Latest KFF Health News Stories
Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates Delivers TEDxChange Speech On Access To Contraceptives
On Thursday at the TEDxChange conference in Berlin, Germany, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “delivered a powerful case for universal access to contraception for women around the world who need and want it,” the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. “She described birth control as an idea that, if made policy in both developed and developing countries, could save hundreds of thousands of women’s and children’s lives each year,” the newspaper writes, adding that she “noted being brought up a Catholic and being educated at church schools through high school, even that her mother’s great-uncle was a Jesuit priest.”
Viewpoints: Doctors’ Efforts To Cut Unnecessary Procedures Is A Good First Step
Several news outlets look at the initiative by nine physicians’ groups to identify medical procedures which are frequently unneeded and could even be harmful.
Viewpoints: Health Law Seeks To Remedy Broken Insurance Market; Overhaul Was Sunk By Its Complexity
Commentators look at some of the underlying issues of the health law which is being considered by the Supreme Court.
What’s The Prize In The Wellness Games?
News reports track the latest trends regarding how insurers are using digital gaming methods to encourage wellness and how patients increasingly are being urged to ask questions about the cost of care.
Study Questions Whether FDA Is Too Tough On Online Pharmacies
NPR reports on a study that raises questions about the Food and Drug Administration’s position.
Prescriptions On The Rise For Strongest Pain Pills
Prescriptions for opiods have increased nearly fourfold, with onlyl limited evidence regarding their effectiveness or risks, The New York Times reports.
During The Congressional Break, Voters Air Their Frustrations
Reuters reports that, as lawmakers are in their home districts for spring break, the are getting an earful from their constituents.
White House Moves $500 Million To IRS For Health Law Implementation
The funds were diverted to the Internal Revenue Service outside the normal appropriations process to help the agency implement the overhaul. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on developments related to accountable care organizations and primary care payment issues.
Medicaid: Ariz. Gets Fed’s OK To Expand Kids’ Coverage; Docs Want To Share Minn. Rebates
States around the nation are grappling with Medicaid issues ranging from expanding coverage and making deals with new managed care providers to sharing insurer rebates, forging budget cuts, waiting on court action and admitting large data breaches.
States Roundup: Aetna Goes Ahead With Small Biz Coverage Hike
A selection of health policy stories from around the U.S.
Blog Posts Respond To Melinda Gates’ TEDxChange Presentation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists” blog published several posts in response to the TEDxChange: “The Big Picture” presentation delivered by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the foundation, in Berlin on Thursday.
New Initiative Focusing On GBV And HIV/AIDS Will Help Prevent Both
“The advancement of women’s health and their rights is one of the core principles of President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative,” a VOA editorial states, adding, “And so it is that the United States has rolled out a new initiative that will tackle one of the greatest threats to women’s health, HIV/AIDS, by attacking another scourge: gender-based violence [GBV].” According to the editorial, “Physical violence or the threat of physical violence and coercion are all associated with HIV transmission for women of all ages,” which is why “[i]n mid-March, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby announced an initiative to provide $4.65 million in small grants to grassroots organizations to address gender-based violence issues.”
“Teenage pregnancies are on the rise in Guatemala, along with the drop-out rate in schools, family breakdown and many other related social ills,” Inter Press Service reports, adding that the “impoverished Central American country of 14 million people has an adolescent (under-20) birth rate of 114 per 1,000 women in rural areas, according to the National Mother and Child Health Survey for 2008-2009.” The article discusses efforts by the government and non-profit organizations to prevent unwanted pregnancies, including laws allowing for basic maternity services and sex education classes.
Wall Street Journal Examines Jim Kim’s Nomination To Head World Bank
The Wall Street Journal reports that “[a] long list of development experts, government officials and news organizations around the world have mounted a rebellion of sorts” in response to the nomination of Jim Yong Kim, a global health expert and Dartmouth College president, to head the World Bank, as “[m]any of them say the two other candidates, Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, are better qualified for the post.” According to the newspaper, “The race marks the first time the selection of a World Bank president has been contested,” but “[d]espite the controversy” surrounding the nomination, Kim “is still virtually certain to secure the post because of his support from the U.S., the bank’s largest shareholder.”
WHO Celebrates Birthday, Commemorates World Health Day With Focus On Healthy Aging
The WHO on April 7 celebrated the founding of the organization in 1948 and World Health Day, “by focusing on aging, including a host of events, research and information under the theme, ‘Good health adds life to years,'” CNN reports (4/7). “Contrary to common perceptions, the WHO reports by 2050, 80 percent of the world’s older people will be living in low-and middle-income countries — not in the wealthier nations,” and “a new analysis shows the key reasons for ill health in older people are from non-communicable diseases,” VOA News writes (Schlein, 4/7).
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how both Democrats and Republicans are working to woo Seniors — Medicare politices are central to this effort.
Obama, Romney Camps Tussling Over Women’s Vote
Democrats are pointing to the health law (including its contraceptive coverage) while Republicans are playing up their solutions to fix the economy.
State Roundup: Health Costs Cloud Budget Forecasts; Minn. To Use HMO Refund On Personal Care
A selection of state health policy stories from across the country.
Recognizing U.S. Contributions To Zambia’s Fight Against Malaria
In this Washington Post opinion piece, columnist Michael Gerson examines anti-malaria efforts in Zambia, writing, “Zambia has been the main test case for anti-malaria efforts during the last several years — a focus of funding by the U.S. government, the [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation] and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.” He continues, “Now the Anglican Church, international aid groups and philanthropists … are attempting to fill remaining gaps in bednet coverage in remote border areas.”
No One Funding Model Is Sufficient To Ensure Availability Of Lifesaving Drugs
“Trade deals are threatening generic drugs — we need new ways to incentivize affordable drug development,” Daniele Dionisio, head of the research project Geopolitics, Public Health and Access to Medicines (GESPAM) and a member of the European Parliament Working Group on Innovation, Access to Medicines and Poverty-Related Diseases, writes in this SciDev.Net opinion piece. “Just under three billion people live on less than $2 per day, in resource-limited countries where key medicines protected by patents are unaffordable,” he writes, adding, “Free-trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and governments adopting intellectual property (IP) policies that favor the brand pharmaceutical sector are also threatening the trade of legitimate generic medicines.”
