The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
55,441 - 55,460 of 112,564 Results
The New York Times examines "[n]ew methods of quickly sequencing entire microbial genomes [that] are revolutionizing the field" of molecularly epidemiology and could help public health officials identify and track disease outbreaks.
In Sierra Leone, "one of Africa's poorest countries, ... scarce health care resources and the stigma surrounding epilepsy add up to a 'treatment gap' of more than 90 percent -- meaning that fewer than 10 percent of the estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Sierra Leoneans with epilepsy are getting the treatment they need," the New York Times reports. "Epilepsy treatment gaps are driven largely by low income and rural location, making sub-Saharan Africa a treatment-gap hot spot. Treatment in Sierra Leone is not expensive," but "[t]he costs of untreated epilepsy, on the other hand, are enormous, especially in lost productivity," the newspaper writes.
In the refugee camps in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince nearly two years after a devastating earthquake, "health and human rights officials warn of another crisis: an explosion of tent babies," the Miami Herald reports. "Haiti's tent baby phenomenon comes as the country continues to struggle to rebuild, and as the nearly 600,000 Haitians still living in hundreds of squalid camps in quake-ravaged communities see the avalanche of medical assistance from foreign doctors and nongovernmental organizations disappear," primarily because of a lack of funding, the newspaper writes.
Meanwhile, home health advocates are launching campaigns to ward off more Medicare payment cuts when Congress returns to Capitol Hill.
"Tripoli's hospitals have put the worst behind them after an end to the fighting in Libya's capital opened the way to a flood of aid and enabled medical staff to get back to work, aid agencies said on Monday," Reuters reports, adding, "Although the violence in Tripoli has not completely ended, the relative peace has reassured aid agencies that they can now get into the capital."
Also in today's health policy headlines, the Wall Street Journal reports that a new state-federal program will put steep health premium increases under the microscope and the Washington Post showcases a map detailing state-by-state progress on creating health exchanges.
Inter Press Service profiles a program launched by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) to develop antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) specifically designed for children living with HIV/AIDS. "The program will focus exclusively on developing child-adapted formulations for children under three, the most neglected segment in terms of availability of ARVs. The DNDi hopes to have new pediatric-specific medicines available between 2014 and 2016," IPS writes. The article examines pediatric HIV treatment issues in India, Kenya and Brazil (Frayssinet et al., 8/29).
Chagas, which is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 18 million people worldwide, but is particularly prevalent in Latin American countries, "where a bug called the vinchuga, sometimes known as the kissing bug (because it bites people on their faces while they sleep), transmits the disease," the Atlantic reports. The parasite "remains dormant in peoples' bodies for up to 30 years, until it kills them suddenly by stopping their hearts or rupturing their intestines," the magazine writes.
The poll also shows that, among people with employer-sponsored health insurance, very few would accept changes - such as a more restricted list of doctors or hospitals - to their current coverage levels.
Several N.C. businesses will now offer employees the opportunity to use a well-known medical home network that has served primarily Medicaid enrollees. Meanwhile, in California, hospitals and doctors are complaining that the state has not given them adequate details about its plans to cut Medicaid costs.
News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues.
A small selection of health policy opinions and editorials.
Kansas Health Institute News reports on a new manual designed to help state legislators fight implementation of the health law.
A new AP-LifeGoesStrong.com poll finds that baby boomers are losing the weight game, and that it will spell trouble for the health care system.
USA Today reports that the number of prosecutions so far this year marks a 24 percent increase over the total for all of fiscal year 2010.
The Washington Post's The Fix reports that, according to a Pew poll, nearly eight in 10 Americans have been paying attention this August to the rowdy issues and answers at these events.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report about a new federal and state program that will apply scrutiny to any health-premium increase of more than 10 percent.
In analyzing Texas Gov. Rick Perry's health record, medical malpractice reform is one of the issues he appears to be most passionate about.
The Hill reports that a spokeswoman for the chairman of the NAIC's Professional Health Insurance Advisors Task Force said no major action on the issue was planned for the group's conference. In other news, MSNBC reports that, as insurance prices rise, options appear to diminish, creating questions about how much relief the health law will provide. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explores health reform's winners and losers.
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
© 2026 KFF