Latest KFF Health News Stories
NY-26 Election Results Make Dems Gleeful, Republicans Defensive
The results from the special congressional election in New York earlier this week have caused Democrats to see Medicare as a defining issue for the 2012 campaign. Republicans are scrambling to refine their message.
GOP In Hot Seat As Senate Dems Force Vote On House-Passed Ryan Budget
Just a day after Democrats claimed an upset win in the New York special election to fill a historically Republican-controlled congressional seat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a vote on the GOP budget as a means to force Republicans to go on the record regarding the plan to revamp Medicare. Most responded by standing by it.
India Pledges $5B In Aid To Africa To Help Continent Reach MDGs
India on Wednesday at the conclusion of the second India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pledged $5 billion in aid to Africa to help the continent reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Guardian reports.
Nature Special Issue Focuses On Vaccines
The May 26 issue of Nature explores vaccines, which the journal says “are responsible for some of the world’s greatest public health triumphs.” Though new vaccines for deadly diseases have been developed in the past 10 years, and more are in development, “funding is tight, and unfounded doubts about the safety of vaccines persist.” The issue features stories on polio, measles, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as issues surrounding vaccine rejection and hysteria about risk (5/26).
Kenya Considers How PEPFAR Technical Guidance On MSM Squares With Laws Against Homosexuality
PEPFAR’s recent release of its “Technical Guidance on Combination HIV Prevention” (.pdf) for men who have sex with men (MSM) “could force countries like Kenya who are strongly opposed to men having sex with men to backtrack,” Nairobi Star/allAfrica.com reports.
“The oil-rich governments of Sudan and Angola are among the worst in Africa for looking after children, while poorer Tanzania, Mozambique and Niger are the best,” according to a report from the African Child Policy Forum that ranked countries based on their health, education and social program budgets, Reuters reports.
Los Angeles Times Reports On Case Of Libyan Children Infected With HIV
The Los Angeles Times examines the case of more than 400 Libyan youth who were infected with HIV in a Benghazi hospital between 1997 and 1998, some say deliberately.
State Roundup: Budget Battles Continue In Statehouses
Fiscal issues dominate news from the nation’s state capitals.
OPINION: Bipartisan Consensus On Medical Research
“Good health makes good politics,” Michael Castle, a former Republican Congressman from Delaware, and Kaitlin Christenson, director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition, write in a Roll Call opinion piece that makes the case for widespread support for medical research that aims to improve global health.
OPINION: How Universities Can Advance Global Health
“I am glad to see that U.S. research universities, too, now all seem to boast programs in global health. But claiming to have programs in global health is not the same thing as creating programs that can make a difference to populations facing poverty and ill health,” Paul Farmer, chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and founding director of Partners In Health, writes in the Harvard Crimson.
GOP Presidential Hopefuls Offer Medicare, Health Reform Opinions
Pawlenty offers his Medicare policy positions with care while California Healthline looks at steps he took during his tenure as Minnesota’s governor to refashion the state’s health system. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich vows to repeal the health law.
State Lawmakers Take Up Efforts To Defund Planned Parenthood
After Congress failed in its recent attempt to cut off federal funding, lawmakers in several states are taking aim at the organization. Meanwhile, the House voted Wednesday to ban teaching health centers from using federal dollars to train physicians on how to perform abortions.
Sanofi-Aventis, Medtronic Under Scrutiny In Press Reports
ProPublica details alleged activities by Sanofi-Aventis to influence regulators regarding its brand-name blood thinner, Lovenox, while other news outlets report on Medtronic’s activities related to a biological agent used in back surgery.
California’s Largest Nonprofit Insurer Releases Details Of Executive Pay
This step was in response to a new state law designed to control health insurance costs.
Defense, VA Wrestle With Health Record System
The Washington Post reports that members of a Senate panel expressed concern that efforts so far have done little to cut through the red tape faced by many service members seeking care in the military health system.
Parties Differ On Selling Insurance Across State Lines
House Republicans view this policy as one of the key replacement planks in their “repeal and replace” strategy for the health law.
Tough Questioning Likely In June 8 Health Law Appeals Action
The judges slated to hear the June 8 oral arguments regarding the appeal in the multi-state challenge to the health law have been appointed by presidents from both parties.
Longer Looks: Vaccinating Against Addictive Drugs, The GOP’s Budget Hatchet Man
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web.
Everyone Has An Opinion About Dems’ NY Victory Impact On Medicare, Politics
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
WEBCAST: Rolling Out GHI On The Ground
A webcast is now available of a May 25 Kaiser Family Foundation briefing that explored the rollout of the U.S. government’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) on the ground, with a particular focus on the recently released GHI country-level strategies.
