Latest KFF Health News Stories
Civil Unrest Creates Serious Health Implications In South Sudan
BMJ reports on the health affects of civil unrest in South Sudan, which will become the world’s newest country on July 9.
U.S. To Provide Additional $7.5M In Humanitarian Aid For Cote D’Ivoire And Liberia
The U.S. will provide an additional $7.5 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia, according to a statement from the State Department on Wednesday, RTTNews reports (6/16).
MenAfriVac More Effective, Less Expensive Than Older Meningitis Vaccines, Studies Say
The meningococcal vaccine MenAfriVac, which is made by the Indian generic drug company Serum Institute, is “dramatically better” at producing a protective effect among African children in three countries than “older so-called meningococcal polysaccaride vaccines, including Mencevax from GlaxoSmithKline,” according to a paper describing two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reports.
The White House on Wednesday outlined the schedule for First Lady Michelle Obama’s upcoming trip to Africa, which will be “focused on youth leadership, education, health and wellness,” Agence France-Presse reports(6/15).
“Japan plans to ask pregnant women and children to move away from radiation ‘hotspots’ that were found far away from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the government said on Thursday, reflecting new anxieties about the spread of radioactivity,” Reuters reports.
Disaster Preparedness To Be Incorporated Into UK Development Programs, DFID Report Says
“Preparing a country for disaster will become a core part of the UK government’s development programmes around the world to ensure a faster and more efficient response to major disasters,” the Department of International Development (DFID) said on Wednesday in an official response (.pdf) to Lord Paddy Ashdown’s independent review of humanitarian disasters that was issued in March, the Guardian reports.
U.S. Food Aid Policies Must Be Streamlined To Prevent A Food Security Crisis
Feed the Future programs “will indeed address hunger at its core, offering farmers the tools and opportunity they need to feed their families. … But on the other side of town we’ve deepened our investments in policies that increase food insecurity. A string of policy disasters … have driven food price spikes and punished the billions of people who live on less than two dollars a day,” Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, writes in a piece on The Hill’s “Congress Blog.”
ASEAN Members Sign New Action Plan To Fight Dengue
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday as part of an event marking ASEAN Dengue Day signed a new action plan aimed at fighting dengue in the region, the Jakarta Post reports.
Sarkozy Calls For G20 Agriculture Ministers To Establish Farm Database
“French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged G20 agriculture ministers to agree at talks in Paris next week on a farm database that would gather and store market-sensitive information such as food stocks,” Reuters reports. Sarkozy’s call came during a speech Thursday “to farm unions gathered at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development headquarters,” the news service writes (6/16).
Budget Talks: Ideas To Reduce Entitlement Spending Gain Traction
A report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission bolstered some of the options to squeeze billions in savings from Medicare. Meanwhile, Medicaid is facing significant cuts in the emerging budget deal.
GOP Governors Push For Medicaid Flexibility As Part Of Debt-Cutting Deal
These Republican officials argue that as federal funding has expanded, so has federal control. Their argument to include the measure in debt-ceiling legislation is raising concern among some Medicaid advocates.
Hospital Prices Up, According To Bureau Of Labor Statistics
Modern Healthcare reports that consuemr prices for hospital services increased in May and April.
State Roundup: Few States Raise Taxes To Ease Budgets
News services report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Viewpoints: Medicare Eligibility Age; Medicare ‘Scares’; Questions About Fla. Medicaid Managed Care
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
NPR: Medical Errors In Outpatient Settings May Exceed Those In Hospitals
Meanwhile, the Oregonian reports that many Oregon surgery centers are “ignoring” the state’s voluntary reporting system.
Politics, Personalities Swirl Around Health Overhaul
Whether it’s more skirmishes over the individual mandate, pushes to repeal and replace the sweeping overhaul or state-level pressure to join lawsuits challenging the measure, the health law continues to be a part of high-stakes political discourse.
Federal Health Law Implementation Drives State Policy Debates
Examples of implementation activity at the state level stem from preparations underway for health insurance exchanges.
