Latest KFF Health News Stories
New Federal Study Spotlights Heavy Soda Consumption
CDC finds that half of Americans consume drinks containing sugar, such as soda and energy drinks, and that teenagers and young adults drink the most.
“A study conducted in Uganda and Zambia by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) found high rates of syphilis and HIV co-infection among pregnant women in both countries,” but showed that “integrating rapid syphilis screening and HIV testing for pregnant women was feasible, cost-effective, and helped to prevent transmission of syphilis and HIV from mother-to-child,” PlusNews reports.
Obama Gets Tough On Abortion Protesters; State Abortion Laws Challenged In Courts
Access to abortion clinics and challenges to new state abortion laws are in the news.
UNICEF, NGOs In West Africa Work To Encourage Better Sanitation In Rural Areas
UNICEF and non-governmental organizations “operating in West Africa say the main barrier to more pit latrines in rural areas is not poverty or lack of resources, but a lack of understanding about costs and benefits,” IRIN reports. “Plan International, WaterAid and UNICEF programs all encourage communities to recognize the need for better sanitation, and to build latrines themselves,” the news service writes, adding, “Building and using latrines is one of the most effective ways to combat diarrhea, which kills 1.5 million under-five children globally each year.”
FTC Presses For More Competition On Generic Drugs
The agency criticizes manufacturers’ delay in putting drugs on the market.
NCD Summit Negotiations Must Get Back On Track To Help Millions Worldwide
With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, “[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1,” Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog “Croakey.”
People Living With HIV In Egypt Feel Health Care Sector Is Source Of Stigma, Report Says
According to a 2011 report (.pdf) on HIV-related stigma in Egypt from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, “the health care sector was consistently identified by people living with HIV as a major source of stigma and discrimination,” PlusNews reports. “A study quoted in the report found that denial of care, breach of confidentiality, non-consensual testing, poor quality of care, gossip and blame were all frequent features of Egypt’s health care setting” and “[m]any of the 11,000 Egyptians living with HIV would rather suffer minor health problems than attempt to obtain health care,” the news service writes.
‘Sustainable Global Pharmacovigilance’ Systems Needed To Monitor ARVs, Other Drugs
With more widespread access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs “comes a greater need to monitor and promote the safety and effectiveness of these essential medicines in the new environments, which are distinct from those of pre-market studies and the resource rich countries that have had ARV access for years. Without sufficient monitoring systems in place, we can’t efficiently identify and stop counterfeiting of ARV drugs,” Jur Strobos, deputy director of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, and Andy Stergachis, professor of epidemiology and global health and director of the Global Medicines Program at School of Public Health at the University of Washington, write in an opinion piece in The Scientist.
Libyan Health System Suffers Following Months Of Fighting
“Recent fighting in Libya, especially in the capital Tripoli, has taken a toll on medical services with overstretched personnel working under very difficult conditions, and seriously ill and injured patients unable to reach hospitals and clinics, health workers say,” IRIN reports.
Ancient Antibiotic Resistance Findings Leads Experts To Stress Need To Use Antibiotics Sparingly
“An analysis of 30,000-year-old bacteria whose DNA has been recovered from the Yukon permafrost shows that they were able to resist antibiotics,” providing “the first direct evidence that antibiotic resistance is a widespread natural phenomenon that preceded the modern medical use of antibiotics,” according to a study in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature, the New York Times reports.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Longer Looks: Perry’s Personal Health Policies; 5 State Medicaid Strategies; Medical Illiteracy
Today’s articles come from Time magazine, Governing, American Medical News and Mother Jones.
First Edition: September 1, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including California lawmakers shelving their effort to pass a bill to regulate health insurance rates and Florida’s aggressive efforts to shut down “pill mill” clinics.
GOP Tax Expert Tapped To Lead The ‘Super Committee’
The selection of Mark Prater, who has served as chief tax counsel for Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee for nearly two decades, was announced in a joint statement by the panel’s co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex. Many view his appointment as an encouraging sign that the deficit committee will produce a plan to control federal borrowing.
GOP Govs Point To Medicaid Flexibility As Means To Reduce Spending
In a report issued Tuesday, these Republican state executives urged a loosening of federal “maintenance of effort” rules and called for flexibility so that states could custom design programs to give their children as well as poor and disabled citizens the best care.
Compensation System Urged For People Harmed During Scientific Research
A subcommittee of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues concluded that many other countries have requirements in place to protect and compensate research subjects who are harmed.
COBRA Subsidies For Laid-Off Workers End Today
With the end of this benefit, considered one of the key elements of the federal stimulus package, many are concerned about how unemployed people will now afford these costs.
Researchers Develop Potentially Less-Expensive, Faster Method For Diagnosing TB
“A potentially cheaper and faster method for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) has been developed by researchers” at the University of Basel, Switzerland, “who hope to test it in Tanzania,” according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology last week, SciDev.Net reports. “The lack of a cheap, quick and accurate test makes it hard to control the TB epidemic, which claims millions of lives every year in developing countries,” according to the news service.
Leading Iowa Insurer Undecided About State’s Planned Insurance Exchange
In other health law implementation news, Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, that HHS has not adequately addressed the needs of small insurance companies and other small businesses.
