Latest KFF Health News Stories
Judge Blocks FDA Rule On New Cigarette Pack Warning Images
Federal Judge Richard Leon says the regulation ordering cigarette makers to put graphic images on the packages may “unconstitutionally compel speech.”
Heeding Gates’s Suggestions To Fill Global Development Finance Hole Without Spending More Money
In his Foreign Policy column, “The Optimist,” Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and a Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation, responds to a speech to G20 leaders last week by Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in which he “suggested that a financial transactions tax, alongside additional taxes on tobacco and carbon, could be used to help rich countries meet a global target of committing 0.7 percent of GDP to development aid.” Kenny writes, “The outlook is particularly grim in the United States, where traditional aid is on the congressional chopping block,” but “[t]he good news is that the United States (and, for that matter, everyone else) could be doing a lot more for development without spending more money — and in some cases even saving it.”
Viewpoints: Today’s ‘Personhood’ Vote in Miss.; Reactions To Romney’s Health Care Plan
A selection of editorials and opinions about health policy from around the country.
A selection of stories from Michigan, Maryland, California, Kansas, Minnesota, Georgia and Florida.
Survey Finds Nursing Homes Plan Layoffs Because Of Medicare Cuts
The move follows a decision by Medicare in July to reduce reimbursements to nursing homes by 11 percent.
Indian Researchers Receive Grant To Develop ‘E-Nose’ For Quick TB Diagnosis
“Researchers are developing an electronic nose that would sniff out tuberculosis (TB) like a Breathalyzer detects alcohol, putting an end to current time-consuming tests and possibly saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year,” the Globe and Mail reports (D’Aliesio, 11/7). A team of Indian researchers is planning to have a prototype in hospitals by October 2013, after receiving a $950,000 grant on Monday from Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the Guardian (Tran, 11/7).
Hospitals Face Penalties If They Don’t Please Patients
In the coming months, Medicare will start taking patient satisfaction into account when reimbursing hospitals.
Cancer Specialists Struggling To Find Better Screening Tests
With new concern about whether consumers should be tested for some cancers — especially those that are slow growing — researchers are working to find more specific tests and advice that can be helpful.
South Korea Authorizes WHO To Distribute Medical Aid For Malnourished North Korean Children
“South Korea on Tuesday authorized the World Health Organization [WHO] to resume distribution of Seoul-funded medical aid to North Korea, amid growing calls for humanitarian assistance for malnourished North Korean children,” the New York Times reports (Sang-Hun, 11/8). “Seoul has authorized the WHO to release $6.94 million to equip hospitals in the North, said the official of the unification ministry, which handles cross-border ties,” Agence France-Presse writes. “Seoul decided to unblock its WHO funding ‘by taking into account its stance of maintaining its humanitarian aid for infants, children and other vulnerable people in the North, and the WHO’s request,’ [a South Korean] ministry official said on condition of anonymity,” AFP notes (11/8).
New York Times Reports On Cuba’s Role In Haiti’s Fight Against Cholera
One year after cholera was detected in Haiti, the New York Times reports on how, “[a]s the epidemic continues, the Cuban medical mission that played an important role in detecting it presses on in Haiti, winning accolades from donors and diplomats for staying on the front lines and undertaking a broader effort to remake this country’s shattered health care system.” The newspaper recaps a brief history of Cuban medical missions in Haiti since 1998 and writes, “There is no doubt that the Cuban mission has been vital here.”
Reuters Examines Reproductive Health Issues In Russia
Reuters examines abortion, contraception and sex education in Russia, where, “[t]wo decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, wider availability of contraception and a resurgence of religion have reduced the numbers of abortions overall, but termination remains the top method of birth control in Russia.”
Innovation Needed To Improve Water Delivery Systems
With more than one billion people lacking access to clean and safe water, and waterborne diseases causing 7,000 child deaths every day worldwide, “[i]t’s more important than ever that we be willing to look at old problems and find innovative ways to solve them. The issues of water access, quantity and quality need to be addressed at the same time,” Kevin McGovern and Quincy Jones, chair and honorary chair, respectively, of The Water Initiative (TWI), write in a Huffington Post opinion piece.
Health Insurance Exchanges Generating Controversy, Even Within GOP
Various states are wrestling with what to do about developing their insurance exchanges.
Four-Year Kala Azar Treatment Study Launched In India, Bangladesh
“A four-year test of drugs to treat a widespread parasitic disease called kala azar was announced on Monday by the governments of India and Bangladesh, Doctors Without Borders, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative [DNDi] and other groups,” the New York Times reports. Kala azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis, is transmitted by sand flies and affects approximately 500,000 people worldwide at any one time. The disease can cause skin boils, and, if left untreated, can also “cause persistent fever, weight loss, an enlarged spleen and … death,” the newspaper notes.
Brazil Leading Fight Against Hunger, WFP Head Says
“Brazil is a world leader in the fight against hunger and its experience can be shared with other countries, visiting World Food Programme [WFP] chief Josette Sheeran said Monday … in the northeastern city of Salvador while inaugurating a local branch of a newly established Center of Excellence Against Hunger based in [the capital] Brasilia,” Agence France-Presse reports (11/7). The center “will assist governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America by drawing on the expertise of WFP and Brazil in the fight against hunger, while promoting sustainable school feeding models and other food and nutrition safety nets,” the U.N. News Centre writes (11/7).
Psychology Graduate Students Face Gap In Training Opportunities
The New York Times reports on a lack of internships available to students graduating in clinical psychology.
Fewer Businesses Take Advantage Of Health Tax Credits
The Treasury Department says the number of small businesses taking a new tax credit set up in the 2010 health law is smaller than expected. Also, a report to be issued Thursday says the FDA should not be in charge of health information technology.
‘Bundling’ Pay To Doctors And Hospitals Is Challenging
Studies in the journal Health Affairs looked at the concept of bundling payments to doctors and hospitals in which they are paid for “episodes of care” rather than for each individual treatment. The studies note the potential of such a move but also the difficulties.
First Edition: November 8, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories on malpractice reforms and previews of voting in Ohio on two ballot questions affecting health care issues and a Mississippi abortion issue.
GlobalPost Reports On Second Round GHI Country Selections
GlobalPost’s “Global Pulse” blog reports on the addition of 21 countries to the original group of eight Global Health Initiative (GHI) countries in a second round of selections. The Obama administration has “review[ed] detailed plans from each on main strategies and goals,” according to U.S. officials, the blog reports. The blog writes, “Unlike the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), GHI’s plan from the start was to spread its principles of better integration of programs and expanding into new health areas as quickly as possible.”
