Latest KFF Health News Stories
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).
Planned Parenthood To Cut Back Abortion Services in Ariz.
Meanwhile, the group may ask federal court to release federal funds in Kansas.
State News: Calif. Ruling Limits Medical Damages; Ariz. Medicaid Case Appealed
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Report: Gains In Enrolling Kids In Public Health Care Programs
The report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the number of children eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program fell. Meanwhile, HHS also awarded $40 million in grants for more outreach.
Medicare costs grew at their slowest pace in six years, according to Standard & Poor’s Healthcare Economic Indices.
Research Roundup: Majority Of Docs Face Malpractice Claims
This week’s studies and reports come from the Government Accountability Office, the Journal Of General Internal Medicine, New England Journal Of Medicine, Harvard Medical School’s Department Of Health Care Policy, Health Affairs, the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
White House Budget Chief Orders Agencies To Find Savings
The signal indicates a need for real cuts from discretionary appropriations without budget gimmicks.
First Edition: August 19, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a range of reports looking ahead to the work of the deficit ‘super committee’ and other budget news.
Isolation of HIV Antibodies Advances Search For AIDS Vaccine
A team of researchers has “identified 17 potent antibodies whose discovery opened up valuable pathways in the search for an AIDS vaccine,” Agence France-Presse reports (8/17). The researchers “at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), the Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences Inc., a LabCorp company, report in the current issue of Nature” that the antibodies are “capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS,” according to a joint press release (8/17).
The Perry Record On Reform, Medicaid And HPV Vaccinations
Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s high-profile launch of his campaign for the GOP nomination for president means fresh scrutiny on his record and platform regarding health issues.
U.K., Islamic Countries Pledge Additional Funds For Famine Aid In Somalia
During a visit to the Somali capital of Mogadishu, U.K. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell on Wednesday pledged an additional $41.5 million in aid to Somalia, to be distributed through UNICEF, BBC News reports. The funding will enable UNICEF “to provide supplementary rations for up to 192,000 people
