Latest KFF Health News Stories
Cutting Foreign Assistance Funding Might Mean Death For World’s Poor
In this opinion piece in The Hill’s “Congress Blog,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif) writes that cutting “funding of vital programs that focus on global food security, health, climate adaptation, and disaster relief, … which make up less than one percent of the U.S. federal budget, will not get us far in terms of plugging the budget gap but they could literally make the difference between life and death for many of the world’s poor.” She adds, “As part of a global response, the U.S. is responding, having already provided more than $600 million in assistance. … To ensure that future droughts don’t again devastate poor and vulnerable communities, we must support investments in small scale food producers, especially women, to increase agricultural productivity and build resilience,” (9/21).
Senate Committee Approves FY12 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a $53 billion FY12 foreign operations appropriations bill, the Associated Press reports. “Reflecting the economic pressure, the bill is $6.2 billion less than President Barack Obama requested,” the news agency notes (Cassatta, 9/21).
Researchers To Expand Malaria Vaccine Study After Initial Trial Yields Encouraging Results
Encouraged by early results of a study of an experimental malaria vaccine involving 45 children in Burkina Faso, researchers led by Pierre Druilhe at the Pasteur Institute in Paris are set to expand the clinical trial, resulting in a larger study involving 800 children in Mali, BBC News reports. The initial trial aimed “to test the safety of the vaccine but this follow up study found that children who received it had an incidence of the disease three to four times lower than children who did not,” BBC writes.
State Roundup: N.Y. To Pay $5 Million To End Suit Over Autistic Teen’s Death
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
U.S. Entities Announce Global Smoke-Free Workplace Challenge
“The Mayo Clinic, Johnson & Johnson and others are joining forces to try to snuff out smoking in the workplace throughout the world,” the Wall Street Journal’s “Health Blog” writes, adding, “Their global smoke-free worksite challenge, announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, calls on employers to ban smoking at offices and facilities worldwide.” The blog notes, “Smoky offices seem like a thing of the past in much of the U.S. … But globally, only about 11 percent of people are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws, the WHO says.”
Multi-Donor Program Improves Availability Of Essential Medicines In Zimbabwe’s Public Health Sector
IRIN reports on “[t]he improved availability of essential medicines in Zimbabwe’s public health sector” as a result of “a multi-donor program started in 2008 through collaboration between the government, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Zimbabwe, the European Union (E.U.), the U.K., Australia, Canada and Ireland.” “According to a survey carried out by the E.U., 80 percent of essential medicines are now available at over 80 percent of health facilities compared to only 28 percent availability of vital drugs at public health institutions in 2008,” IRIN notes. The news service writes, “To date, the Essential Medicines Supply Programme (EMSP) has received $52 million in funding, according to UNICEF,” adding, “The money is used to buy drugs and medical supplies which are distributed to health centers by Natpharm, the supply arm of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare” (9/20).
Commercial Interests Confound Fight Against NCDs, Some Experts Say
The Washington Post examines the influence of commercial interests on the “political declaration” that emerged from this week’s U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in New York. NCDs “are the globe’s biggest health problem, responsible for 63 percent of all deaths each year, with incidence growing steeply in the low-income, rapidly urbanizing nations of the world,” but they “are deeply entangled with important global industries, not only tobacco but also food, pharmaceuticals, advertising, transportation and construction,” the newspaper writes, adding, “The bigger issue in preparing the document, however, was how much to invoke the … World Trade Organization’s agreement on intellectual property, known informally as TRIPS” (Brown, 9/20).
Arizona’s Mental Health Budget Cuts Concern Experts
Short-term savings could have long-term consequences for patients and the community, mental health experts tell The Arizona Republic. Meanwhile, a county in Iowa gets state aid to help people on a waiting list for mental health and disability care.
The Nigerian government is expected to sign an agreement with UNESCO at the 36th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, which begins next month, for an international biotechnology center that will focus on strengthening food safety, tropical disease research and the conservation of bio-resources across Africa, SciDev.Net reports, adding that “UNESCO’s executive board approved the establishment of the center earlier this year.”
NYT: Ethics Probe Involves Kidney Transplant Center, Rep. Berkley
The investigation focuses on Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and her efforts to prevent the closure of a Nevada kidney transplant center – which her husband’s medical practice helps to run. Also at issue are her efforts to push federal regulators not to cut Medicare reimbursements for dialysis centers, including those that are owned by her husband’s practice.
Mercer: Health Insurance Costs Expected To Rise Next Year – Again
Costs for U.S. employers are expected to increase at the lowest rate in years, but costs for workers will likely outpace their earnings.
Poll: Health Industry Under Prepared To Protect Patients’ Digital Records
Reuters reports on a new poll of health executives that indicates that the industry is not adequately prepared to protect patients’ digital health records. Still, according to the Boston Globe, Dr. David Blumenthal, offered a positive view of medical technology in a Wednesday night speech, saying that electronic medical records made him a better doctor.
DOJ Faces Strategic Decisions In Next Steps On Health Law Challenges
Politico Pro reports that the DOJ’s decision, due on Monday, will provide a meaningful clue about when the Supreme Court may decide the question regarding the individual mandate’s constitutionality.
Longer Looks: Breast Cancer Fundraising; Treating Autism
This week’s articles come from Marie Claire, the Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Weekly Standard and American Medical News.
Twenty Aid Agencies Issue Open Letter Urging International Community To Change Approach In Somalia
Twenty aid agencies on Wednesday issued an open letter (.pdf) “urg[ing] the international community to change its approach to Somalia ‘and enhance diplomatic engagement with the parties to the conflict, to ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid,'” particularly before the rainy season brings the threat of disease, IRIN reports (9/21).
Panel Members At Reproductive Health Forum Discuss Issue In Development Context
GlobalPost’s “Global Pulse” blog summarizes a recent forum on reproductive health issues during which panel members of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health of Aspen Global Health and Development discussed how “reproductive health was intimately connected to the world’s population boom, climate change, water and sanitation crises, economic downturns, educational rates, and development overall.” The article continues, “And yet, reproductive health and family planning is generally not a focus on the world stage. In fact, the topic is often avoided.”
A pretty big selection of opinions and editorials today.
PepsiCo, WFP, USAID Announce Partnership To Increase Chickpea Production, Address Hunger In Ethiopia
PepsiCo on Wednesday announced a public-private partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID to increase chickpea production in Ethiopia in order to secure access to the legume, which “play[s] an increasing role in its food products,” the New York Times reports. If the project is successful in working with small farmers to increase chickpea production, the “increased yield would exceed PepsiCo’s needs,” therefore “some of the additional crops will be used to make a new, ready-to-eat food product that the World Food Programme has used to address famine in Pakistan,” according to the newspaper (Strom, 9/20).
Coordination Of Dual Eligibles’ Care May Offer Savings
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said during a Wednesday Senate Finance Committee hearing that the current lack of coordination for people who are on both Medicare and Medicaid leads to massive amounts of waste and low-quality care, but an Obama administration official said more time was needed to address this issue. Also, a new report written by Emory University’s Kenneth Thorpe and funded by America’s Health Insurance Plans sets a high possible savings estimate if this coordination goal can be achieved.
Lawmakers Explore Savings Potential Of Medicare Extenders
During a Wednesday House Ways and Means Committee hearing, health industry witnesses defended the Medicare “extenders,” which, in many cases, are payment policies enacted to address specific problems faced by specific types of health care providers. Ending some of them would save less than $100 million a year. One economist said, however, that when added up, they can tally an estimated $2.5 billion in savings.
