Latest KFF Health News Stories
Government, Humanitarian Agencies Respond To Flooding In Philippines, Warn Of Disease Threat
“Philippine authorities are warning of the spread of diseases in cramped evacuation centers, days after flash floods hit the southern Philippines and claimed more than a thousand lives,” ABC/Asia Pacific News reports, noting that flooding also has affected the country’s northern provinces, displacing at least 50,000 people (Escalante, 12/20). Tropical Storm Washi “hit the main southern island of Mindanao over the weekend, bringing heavy rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers that swept whole coastal villages away,” forcing 44,000 people to evacuate the area, Agence France-Presse/Inquirer News writes (Celis, 12/21). Officials say hundreds of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the U.N. has stepped up its efforts in the area, the U.N. News Centre reports (12/20).
First Edition: December 21, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Capitol Hill’s holiday stalemate and PolitiFact’s 2011 Lie of the Year.
Impasse On Payroll Tax Cut Extension Leaves ‘Doc Fix’ In Flux
A group of House Republicans is taking a hard line against the short-term measure passed by the Senate – creating anxiety across Capitol Hill and causing uncertainty about the future of the “doc fix.”
High Court Sets March Dates For Health Law Arguments
March 27 will be the day for two hours of arguments over the provision, which starting in 2014 will require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. The high court is expected to announce its decision by the end of June.
The FY12 Appropriations Agreement recently passed by Congress includes reinstatements of bans on the domestic and international use of federal funds for needle-exchange programs, the Haiwai’i News Daily reports (Smith, 12/20). The following summarizes several opinion and blog pieces on the issue.
IPS Profiles Maternal Shelter In Kenya’s North Eastern Province
Inter Press Service profiles the Garissa Maternal Shelter in North Eastern Province, Kenya, “the only such facility in an area with the country’s highest maternal mortality rate.” The news service writes, “At 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, [the maternal mortality rate] is almost double the country’s average, [b]ut despite this, there are only seven women here in a facility that can accommodate 24.”
Guardian Examines Efforts To Bring Therapeutic Food Production Into Developing Countries
The Guardian examines how ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) — “small packets of a sticky, peanut butter-like paste, fortified with minerals and vitamins, that can reverse severe malnutrition within six weeks” — “have revolutionized famine relief in Africa,” and asks whether these products could be produced in the countries in which they are being distributed. “The vast majority of RUTFs are produced in the U.S. or Europe, bought by aid agencies such as UNICEF, and transported great distances to reach those in need,” the newspaper writes, adding, “But a small group of social enterprises is questioning this business model, redesigning it with a more local footprint in mind.”
HHS Selects 32 ‘Pioneers’ To Test New Health Care Model For Seniors
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday a group of 32 medical providers that will work with the federal government to test an experiment in improving the quality and lowering the cost of health care.
Public-Private Partnerships ‘Exponentially Expand’ Effects Of USAID Aid To Jamaica
Public-private partnerships “will boost small enterprises, bring technology to schools and improve sanitation and clean water in Jamaica,” a VOA News editorial states and highlights three such partnerships created by USAID. The first, between USAID and the Jamaican National Building Society, will create a Social Enterprise Boost Initiative; the second, between food processing company GraceKennedy Ltd. and the Western Union Company, will train teachers and bring technology to 13 schools in Jamaica; and the third, between USAID in Jamaica and the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, will help provide access to sanitation and clean water in a neighborhood of Jamaica’s capital. “The effect of USAID’s aid to Jamaica expands exponentially with these public-private partnerships,” the editorial writes, adding, “The projects are valued at more than $7 million. USAID’s contribution is less than $2 million” (12/18).
State Roundup: Ariz. High Court To Hear Medicaid Funding Challenge
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
HHS Denies Michigan’s Health Law Waiver Request
The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday denied a request from Michigan to waive limits instituted in the health law on insurer profits and administrative costs.
‘Money Well Spent Today Means Less Money Spent Tomorrow’ On HIV/AIDS
This Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial responds to the Global HIV/AIDS Response 2011 progress report (.pdf) launched by the WHO, UNICEF, and UNAIDS on November 30, writing that the report “contains much good news on treatment and prevention, but the gains made by past efforts are jeopardized by the ongoing global financial crisis and dwindling funds.”
What 2012 Holds For State Reform Efforts, Health Law Implementation
Vermont, Oregon and Georgia are considering what the new year will bring for their efforts to implement health reforms, including formation of insurance exchanges. In California, the state’s pool of money for the pre-existing health condition plan is getting a new infusion of funds.
GOP Candidates Trade Barbs Over Health Care Policies
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, speaking in Iowa, said the government should not be running the medical world. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney outlines his views on abortion while Michele Bachmann uses the Supreme Court’s scheduling announcement to reiterate her position against the 2010 health law and question that of her opponents. Also, Romney’s health policies are again in the spotlight.
Viewpoints: If Not The Health Law, Then What?; Shifting Medicare Costs Isn’t Enough
A selection of editorials and opinions about health care policy from around the country.
Fate Of India’s Food Security Bill Unknown; Analysts Say It May Harm Country’s Economy
“Though approved by the Cabinet Sunday, the fate of the much-anticipated Food Security Bill, which will guarantee cheap food for India’s masses, is far from sealed,” the Wall Street Journal’s “India Real Time” blog reports, noting that the “bill is to be tabled in Parliament this week.” When the bill comes up for a vote, after potentially spending weeks in committee, “all political parties are expected to support the bill which will provide subsidized food grains to 75 percent of the rural population and about half of urban households,” the blog writes.
