Latest KFF Health News Stories
Withdrawal Of Aid From Madagascar Hitting Poor Hard
The Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog” examines the effects of the withdrawal of international aid and debt relief from Madagascar following the country’s last coup in 2009.
Global Fund’s Transparency Is Essential And Saves Lives
In the Huffington Post, Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the Global Fund’s latest report on its investigation of its grants in Mali.
GAVI Appeals For $3.7B Ahead Of Pledging Conference Despite Lower Vaccine Prices
The GAVI Alliance has appealed to donors for $3.7 billion to be pledged during an upcoming conference despite announcements by several major pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of their vaccines for childhood diseases, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (6/6).
Stop TB Partnership Releases 5 TB Prevention Steps
Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, the Stop TB Partnership released five guidelines aimed at preventing tuberculosis, which results in one in four AIDS-related deaths, the U.N. News Centre writes.
Health Officials Rule Out Sprouts As Source Of German E. Coli Outbreak
Health officials in Germany are continuing to search for the source of an E. coli outbreak after tests on suspected sprouts from a farm in the north of the country came back negative, Deutsche Welle reports.
Conference Panel Examines Manufacturing Of Nutrition-Rich Foods
IRIN reports on a World Conference on Humanitarian Studies panel discussion about the manufacturing of nutrition-rich foods to treat malnutrition in the developing world.
GSK, Crucell To Test Second-Generation Malaria Vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline and drug company Crucell, a division of Johnson & Johnson, will collaborate with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to test a second-generation malaria vaccine “within the next couple of months,” Reuters reports.
HP Partners With Nonprofit To Help Detect Malaria Outbreaks, Improve Health Monitoring In Botswana
Hewlett-Packard on Monday announced it will provide “smartphones and cloud computing technology to nonprofit group Positive Innovation for the Next Generation (PING)” to help improve health monitoring and malaria detection in Botswana, Venture Beat reports (Takahashi, 6/6).
Dems Push For Debt Deal That Doesn’t Include Medicare Cuts
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., expressed optmistism that ongoing budget talks will result in legislation to raise the debt limit that includes changes to health care entitlement programs.
Santorum Stakes Out Medicare, Budget Positions
News outlets report that former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., may turn out to be Rep. Paul Ryan’s, R-Wis., biggest advocate. He gave a strong defense of Ryan’s plan to revamp Medicare and control its costs.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
State Roundup: Texas Legislator Seeks To Force Vote On ‘Health Care Compact’
News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues.
As Health Care Technology Advances, Costs Increase
Whether it is new medical devices or cancer treatments, the new approaches seem to cost more than the older ones.
Doctors’ Move To Electronic Records Requires Serious Commitment
Several news organization look at recent efforts by health providers to use new technology.
Indiana Official Offers New Option To Keep Medicaid For Planned Parenthood
As a federal court judge heard an appeal to overturn Indiana’s ban of Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, the state solicitor general suggests that the state payments could continue if the organization spins off its abortion clinics onto a separate corporate entity.
The NY Times: A Community Hospital Closes
One of the few remaining hospitals in Cleveland’s most improverished neighborhoods will close. Meanwhile, Modern Healthcare reports on top hospitals’ infection rates.
Health Care Costs Are Eating Away At The Nation’s Military Budget
NPR reports that the costs of taking care active-duty troops and retirees — in the form of pensions and and health care costs — will continue to grow.
Health Law Challenges And Appeals Percolate
The date has been set — July 13 — for oral arguments to be heard in a California appeal of a lawsuit against the health overhaul filed by the Pacific Justice Institute. And, in Kansas, the attorney general has signed on to an amicus brief that supports, but does not join, in a lawsuit challenging the measure.
ACO Defenders Emerge As Comment Period Ends
Meanwhile, in other health law implementation news, timing issues related to Department of Health and Human Services regulations are flummoxing some states.
States Wrestle With Medicaid Program Costs
According to NPR, 15 states are trying to cut back on their Medicaid spending. Meanwhile, a California lawsuit, in which patients and providers are suing the state over changes to the program, is moving forward.
