease,” AlertNet reports. According to the WHO, “of the 401 declared cases of polio around the globe this year, 114 were in Chad, making it the world’s worst-hit nation,” the news service writes. Polio was presumed to be eradicated from Chad, which did not report any cases between June 2000 and July 2003, but the country has experienced a resurgence of the disease since 2003, AlertNet notes (Nako, 10/1).
Viewpoints: Mixing Obama And Ryan’s Plans, Cancer Rationing And Stalling Federal Aid
A selection of opinions from around the nation.
Central African Republic Declares New Cholera Outbreak
Central African Republic Health Minister Jean-Michel Mandaba on Friday declared a new outbreak of cholera in the south of the country had already killed at least 10 people, Agence France-Presse reports. “Mandaba also urged the country’s ‘bilateral and multilateral partners’ to provide financial and technical aid,” the news agency writes. Health officials two months ago warned of a possible outbreak because of cases in nearby countries, according to the news agency (10/1).
