Latest KFF Health News Stories
Disability Benefits Squeezing Social Security As Politics Dominates Deficit Talk
It’s August, Congress and the president are on vacation. Nonetheless, talk on the Sunday morning programs looked ahead to the future deficit negotiations by the “super committee” and the president’s upcoming economics speech.
States Grow Anxious For Federal Exchange Guidance
Meanwhile, state-level working groups continue planning efforts for the creation of state-run versions of these health insurance marketplaces.
Deficit Panel Has ‘Extraordinary Power’ But Will Face ‘Bumpy’ Start
The LA Times reports on some of the challenges ahead for the “super committee” and explores the panel’s chances for success. Meanwhile, one GOP member of this select group vows that there will be no cuts to entitlement benefits.
PBS NewsHour Examines Polio Eradication Efforts In India’s Uttar Pradesh And Bihar States
PBS NewsHour reports on polio eradication efforts underway in India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states, which “have been the source of all the polio viruses that have crippled children in India,
VOA News Examines New Drug Compound That Shows Broad-Based Efficacy In Lab Tests
VOA News looks at a new drug compound developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that they say has so far “killed every virus it’s been tested on in the laboratory.” “The drug
Violence And Displacement In Yemen Exacerbate Child Malnutrition
UNICEF has warned that “[c]ontinuing fighting in various parts of Yemen, which has recently displaced thousands of people especially in Abyan Governorate and the Arhab District of Sana’a, could compromise the nutritional status of those affected
WHO Spokesperson Addresses Health, Medical Needs For Libya On PBS NewsHour
The WHO “is rushing to secure medical supplies for Libya” after the Dutch government on Monday released nearly $145 million in frozen assets from Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s regime in response to a direct WHO appeal, PBS NewsHour reports. The news service features an interview with Tarik Jasarevic, WHO spokesperson for medical emergencies, who spoke “about the health needs in Libya and how the funds will be used.”
Outbreak Of Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease Kills 81 Children In Vietnam
“Vietnam’s prime minister has put the country on alert as an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease continues to surge, killing 81 children and sickening more than 32,000 people nationwide so far this year, officials said Friday,” the Associated Press reports. “It has spread nationwide but is raging hardest in the country’s south, where nearly 80 percent of the cases have been reported. About 65 percent of the deaths have occurred in children younger than three,” AP writes.
U.S. Offers North Korea Flood Assistance, Considering Food Aid Separately
“The United States has offered North Korea up to $900,000 in emergency flood assistance but has made no decision yet on a broader request for humanitarian food aid for the isolated country, the State Department said on Thursday,” Reuters reports. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland “said the flood assistance would not include food, and was considered separately from a standing appeal by North Korea for food aid to offset bad harvests that a U.N. report said earlier this year had left millions hungry,” according to the news agency (Quinn, 8/18).
Nigerian Governors Launch Polio Vaccination Campaign
“The 36-member Nigerian Governors’ Forum has launched a new initiative to rid the country of polio,” VOA News reports.
Chagas disease, a historically neglected tropical disease that the WHO estimates affects about 10 million people worldwide, is drawing increased attention as infection by the parasite spreads from Latin America to developed countries, such as Spain and the United States, Science reports. “The main reason for this rise isn’t the spread of insects carrying Trypanosoma cruzi but rather emigration from Latin America of large numbers of people who are already infected,” the magazine writes.
World Humanitarian Day Honors Workers’ Service
August 19 is recognized worldwide as World Humanitarian Day, when “[w]e honor
South Africa Should Heed Recommendations Of HRW Report On Maternal Abuses
“If the moral test for a society is the way in which it treats its most vulnerable citizens, then the release of a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) marks a sad day for South Africa,” a Lancet editorial states.
Employers Predict Big Increases In Health Care Costs
Based on responses to a survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health, large employers are bracing for cost increases and will likely pass the added burden on to their employees.
Trend Of Hospitals Hiring Doctors Could Drive Up Health Care Costs
According to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change, the pattern isn’t new but is picking up speed in the quest to increase market share and revenue.
Viewpoints: Tea Party & Medicare; Minn. Health Exchange Politics; Fixing Drug Shortages
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
For the second time in one month, representatives of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held an emergency meeting on Thursday in Rome “to take stock of the humanitarian disaster” in the Horn of Africa, the Guardian reports (Tran, 8/18). The officials “called for a twin-pronged approach to tackle the food crisis, stressing immediate relief and the strengthening of the resilience of affected communities to enable them to cope with future shocks in the drought-prone region,” the U.N. News Centre reports (8/18).
