Latest KFF Health News Stories
Haiti Presents Plan To Immunize 90 Percent Of Newborns
Haiti has a plan to vaccinate 90 percent of newborns by 2015, according to the Pan American Health Organization, but “[w]hether the plan works will depend on Haiti’s ability to reverse decades of incompetent government and bad coordination among aid groups,” as well as whether there will be funding, the New York Times reports.
OPINION: Innovative Funding Mechanisms Needed For Global Development
“Innovation in development finance doesn’t preclude innovation in other areas of development policy. In fact, they must go hand in hand,” Jamie Drummond, executive director of ONE, writes in a post on the Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog,” noting findings from his group’s annual report.
U.S. Envoy To Visit North Korea To Assess Food Shortages
Robert King, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea’s human rights issues, will lead an official visit to North Korea next week to assess food shortages in the country, according to a report from Yonhap news agency, Agence France-Presse reports.
Bill Gates Calls For Greater Immunization Efforts In World Health Assembly Address
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Tuesday called for a “Decade of Vaccines” in a keynote address at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, saying strengthening immunization programs against infectious diseases worldwide could save 10 million lives by 2020, Reuters reports. He said countries should aim for 90 percent immunization coverage against diseases such as polio, meningitis and pneumonia and said pharmaceutical companies should work to make existing and new vaccines affordable to developing countries, according to the news agency (Nebehay, 5/17).
WHO Director-General Outlines Vision For Reform In World Health Assembly Opening Address
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on Monday laid out her vision for reforming the international health agency in the opening address of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, saying she sees “a WHO that gives a bigger voice to the many partners working on health, but encourages them to speak with a coherent voice that responds, first and foremost, to the needs and priorities as defined by recipient countries,” Intellectual Property Watch reports.
Two Drug Makers Will Disclose Prices They Charge UNICEF For Vaccines
The Telegraph reports that when “UNICEF began publishing prices agreed with suppliers for a range of vaccines over the past decade, … some companies
Study Finds Three-Month TB Treatment Regimen Just As Effective As Standard Longer Course
“Health officials on Monday celebrated a faster treatment for people who have tuberculosis but aren’t infectious, after investigators found a new combination of pills knocks out the disease in three months instead of nine,” the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports (Stobbe, 5/16).
As Federal Gov’t. Hits Debt Limit, Budget Plans Draw Attention
Politico reports that a proposed cap on discretionary spending for labor, health and human services and education programs would be felt most acutely by poor people.
GOP Intra-Party Divisions Emerge Over Medicare Revamps
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., offered a forceful defense of his budget plan that includes a proposal to make major changes in the Medicare program after Newt Gingrich, the newly minted candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, ripped the plan.
Early Rainy Season Brings Cholera To Cameroon’s Capital
An early rainy season has caused cholera to sweep through Cameroon’s capital Yaounde, “causing more than 250 deaths in two months alone, according to the government,” AlertNet reports.
State Efforts To Protect Patients Fall Short, Group Says
The Baltimore Sun reports on the role of physician boards in protecting patients as well as how a self-referral rule is faring in the courts.
Gingrich Focuses Attention On Aging Research
The presidential hopeful urged more investment in Alzheimer’s research as a step that would lead to savings down the road. Meanwhile, The AP reports how the tight budget could pit scientific priorities against each other in a funding competition.
Viewpoints: Gingrich Fallout; Sebelius, Matsui On Medicare Reform; Physicians On Their Rights
A selection of opinions and editorials from a rich variety of publications.
Two GOP Judges Will Be On Health Law’s Next Review Panel
The Wall Street Journal previews some of the dynamics in play as the health law takes its next step to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
State Senators In Minnesota And Iowa Pass Abortion Measures
News outlets report on the progress of bills dealing with abortion issues in Minnesota and Iowa.
Georgia Health News details what it calls “an epic battle” — the fight against AIDS.
State Roundup: Gov. Brown Offers Revisions To Health Budget
News outlets report on state health policy issues.
Rural Patients More Likely Than City Dwellers To Have Common Surgeries
The findings were viewed as surprising and challenge the notion that city-folk have better access to care.
GAO Report Looks At U.S. Aid For Food Emergencies, iWatch Reports
According to a GAO report (.pdf) issued last week, “the USAID program designed for food emergencies now spends more than half of its funding to cover multi-year shortages that have become the norm. About 96 percent of the food aid supplied in 2010 went to 21 countries that have received U.S. food aid for four years or more,” iWatch News reports.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the debt-ceiling limit and ongoing budget talks as well as the GOP’s emerging Medicare rift.
