Latest KFF Health News Stories
HHS To Widen Access To Medicare Data
The Wall Street Journal reports that, in a change of policy, the Department of Health and Human Services will make claims information available to help consumers make decisions about medical care.
Supreme Court Hears Arguments Related To Patent Dispute
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the question is whether patents can be applied to concepts drawn from nature and notes that the case could redefine ownership of technological or scientific innovations.
Critical Access: Hospitals That Face Budget Traumas
Kaiser Health News examines the concept of “critical access hospitals.” Meanwhile, a related story examines how the hospital district in Harris County, Texas, is key to the Houston area’s safety net.
Sebelius Overrules FDA On ‘Morning After’ Pill’s OTC Availability
The decision to keep the contraceptive pill “Plan B” behind the counter could shield the Obama administration from a bruising battle with conservatives but comes at the expense of liberal groups who are “shocked” at the decision.
Viewpoints: Politics Overtakes Plan B; Gingrich’s Entitlement Plans; Cheeseburgers And Death
A selection of editorials and opinions about health policy from around the country.
Roundup: Ohio Lawmakers Consider Abortion Bill; Aetna Sues Mich. Blues
News outlets cover a variety of state health policy issues.
Global Health R&D Funding From Wealthy Nations Fell 6% In 2010, Annual G-FINDER Report Finds
“A group that tracks funding for neglected diseases released its fourth annual report Wednesday, showing for the first time since 2007 a decrease in government and public spending in global health research and development,” the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog reports (Mazzotta, 12/7). The Global Funding of Innovation for Neglected Diseases (G-FINDER) survey report, conducted by Policy Cures and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, found that “[p]ublic funding from the world’s richest nations for research and development (R&D) of new neglected disease products fell by US$125 million (down six percent) in 2010,” a Policy Cures press release (.pdf) states (12/7).
Forbes Interviews Sarah Brown About Her Work In Maternal, Child Health Advocacy
Sarah Brown, international advocate for global maternal and newborn health and wife of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, answers questions about her work from Forbes contributor Rahim Kanani in this interview excerpt. Brown “discussed the evolution of her interests, the current landscape of maternal and newborn health worldwide, critical levers of progress, leadership lessons in the context of global advocacy, and much more,” according to Forbes (12/7).
New International Consortium Aims To Prepare Researchers For Next Pandemic
“A group of health organizations [on Wednesday] launched a new international consortium to better prepare the clinical research community to respond to the next pandemic or other emerging health threat,” CIDRAP News reports (Schnirring, 12/7). “The International Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium (ISARIC) is a global collaboration of over 20 hospital-based clinical research networks … aimed at ensuring the clinical researchers have in place the necessary open access protocols and data-sharing processes and have considered the ethical issues that will allow them to respond to rapidly emerging diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential, such as the recent pandemic H1N1 influenza and SARS outbreaks and potentially other rapidly emerging public health threats,” according to a Wellcome Trust press release.
First Edition: December 8, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the HHS decision on the Plan B morning after pill, as well as the latest progress reports from Capitol Hill on the payroll tax break extension and the doc fix.
HHS: Plan B Access Will Stay Limited
The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that the morning-after pill will continue to be kept behind the pharmacy counter and girls younger than 17 will continue to need a prescription to obtain it. KHN tracked news coverage of this development.
Women Face Disproportionately High Risks From Climate Change, UNEP Report Says
“Women, particularly those living in mountain regions in developing countries, are facing disproportionately high risks to their livelihoods and health from climate change, as well as associated risks such as human trafficking, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),” released at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, the UNEP News Centre reports.
Fatal Snakebites ‘Vastly Underreported,’ Researchers Report At Annual ASTMH Meeting
“Fatal snakebites worldwide have been vastly underreported because many die before seeking or reaching medical care, researchers” from the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, reported on Monday at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s (ASTMH) annual meeting, UPI.com writes (12/5). NPR’s “Shots” blog notes that, “even at the low end of estimates, deaths from snakebites would exceed those from better-known scourges, such as cholera, dengue fever and Chagas disease,” according to researchers at the symposium (Hensley, 12/6).
Reid Threatens Session Through Christmas To Finish Business
Many insiders expect a final package will emerge that wraps the payroll tax cut extension into a broader bill that also includes other measures, like the Medicare physician payment fix, with end-of-year expiration dates.
Myanmar Appeals For Assistance In HIV/AIDS Fight, Develops 5-Year National HIV/AIDS
“Myanmar appealed on Tuesday to the international community to increase assistance in combating HIV/AIDS, as AIDS response in the country has entered a critical stage,” Xinhua reports, adding, “The appeal was made by participants attending” a round-table discussion on reaching zero AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in the country (12/6).
