Latest KFF Health News Stories
Global Fund Approves 79 Grants With Two-Year Commitment Of $1.7B
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria Board of Directors on Wednesday approved 79 grants with a two-year commitment of “$1.7 billion dollars for projects against the diseases, amid warnings that some hard-hit African countries were being left out,” Agence France-Presse reports. The commitment, according to Ethiopian Health Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who chair’s the Global Fund’s board, “shows that even in hard economic times, we can continue to expand the fight against the three diseases” (12/15).
Clinton Outlines QDDR Recommendations At Launch Event
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton released the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) on Wednesday at the State Department, “pledging to focus more on conflict prevention and elevate the roles of U.S. ambassadors in coordinating the work of all U.S. agencies working abroad,” the Washington Post reports (Sheridan, 12/16).
U.S., South Africa Sign PEPFAR Partnership Agreement
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Tuesday signed a “partnership agreement that will guide efforts on fighting HIV/AIDS in the African nation,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports (Wessels, 12/15).
Health Law Challenges Shift To Florida Courtroom
Today marks a “new day in court” as oral arguments will be heard in a Florida courtroom regarding the 20-state legal challenge. This lawsuit includes issues surrounding the health law’s individual mandate and Medicaid expansions.
White House To Hold Meetings With Stakeholders On Overhaul Implementation
News outlets offer reports about action on the implementation front, including White House stakeholder meetings and a vote by state insurance officials regarding the information health plans should provide consumers.
News outlets report on a variety of state developments.
Houston Chronicle: Testing Flex Money Limits
The Houston Chronicle details how the Internal Revenue Service is likely to view certain types of medical expenses in the context of flexible benefits plans.
Holder, Sebelius Convene Day-Long Summit On Health Care Fraud
In other news, a federal district judge upholds the prohibition on three former executives from the company that made the painkiller OxyContin – they will continue to be barred from involvement with any government-financed health care program.
Positive Economic Signs Evident In Health Sector
News outlets report that the health care sector has recently been posting more jobs and been the focus of more private equity investment interest.
Collaboration Seeks To Uncover The Best Strategies To Improve Health Care, Lower Costs
A group of health care organizations are joining forces to compile evidence on the strategies the work best to address a variety of common, and usually expensive, medical conditions. Meanwhile, the nation’s new Medicare chief is hitting the road to hear ideas about improving the health care system.
President Signs One-Year ‘Pay-Fix’; Medicare Tests Competitive Bidding For Common Medical Equipment
The Kansas City Star reports on a new Medicare program that will apply competitive bidding to common medical equipment and supplies. Meanwhile, President Obama signed into law yesterday a one-year delay in Medicare payment cuts for physicians.
Today’s op-eds come from news outlets including Politico, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.
First Edition: December 16, 2010
Early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the continuing analysis of how the health law is faring in the courts.
IPS Examines NGOs’ Call To Reform World Bank’s Funding For Poorest Countries
“With the World Bank expected to announce a new funding package for the world’s poorest countries Wednesday, NGOs are making a last-minute appeal to donor countries to use their leverage to compel reforms at the institution,” Inter Press Service reports in an article examining the changes being requested and considered.
Three-Day African Food Security Forum Opens In Accra
The 26th Annual Meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network , “which serves as the platform for deliberation on food production and food security in Africa,” opened on Tuesday in Accra, Ghana, the Ghana News Agency reports. The three-day forum will examine “the agricultural and food situation for the 2010/2011 cropping season and come out with measures on tackling food crises,” according to the news service. Food security officials from the Sahel and West Africa are attending the forum, in addition to representatives from international groups, including the Economic Community Of West African States, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Oxfam, UNICEF and the World Food Program.
The Justice Department makes clear its intent to appeal the Virginia federal court decision striking at the health overhaul’s individual mandate. Meanwhile, news outlets explore the reach of that decision, noting that it may be more narrow than the reaction immediately following its release would indicate.
Personalities, Politics Emerge From Decision’s Aftermath
Personalities and politics swirl around news about Monday’s ruling in the Virginia health law challenge, with news outlets detailing how judges in different cases reached their conclusions and examining Judge Henry Hudson’s ties to a GOP consulting firm as well as how. More reports also surround the related political dust-ups and posturing.
Sun-Times: Medicare Wants Pharmacists Out Of Plan D Decision-Making Process
Walgreens pharmacists are no longer giving customers advice about choosing Medicare Part D plans, a step that a Medicare spokesman said was “a good thing.”
The Baltimore Sun: Stent Sellers Were Allowed Inside Lab Despite Hospital Ban
News outlets examine how the marketing of medical devices and treatments impacts health care costs and physicians’ decisions.
