Latest KFF Health News Stories
Abortion Issue Could Derail Health Reform
Nineteen Democrats have written House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promising not to vote for a health bill that includes funding for abortion, igniting a debate that has the potential to derail a health care overhaul, NPR reports.
Upcoming Health IT Decisions Could Spell Success Or Failure
“An unprecedented effort to computerize the nation’s hospitals and physician offices could be the key to reducing crippling health care costs
HELP Committee Approves Protection For High Tech Drug Companies From Generics
A Senate committee agreed Monday to give high-tech biologic drugs 12 years of market protection before generic versions can compete, the AP reports.
Divisions Emerge Among Dem Lawmakers, Business Groups
As the health care debate intensifies, divisions among lawmakers, competing lobbies and interest groups are increasingly tense.
Republicans Test Public Plan Supporters’ Will
Congressional Republicans are pushing an idea unlikely to force members of Congress who vote for a government-run public plan for health insurance coverage to enroll in it, Politico reports.
Obama Announces Regina Benjamin As Surgeon General Pick
President Barack Obama announced Monday Regina Benjamin as his pick for surgeon general. The Alabama family physician has been an advocate for universal care, and is expected to have a role “at the table” in health reform, which would be an unusual degree of influence over policy for a surgeon general.
U.N. Calls For Investing In Women To Ensure Economic Recovery, Reduce ‘Health Gap’
To mark World Population Day on July 11, U.N. officials are calling for investment in women and girls during the global financial crisis as a way to promote economic recovery and tackle poverty and inequality, afrol News reports.
Senate Panel Looks To Health Insurers For Health Savings
“U.S. health insurers were in talks with the Senate Finance Committee Monday to discuss how to save the Medicare program $100 billion over a decade,” Reuters reports.
Key Democrats Summoned To White House Meeting
Two lawmakers critical to President Barack Obama’s hopes for health care overhaul were among those summoned to the White House for a private meeting Monday as the timetable for a comprehensive bill continued to slip.
Obama Taps Alabama Doctor To Serve As Surgeon General
President Obama has nominated Regina Benjamin, an Alabama family physician, to be the next Surgeon General.
Bill Would Allow Federal Funding For Needle Exchange Programs
House Democrats on Friday as part of a spending measure to fund the Departments of Labor and HHS for fiscal year 2010, “unveiled legislation to lift a ban on federal funding for needle-exchange programs, a shift to try to reduce [HIV infections] but one that will probably spark a fight,” Reuters/Boston Globe reports (7/11).
Study Looks At HIV, Risk Behaviors Among Male Clients Of Sex Workers In Tijuana, Mexico
“A large percentage” of U.S. and Mexican men who regularly engage in sexual activity with sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico, do not use condoms and have a history of substance and alcohol use, according to a study published in the online journal AIDS, the Los Angeles Times’ blog “L.A. Now” reports.
Kansas Organizations Sign Nationwide Petition Regarding Access To Condoms In CVS Stores
The Kansas City Star on Sunday examined a national petition — signed recently by several local organizations — requesting that CVS Caremark unlock condoms in all of its CVS pharmacy stores.
Needle Exchange Programs Could Save Texas ‘Millions Of Dollars,’ Opinion Piece Says
Needle exchange programs (NEPs) “are an inexpensive public health intervention, especially when compared with the social costs of treating individuals with HIV or hepatitis-related chronic liver disease,” Maureen Trotter, a pathologist and president of the Taylor-Jones-Haskell County Medical Society, writes in the Abilene Reporter News.
Obama Addresses Ghana’s Parliament, Reiterates U.S. Global Health Initiative
During his visit to Ghana over the weekend, President Obama praised the country for its achievements while calling on African leaders to take responsibility for the future of the continent, CNN reports.
U.S. To Commit Additional $1B To H1N1 Vaccine Development
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday the U.S. has agreed to put an addition $1 billion towards ingredients for the production of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.
IRIN Examines ‘Dramatic Plunge’ In Family Planning International Donor Funding
IRIN examines how a “dramatic plunge” in international donor funding for family planning could undermine other health- and humanitarian-related goals, including fighting poverty and hunger.
More Than Half Of Malaria Drugs In West Africa ‘Sub-Standard Quality,’ Says UNODC
VOA News reports that fake pharmaceuticals pose a greater risk to stability and human security in West Africa than illegal drug trafficking, according to U.N. Office Against Drugs and Crime report.
Obama’s Focus On Health Care Crucial To Reform
“After a week of international diplomacy, President Obama returns to Washington this week facing an even greater diplomatic challenge: nudging the large and controversial health-care reform package toward consensus on Capitol Hill,” The Washington Post reports.
