Latest KFF Health News Stories
New York Times Reports On Rise, Fall Of Microloans In Developing Countries
The New York Times reports on how microlending has “prompted political hostility in Bangladesh, India, Nicaragua and other developing countries.” Such negativity “toward microfinance is a sharp reversal from the praise and good will that politicians, social workers and bankers showered on the sector in the last decade.” The article notes “[p]hilanthropists and investors poured billions of dollars into nonprofit and profit-making microlenders, who were considered vital players” in helping to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the MDG target to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Such attention “helped the sector reach more than 91 million customers, most of them women, with loans totaling more than $70 billion by the end of 2009,” with half of all borrowers from India and Bangladesh.
News Outlets Examine Potential Implications Of Record High Food Price Levels
Though world food prices “jumped to a record high” in the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) latest index, the agency “is drawing comfort from the absence of widespread riots, usually the defining element of a food crisis,” the Financial Times reports looking at the factors that have led some food prices to rise significantly without sparking international panic. “To an outsider, the relative calm, compared with riots in more than 30 countries three years ago, is striking. But a closer look reveals big differences to the situation then, differences that make clear why the world is not facing a crisis. At least not yet,” the newspaper writes.
New York Times Examines Bureaucracy At U.N.
“The United Nations is widely known for functions like peacekeeping, health programs, refugee support and the International Court of Justice. But those are just a part of its bureaucracy, whose size and structure still bewilder many of its own employees,” the New York Times writes in an article that examines how the current economic situation could impact the role of the U.N. in the future.
Oxfam, Amnesty International Release Reports Almost One Year Since Haiti’s Earthquake
“A new report [.pdf] from international aid agency Oxfam says reconstruction work has barely begun in Haiti following the country’s catastrophic earthquake a year ago,” RTE News reports (1/6). Even in developed countries, disaster recovery can be a slow process, the report states. But it also “said efforts in Haiti had been paralyzed by a lack of leadership from the Haitian government and the international community,” Reuters reports.
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, was sworn in Wednesday as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, kicking off a GOP agenda that press reports say will set the tone for the 2012 election.
As the House vote on repealing the health law looms in the near future, some Democrats are contemplating their votes in the context of stiff election pressure or expressing their doubts about the measure’s individual mandate.
California Insurer Seeks Significan Rate Increase
In other insurance industry news, Politico reports that insurance brokers could have pay cut by as much as 50 percent as a result of the health overhaul.
News reports related to hospital developments.
Administration Reverses Federal Rule On End-Of-Life Planning
The rule change and the reaction to it appear to highlight the continued politics that surround the issue.
U.S. Health Expenditures Increased 4% In 2009
This increase represents the smallest one in at least a half a century. At the same time, however, medical costs ate up a record share of the overall economy.
Obama Health Team Undergoes Reorganization
As work to implement and defend the health law kicks into high gear, the Obama administration is making major changes among the key players.
Today’s Opinions: Views Of The Health Law From Rove, Bachmann, Kondracke
Today’s opinions include those from The Wall Street Journal and Roll Call.
States confront a variety of health policy developments and challenges.
First Edition: January 6, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the increase in health expenditures the nation experienced in 2009.
Indian Drugmaker Seeks To Make, Sell Generic Version Of Pfizer’s HIV Drug
The Indian drugmaker Natco Pharma “said Wednesday it has informed Pfizer Inc. that it wants to make and sell a low-cost generic version of the U.S. company’s [drug] maraviroc for treating the HIV infection under a so-called ‘compulsory license’ [CL],” Dow Jones Newswires/Smart Money reports. “Natco Pharma’s move is significant because, if successful, the Indian generic drug maker will set a precedent for other Indian companies to override multinational drug makers’ patents for the treatments of diseases ranging from cancer to hypertension,” according to the new service.
Reuters examines how the efforts of “budget-minded lawmakers [in the new U.S. Congress will] seek to curb costs without undercutting military operations” could impact U.S.-backed aid programs, including those in Afghanistan. “‘[Y]ou’ll see a Republican party focused on funding the military effort while trying to cut back on civilian assistance,’ said one Democratic congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity,” according to Reuters. “A senior Republican aide said many lawmakers in the new Congress would be reluctant to fund State Department or aid programs, especially those in conflict zones, in part because they believed State had poorly managed its activities in Iraq.”
Sudan Referendum Approaches, Highlighting Health, Development Challenges Facing The South
“Southern Sudan is scheduled to start voting on January 9 on whether to become an independent country or remain part of Sudan, Africa’s largest nation which has been wracked by decades of conflict,” CNN reports (Wilkinson, 1/5). On Tuesday during a visit to the southern capital of Juba, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir “said he would celebrate the results of the referendum even if the south chooses to secede, and pledged last week to help build a secure, stable and ‘brotherly’ southern state if it votes for independence,” Agence France-Presse reports.
