Latest KFF Health News Stories
A McClatchy-Marist poll shoes a slim majority of voters favor the new law; Rep. Gary Ackerman dares Republicans to repeal health care with his “HIPA-CRIT” law; an Ohio judge allows a lawsuit against health care reform to proceed.
Democrats, Liberal Groups Urge GOP Lawmakers Who Opposed Health Law Now To Reject Federal Insurance
Voices from the left see an opportunity to hold GOP overhaul opponents accountable for their votes against the health law. Meanwhile, a new poll shows many voters think these lawmakers should walk the walk and reject their government coverage.
WHO/UN-HABITAT Report Documents Health Disparities Facing Women In Developing Country Urban Areas
Womens News Network/Guardian Development Network examines a WHO/United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) report released last week that highlighted the health disparities affecting populations living in urban areas. The article focuses on the impact of urban poverty on women’s health, noting: “Women suffering under poverty are especially sensitive to impacts of urbanisation as statistics show women in densely populated areas have a 1.5 times higher rate of HIV/AIDS than men. Women in cities also face higher dangers of contracting AIDS, a figure almost twice as high as their rural sisters” (11/23).
Middle East Meeting Addresses Global Food Security
At a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council to address global food security, ministers “pledged to a set of recommendations meant to improve co-operation and develop policies that could cope with a sudden interruption of food supplies” and vowed to “improve co-operation with international bodies such as the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on food security matters,” The National reports (Detrie, 11/24).
Poor Governance Major Cause Of Africa’s Water Problems, AfDB Report Says
A report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the 3rd Africa Water Week, points to poor governance as a major cause of the inadequate water supply that threatens the health of millions living in Africa, 234next.com reports (Abutu, 11/24).
Fla. GOP Takes Aim At Health Law; Hawaii Considers Cuts In Mental Health Services
States address a range of health policy issues.
Haiti Cholera Death Toll Increases, U.N. Boosts Estimate For Number Of Expected Cases
“The cholera epidemic in Haiti is gathering pace and some violence is expected when the country holds elections this week, U.N. officials warned Tuesday,” Agence France-Presse reports. The official death toll from cholera is now above 1,400, but “experts believe that the real toll is close to 2,000 dead and the number of cases is between 60,000 and 70,000 rather than the 50,000 given by the authorities, Nigel Fisher, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Haiti said,” according to the news service (11/23).
Medicaid: Texas GOP Activists Push To Drop The Program; Fla. Nurse Practitioners Vy For Larger Role
Former gubernatorial candidate wants Texas to refuse to set up state health insurance exchange
End-Of-Life Care Raises Difficult Questions About Quality Issues
Various news outlets report on end-of-life issues including PBS Frontline, which kicks off a series called “Facing Death.”
Opinions and editorials from around the country.
USAID’s Shah Announces Bureau For Food Security; Bread For The World Releases 2011 Hunger Report
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah announced on Monday the creation of a Bureau for Food Security within the agency “to manage the Obama administration’s Feed the Future initiative, which Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to turn over to USAID,” National Journal Daily reports. According to the article, Shah said, “This bureau will lead a whole-of-government effort to implement President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative, a multibillion-dollar international effort led by USAID to develop the agricultural sectors of a number of countries throughout the developing world.”
New Drug Research, Incidence Rates And Pope’s Comments Brighten AIDS Outlook
Some experts consider developments Tuesday to make that the most hopeful day during the epidemic’s 30-year run.
Public Health: Frequency Of Dialysis Treatment Questioned, Chemotherapy Drug Shortages
A new study suggests dialysis six days a week may result in better health.
Privacy Complaint Targets Online Health Sites
Consumer groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging popular health websites are collecting too much information from users.
New Insurers Rule Meets Resistance From Florida, Iowa
Florida officials plan to ask for a bye on the new health law’s requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care, and refund policyholders if they fall short.
First Edition: November 24, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest political skirmishes in the health overhaul debate as liberals focus on the new law’s congressional opponents and press them not to accept federal health insurance coverage.
Daily Oral Antiretroviral Reduces HIV Infection Risk In MSM By 44%, Study Finds
A study that included nearly 2,500 HIV-negative men and transgender women who have sex with men has shown that a daily dose of Truvada, a pill containing the AIDS drugs emtricitabine and tenofovir, “can reduce risk of contracting [HIV] by an average of 44%
AP Reports On ‘Significant’ Clarification Of Pope’s Comments On Condoms To Prevent HIV
The Associated Press/Washington Post reports that after questions arose about Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on the use of condoms to prevent HIV, which one translation “implied that he was referring primarily to homosexual sex, when condoms aren’t being used as a form of contraception,” Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi “told reporters Tuesday that he asked the pope whether he intended his comments to only apply to male prostitutes. Benedict replied that it really didn’t matter, that the important thing was the person in question took into consideration the life of the other, Lombardi said.”
The number of new HIV infections “has dropped by about one-fifth over the past decade but millions of people are still missing out on major progress in prevention and treatment,” according to the annual UNAIDS report released Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports. “In 2009, 2.6 million people contracted the HIV virus that causes AIDS, a decline of 19 percent over the 3.1 million recorded in” 1999 the report found, according to the news service (11/23).
