Latest KFF Health News Stories
Meningitis Vaccine Showing Success In West Africa
The New York Times reports on the success of a new meningococcal vaccine in West Africa, where very few cases of the disease have been detected in countries that use MenAfriVac, which costs 50 cents per dose.
Where Does Non-Emergency Food Aid Fit In Development?
“Pre-positioning food stocks has some important advantages besides saving time: it can lower program costs for the food itself (by minimizing purchases during food price spikes) and shipping (by avoiding bunching of shipments). Mostly, however, it’s crazy that the Congress still requires that U.S. food aid be bought here and transported around the world on U.S.-flagged ships,” Kimberly Ann Elliott, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, writes on the “Views from the Center” blog.
Local Misconceptions Of Children’s Immune Systems Hindering HIV Treatment In Malawi, Study Says
Some caregivers in rural Malawi have expressed a reluctance to begin antiretroviral therapy for children living with HIV because of a belief that their “bodies were too weak for pills and their blood was ‘still raw,’ but that as it ‘ripened’ with time, HIV-related opportunistic infections would leave them,” according to a study presented this week at the 1st International HIV Social Science and Humanities Conference in Durban, South Africa, PlusNews reports.
New York Times Examines Evolving Role Of Social Media In Disease Tracking Efforts
The New York Times examines how social media is changing efforts to monitor the spread of diseases. According to the article, “technology is democratizing the disease-hunting process, upsetting the old equilibrium by connecting people through channels effectively outside government control. While the online chatter can be unproductive or even dangerous
World Economic Forum On East Asia Panel Calls For Governments To Do More To Achieve MDGs
Economists at a meeting of the World Economic Forum on East Asia called on governments to do more to meet the Millennium Development Goal targets, VOA News reports (Padden, 6/13).
Large Donations Help GAVI Raise $4.3B, Exceeding Goal
“Large donations from the U.K., Norway and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped a global vaccine charity raise $4.3 billion at a summit Monday, exceeding its targets and allowing it to carry out all its immunization plans through 2015,” the Wall Street Journal reports. The U.K. pledged $1.34 billion to the GAVI Alliance, the Gates Foundation promised $1 billion and Norway offered $677 million (Whalen, 6/14).
FAO Initiative Aims To Expand Sustainable Crop Production Methods Among Small Farmers
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report on Monday outlining a new initiative that aims to expand sustainable crop production, Wall Street Journal’s “The Source” blog reports.
Providing Aid Is Not An Overly Generous Act
Noting that aid “has mixed impacts,” Jonathan Glennie, a research fellow with the Overseas Development Institute, writes in the Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog” that “there is one argument against aid that we need to tackle head on; the idea that we cannot afford aid, that we are being over-generous, especially in a time of cuts at home.”
Meeting Promotes Partnership To End Malnutrition In First 1,000 Days Of Life
Government officials, nutrition and health experts, as well as civil society advocates from around the world, met in Washington, D.C., on Monday to promote the 1,000 Days Partnership, which launched in September 2010, VOA News reports in a piece featuring quotes from U.S. officials about efforts to end child deaths from malnutrition (DeCapua, 6/13).
GOP Presidential Hopefuls Debate Health Law, Medicare
In the first major meeting of the run up to 2012, the Republican presidential contenders skewered President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy and pledged to repeal his historic health overhaul.
GOP Governors Seek More Medicaid Flexibility
Although not all Republican governors are pushing to change Medicaid into a block-grant program, there seems to be general agreement for seeking greater flexibility in how states spend Medicaid dollars. Reports also persist that some Democratic lawmakers appear open to plans to chip away at Medicaid’s requirements.
A selection of viewpoints from around the country.
Report: Health Care Industry Offers Significant Opportunity
A PricewatershouseCoopers report concluded that, because health care spending will account for as much as 20 percent of the U.S. economy by 2019, certain types of companies will have the chance to take advantage of this growth.
Regulators Remove Restrictions On Aetna’s Medicare Sales
The sanctions had blocked Aetna Inc. from marketing Medicare plans and enrolling new beneficiaries. Now that they have been lifted, Aetna has indicated it will again promote its Medicare Advantage offerings. Meanwhile, Aetna has also purchase Genworth Finanacial Business.
Studies Examine Surgery Survival Odds, Hospital Readmission Risks
News outlets report on a pair of studies related to Medicare populations.
State Roundup: Conn.’s ‘Moderate’ Medicaid Cuts; Calif. Adult Day Care At Risk
News outlets report on state health policy issues.
Obama Administration Regulatory Review Won’t Include Health Law Rules
An official from the Department of Health and Human Services told a House oversight subcommittee that the health law’s regulations are too new for a second look. However, some Republican members of the panel disagreed, saying that the waivers that have been granted are reason enough for such examination.
Essential Benefits Rule, McKinsey Study Continue To Draw Headlines
Also, Neal Katyal, acting solicitor general who has argued four of the cases challenging the health law before appeals courts, has announced that he will leave the Department of Justice at the conclusion of the current Supreme Court term.
