Latest KFF Health News Stories
IPS Examines Access To Medicine In Malawi
“Health experts say [an] inadequate number of nurses and pharmacists is among the leading factors denying people access to medicines in Malawi,” Inter Press Service writes in an article examining medication shortages in rural Malawi.
World Health Assembly Delays Destruction Of Smallpox Reserves For Three Years
Following “two days of heated debate,” representatives meeting at the World Health Assembly in Geneva decided to delay for three years the destruction of smallpox virus reserves held by the U.S. and Russia, rejecting a U.S. plan that would have delayed the action for five years, the Associated Press reports (5/24).
EDITORIAL: G8 Should Tell The Truth On Aid Targets
“The final communiques haven’t been written. But the word on the street is that when leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized countries meet in France this week, they will claim that wealthy countries have come close to fulfilling their 2005 promise to boost annual development aid by $50 billion by 2010. They are not even in the ballpark,” a New York Times editorial states, before noting data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showing that aid fell $19 billion short of that goal.
GSK Partners With NGOs To Support Health Care Workers In LDCs
Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports that GlaxoSmithKline announced Tuesday it has partnered with three non-governmental organizations to address the shortage of primary health care providers in least developed countries (LDCs).
Disputes Over ACO Rule, IPAB, MLR, Health Law Continue
Other hot topics — the IPAB, the medical-loss ratio rule and the health law’s impact on employer-sponsored health care — also claim headlines today. Meanwhile, MinnPost analyzes executive orders by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Miami Herald Explores Pilot Program For Medical Homes
House calls are part of the care encouraged for the sickest patients.
Poll Finds Popularity For Medicaid Program
A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that most Americans oppose the GOP plan to cut Medicaid, throwing into question the conventional wisdom that this health insurance program for the poor lacks the widespread public support generally attached to Medicare.
State News: N.Y.C. Hospitals Face New Cuts; Vt. Bill Signing Expected Thursday
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
State Legislatures Struggling With Efforts To Fund Health Programs
News outlets report on efforts from several states with tight budgets to provide health services.
States Consider Bills That Affect Payment, Health Care Quality
Texas mulss performance-based payments while California docs oppose a mammography measure.
Viewpoints: Sebelius, Orszag On Medicare Costs; Has The Minnesota GOP Lost Its Way?
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
PBS’ NewHour Examines Health Insurance For ‘Urban Poor’ In Pakistan
PBS’ NewsHour special correspondent Saima Mohsin on Monday reported from Pakistan on “an innovative health insurance plan for the urban poor.” In Pakistan, 99 percent of the country’s low-income population does not have health insurance, and this plan, called Naya Jeevan, “hopes to change that. … The equivalent of just $2.50 a month provides access to private health care and, crucially, regular health checks for contagious or infectious diseases as a preventive measure for a country that is still battling polio, malaria and hepatitis.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the outcome in yesterday’s special election in New York, and what it might mean for Republicans and their Medicare plan.
Russia Spent More Than $80M In Health-Related Foreign Aid In 2010, Report Says
The Russian Federation in 2010 spent more than $80 million to improve health in developing countries, according to a report prepared by the country’s Ministry of Finance highlighting “how the country is meeting its G8 commitments ahead of the upcoming summit in Deauville, France,” the Moscow Times reports.
Better Malaria Diagnostic Test May Cause Unintended Increase In Antibiotic Use, Study Says
Though the implementation of rapid malaria tests has reduced the administration of unnecessary antimalarial medications in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam, “antibiotic prescriptions for fever rose by nearly a quarter, from 49 to 72 percent, raising fears that the behaviour will contribute to growing antibiotic resistance,” according to a study published in Malaria Journal last month, SciDev.Net reports.
AFP Examines Expansion Of Indian Drug Companies In South Africa
Agence France-Presse examines how Indian drug companies have infiltrated the South African market over the last few years in an effort to have broader reach in Africa. India’s pharmaceutical industry is now the second largest in the world by volume, according to AFP.
Inter Press Service examines the global funding shortfall for antiretroviral treatment programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, noting that the U.N. General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS next month in New York “will shape the direction of the global response to HIV and AIDS for the next decade and beyond.”
OPINION: Global Food Security Requires ‘Results-Driven Development’ Approach
“As we work to develop solutions to the challenge of global food security, it’s essential that we focus on results-driven development in both the public and private sectors,” Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., and chair of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Business Advisory Council, writes on The Hill’s “Congress Blog.”
Representatives of member nations at the World Health Assembly in Geneva “on Monday held a stormy discussion on the future of smallpox virus samples, which Russia and the United States are seeking to preserve while others want them destroyed,” Agence France-Presse reports.
Global Fund Freezes Grants To China Over Suspected Misuse Of Funds
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has frozen “payments of grants to China worth hundreds of millions of dollars over suspected misuse of the money and the government’s reluctance to involve community groups in the projects,” the Associated Press reports (5/24).
