Latest KFF Health News Stories
Dems Say It’s Go Time On Health Reform Bill
Democrats in both the Senate and the House are urging action on health reform bills in Congress, with one Congressman suggesting they do so or delay their August recess, the Associated Press reports.
Finding Related To SIV In Monkeys Could Shed Light On HIV In Humans, Researchers Say
Researchers “believe they have found a ‘missing link’ in the evolution of the virus that causes AIDS,” based on findings from a study
A San Mateo County, Calif., program that provides in-home case management services for people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as other programs that assist people living with the virus, could be eliminated, forcing patients to obtain more expensive outpatient care, if proposed state budget cuts are approved, the San Francisco Examiner reports.
HUD To Distribute $310M In Housing Assistance Grants For People Living With HIV/AIDS
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday announced that it will provide several housing assistance grants to help low-income families living with HIV/AIDS, the Boston Globe reports.
Program Once Reserved For Alabama Inmates With HIV/AIDS Expanded To All Inmates
The Alabama Department of Corrections has expanded a re-entry program that provides newly released inmates with HIV/AIDS “with information on obtaining licenses [and] other documents and preparing for returning to life outside prison,” to all other inmates, the AP/USA Today/Montgomery Advertiser reports.
Study Examines Efficacy Of Merck Drug On HIV Reservoirs
Patients who added Merck’s HIV drug Isentress to their regular daily HIV drug regimen “fared no better than those who added a placebo to the mix,” as the drug failed to “reduce low-level reservoirs of HIV,” in the body, according to findings presented at the International AIDS Society conference in Cape Town, South Africa, Bloomberg reports.
Obama Pitches Health Reform To Public And Congress, Argues Inaction Is Unacceptable
In the prime time appearance, Obama said paying for health reform with a surtax on the wealthy meets his “principle” of avoiding taxes on the middle class.
Blue Dogs Shaping Proposals, Influencing Other Centrists
A host of Democrats and Republicans now count themselves among the rolls of those who question the long-term costs and repercussions of health reform as reform efforts slow considerably, The New York Times reports.
Sen. Hatch Leaves Bipartisan Negotiations, August Deadline Unlikely
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, removes himself from Sen. Max Baucus’s bipartisan health reform talks in the Senate Finance Committee, while Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., says President Barack Obama’s August deadline is unworkable.
Administration Shows Early Ties To Health Industry
The administration’s negotiations with the health industry date back to first weeks after President Obama’s inauguration, according to newly released visitor logs that show numerous visits by health industry lobbyists and executives to the White House.
Typhoid Vaccine Effectively Prevents Disease In Children, Study Finds
“A typhoid vaccine proved effective in the slums of India, where it not only helped prevent infection in children who received it, but also those in close contact who were unvaccinated,” according to a New England Journal of Medicine study published on Thursday, the AP/Washington Post reports (Chang, 7/22).
More Countries Move Ahead With H1N1 Vaccine Testing
The race to develop a H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine before the fall flu season ramped up Wednesday, after Australia launched the first human trials of the H1N1 vaccine and scientists from the U.S., China and Britain announced plans for human trials of an H1N1 vaccine in the coming weeks, AFP/France24.com reports.
Support For Reform Softens, Pollster Reflects On How Public Mood Is Shaped
Several surveys have shown a softening of support for a health reform, but pollsters say that the way the question is phrased matters a lot for the response.
Rural Americans And The Unemployed Struggle To Get Adequate Health Insurance
“For many of the 60 million people living in rural America, inadequate and unaffordable healthcare is an immediate and growing problem,” Reuters reports.
Businesses, Employers Sometimes Split On Health Reform
Employers around the country are split on supporting or opposing health reform “reducing the force of an opposition push,” just as business lobbying heats up in the fight, The Washington Post reports.
Indian Authorities Asked To Stop Licensing Artemisinin-Only Malaria Drugs
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) asked state drug licensing authorities to avoid authorizing new licenses for single drug formulations of artemisinin and withdraw existing licences for these types of drugs by the end of this month, livemint.com reports.
Democrats Squabble Over Proposed Medicare Payment Changes
“Several senior House Democrats voiced strong concern Wednesday with a proposal to empower the executive branch to restrain Medicare spending, adding fresh uncertainty to White House efforts to build support for health legislation,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Analyses: CBO Director Elmendorf Becomes Center Of Attention
Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, has been at the center of increasing debate over health care reform after his recent scoring of legislation. President Barack Obama met with him Monday in a move that has spurred Republican criticism.
IPS Examines How Funding Cuts Might Affect HIV/AIDS Treatment Programs Worldwide
Inter Press Service examines how funding cuts for international HIV/AIDS programs are already being felt worldwide and how this issue was discussed at the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, that concluded Wednesday.
