Archives: Morning Breakouts

During her testimony, the Health and Human Services secretary took questions on the health law and pointed out - according to Modern Healthcare - funding concerns related to rural critical access hospitals and anti-fraud and abuse efforts.

Among the recent news developments are reports that a House panel will vote on a plan to prevent use of the health law's tax credits to provide or pay for insurance that covers abortion. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood continues to be embroiled in a funding debate.

House Republicans issued a report Wednesday and plan to hold a hearing Friday to investigate AARP's support for the health law as well as the organization's business interests.

Politico reports that the tea party movement is finding "surprising success." Meanwhile, KHN reports that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli gives his state's health challenge good odds of winning in court.

In South Sudan, which is poised to become "the world's newest country" in July, "90% of the population lives on less than $1 a day," and the region is plagued by multiple systemic health issues as a result of years of war, Lancet Infectious Diseases Newsdesk reports.

Several health advocacy groups have submitted a letter [.pdf] to U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Anand Grover "outlining their objections" to negotiations over a trans-Pacific partnership (TPP) agreement being negotiated by the governments of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam, claiming that the agreement would inhibit access to low-cost medications in developing countries, BMJ News reports.

World Food Program (WFP) delegates "on Wednesday stressed the need for major food aid for North Korea, while a cautious South Korea called for transparent distribution of any assistance," Agence France-Presse reports.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday said U.S. government sensors had detected radiation believed to be from the damaged nuclear plant, Reuters writes. But those levels are significantly lower than what is considered dangerous for people, according to the agency. "The EPA said 12 air monitoring locations across the country have identified trace amounts of radioactive isotopes believed to have come from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11," the news service reports. In a press release, the EPA said, "These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are still far below levels of public health concern" (Gardner, 3/28).

International aid groups are "scrambling to engage members of Congress and the American public in a dialogue about the need to secure U.S. foreign assistance funding" as the "next deadline for the U.S. Congress to pass a full fiscal year 2011 budget or another short-term continuing resolution is fast approaching" and discussions on the FY12 budget need to begin, the Devex blog "Obama's Foreign Aid Reform" reports.

These "policy riders" restrict spending on certain social and regulatory initiatives, including implementation of the health law and funding for Planned Parenthood.

A report released Wednesday details which counties within states are the healthiest, and which are not-so-healthy.

In Arizona, legislation was signed into law to outlaw sex- or race-based abortions. In Kansas, a "fetal pain" measure has been sent to the governor for his signature.