Archives: Morning Breakouts

News outlets reported on the Republican-sponsored repeal measure, which was defeated in 47-51 vote. But a small piece of the law was repealed.

"Stockpiling antiviral flu drugs and vaccines saves lives and reduces disease in a flu pandemic," but the cost to maintain such a stockpile and deploy interventions in the event of an outbreak "is too expensive for around two thirds of the world's population, scientists said on Wednesday," Reuters reports.

Three studies published on Tuesday in PLoS Medicine show that "intermittent use of preventive antimalarial drugs can be beneficial in curbing the spread of the disease in children," Agence France-Presse reports (2/1).

On the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, the General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) gathered to discuss the continent's progress against HIV/AIDS, Walta Info reports.

Politico examines how Republicans' proposed budget cuts could affect foreign aid funding. The House Republican majority has recommended combining President Barack Obama's "State and foreign aid requests with 'nonsecurity' domestic spending and to cut appropriations to 2008 levels." According to Politico, "[t]he result could be a $16 billion, or nearly one-third, reduction in the resources available to State, which finds itself pitted against domestic programs also facing the ax."

As experts continue to parse the specifics of a federal Judge's Monday ruling striking down the health overhaul, experts speculate about what the Supreme Court could decide. Meanwhile, insurers, health industry stakeholders and even state officials mull their next steps.

State officials are sorting a legal decision issued Monday by a federal judge in Florida overturning the health law. Their challenge is to determine how and whether to proceed with their implementation responsibilities. Some, like Florida's governor, appear to favor taking steps to stall its progress.

News outlets report on some of the political issues surrounding the individual mandate and Monday's legal decision striking down the health law.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., plans to offer a "repeal" amendment to an unrelated piece of legislation.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "urged developed nations to help him wipe out polio 'once and for all' at an event to release his third annual letter [.pdf] Monday," Agence France-Presse reports.

January 12 marked one year since a major earthquake struck Haiti killing hundreds of thousands and significantly damaging its capital city, Port-au-Prince. To learn more about how the quake has affected health care in Haiti and get a sense of health priorities moving forward, Jaclyn Schiff of the Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report spoke with Wesler Lambert, a Haitian-born physician who has worked with Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante since 1997.