Latest KFF Health News Stories
Congress Should Give Clean Water To World’s Poor Through Water For The World Act
In this Huffington Post opinion piece, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) writes about access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation among the world’s poor, stating, “As America prepares for the holiday season … I hope that Congress will give a gift of life, health and hope by helping people around the world with something that most Americans take for granted: safe drinking water.”
Pharma Exports, R&D Investment Benefit U.S. Economy, Global Health And Must Be Protected
In this post in the Hill’s “Congress Blog,” John Castellani, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, reports on how biopharmaceutical exports benefit the U.S. economy and global health, writing, “Leadership is needed to help keep U.S. biopharmaceutical research companies competitive in the global export market.” He continues, “According to the Administration, if we increased exports by just five percent, we would create hundreds of thousands of new U.S. jobs. … Among the ways that they can advance this effort is by knocking down foreign barriers and promoting strong intellectual property (IP) protections that allow biopharmaceutical companies to bring their medicines into other markets and, importantly, to the patients who need them.”
U.N. Issues $1.5B 2012 Joint Appeal For Humanitarian Aid In Somalia
The U.N. on Tuesday issued its 2012 consolidated appeal process (CAP), or joint appeal, for $1.5 billion to fund 350 projects in Somalia, “where famine and conflict have already cost tens of thousands of lives,” the Guardian reports (Chonghaile, 12/13). “The $1.5 billion appeal is based on a realistic assessment of the emergency needs of four million people in crisis, tens of thousands of whom will die without assistance,” Mark Bowden, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said, Agence France-Presse notes.
Discrimination Against LGBT Population Undermining HIV Prevention Efforts In Guatemala, IPS Reports
Inter Press Service examines discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Guatemala, where advocates and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say such discrimination is undermining HIV prevention and treatment. Carolos Valdez of the NGO Proyecto Unidos “said the country has taken ‘few steps’ for preventing the spread of HIV among vulnerable groups,” including “opening five clinics catering to members of sexual minorities,” IPS writes.
TIME Examines Lawsuit Against U.N. Alleging Responsibility For Cholera Outbreak
“The question of who is responsible for Haiti’s cholera epidemic — the first that the Caribbean nation, the western hemisphere’s poorest, has seen in a century — has raised tempers since the first case was detected in October 2010,” TIME reports in an article examining a lawsuit filed against the U.N. claiming it is responsible for bringing the disease into the country and seeking damages for cholera victims and their families.
Paul Farmer Discusses Equity In International Health With Scientific American
In this Scientific American “60-Second Health” podcast, journalist Katherine Harmon interviews Paul Farmer, a Harvard professor and co-founder of the non-profit Partners in Health, who is “famous for his health work in Haiti.” Farmer discusses international health as an equity issue, stating, “If we don’t have an equity strategy, then how can modern medicine and science participate meaningfully in responding to cancer in a globalized world? Same thing with cholera, same thing with AIDS, same thing with [tuberculosis], same thing with hunger, on and on it goes
Emerging Economies Taking Greater Role In Development Aid
“The past year has underlined how the dramatic growth of some of the world’s most populous developing economies is propelling a remarkable shift in the global geopolitics of aid and development,” the Guardian reports in an article examining how “non-traditional donors” contributed large amounts to several humanitarian crises this year.
State Roundup: Calif. Budget Problems Bring Additional Medicaid Cutbacks
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Blue Shield Of California, UCLA Embroiled In Contract Dispute
Rates are the key disagreement, and failure to resolve the dispute could force thousands of patients to seek care elsewhere.
Medicaid Spending Claims Increasingly Larger Share Of State Budgets
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Medicaid spending by the states has steadily gone up during the last three years, and this trend is likely to continue. Media outlets also report on Medicaid developments in Texas, Florida, New York and California.
High-Deductible Health Plans On The Rise
A new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that more than one in five Americans have this type of health plan.
Viewpoints: Berwick’s Advice; Romney’s Wager; Fighting AIDS
A selection of editorials and opinions on health policy issues from around the country.
Berwick Focuses On Need To Change Medicare And Medicaid, Improve Care Coordination
Since resigning as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Donald Berwick has made clear how he thinks the health system must change.
Senate Democrats Seek Justification For Plan B Decision
Thirteen Democrats and one independent expressed disappointment in Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to block younger teenagers from buying the emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B” without a prescription. Meanwhile, a federal judge says he will review the decision.
Report Finds 2.5 Million Young Adults Gain Health Insurance Coverage
A report to be released today by the Obama administration finds that the number of people between the ages of 19 and 25 who have gained coverage exceeds earlier estimates.
Ron Paul Takes Strong Stand On Government’s Role In Health Care
While GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul told his supporters there’s no provision in the Constitution for Medicare and Medicaid, President Barack Obama asked his backers to stay with him in the upcoming election.
First Edition: December 14, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about progress — or lack thereof — as the House and Senate work to come to terms on the year’s must-pass legislation.
House Vote Scheduled On Payroll Tax Reduction Package
The bill, which includes “must-pass” provisions such as the Medicare “doc fix,” has drawn opposition, notably from hospital groups, which have blasted the billions of dollars in hospital payment cuts it contains.
As Federal Court Action Looms, Sebelius Says Plan B ‘Not About Politics’
A federal judge in Brooklyn will hear arguments Tuesday afternoon on the constitutionality of the federal decision regarding the access teenage girls should have to morning-after contraceptive pills. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the decision about Plan B’s over-the-counter status was not a political one.
