Latest KFF Health News Stories
Australian Scientists Create Iron-Rich ‘Super Rice’
News Corp Australian Papers/Fox News reports that scientists in Australia have created genetically modified rice that “has up to four times more iron than conventional rice and twice as much zinc” in an effort to “provide a solution to the iron and zinc deficiency disorders that affect billions of people throughout the world.” “Rice is the main food source for roughly half the world’s population, including billions of people in developing countries across Asia, but the polished grain is too low in iron, zinc and Vitamin A to meet dietary needs,” the article notes.
Access To Lifesaving Generic Medicines Threatened By U.S. Trade Pact
“Access to affordable lifesaving medicines will be threatened where they are needed most — in parts of the developing world — if the U.S. insists on implementing restrictive intellectual property policies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement,” states a press release from Doctors Without Borders. According to the release, “a leaked draft of the U.S. position indicates that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is demanding aggressive intellectual property provisions that go beyond what international trade law requires” and that these measures would “delay the introduction of more affordable generic drugs” (9/8).
Gates Foundation’s Ananya Alliance Aims To Improve Newborn Health In India
Usha Kiran Tarigopula, deputy director in global health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes about the Foundation’s partnership with the state of Bihar, India through the Ananya Alliance “aimed at reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality by 40 percent by 2015,” in this “Inpatient Optimists” blog post, which is part of a series called “Global Conversations on Newborn Health in India.” She writes, “The emphasis is on family planning, pre- and post-delivery care for mothers and their newly born infants, immediate and exclusive breastfeeding, care and nutrition for children up to two years old, and routine immunization. Coverage for treatment of diarrhea and pneumonia, as well as some neglected diseases and sanitation, is also a part of the plan” (9/7).
Residents Of Pakistan’s Tribal Areas Face Dangerous Obstacles To Access HIV/AIDS Treatment
“Having to contend with U.S. army drones and the crossfire between the Taliban and the Pakistani army, the residents of Pakistan’s tribal areas find access to treatment for HIV/AIDS harder than in most other parts of the world,” Inter Press Service reports. People with HIV/AIDS living “in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) must cross the porous border into Afghanistan and take a circuitous route to Peshawar, capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, to get timely anti-retroviral treatment (ART),” at a family care center established by the Pakistan government and the WHO, the news service writes.
Health Law Gains Win As Court Blocks Two Legal Challenges
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued two opinions yesterday in which it concluded that neither the Commonwealth of Virginia nor Liberty University had legal standing to sue the government in an attempt to block the health law’s individual mandate.
Obama Would Pay Jobs Plan Tab With Medicare, Medicaid Cuts And Tax Hikes
The jobs packaged unveiled Thursday by President Barack Obama includes a “pay for” plan that relies in part on trims to Medicare and Medicaid – a provision that Republicans may use to undermine his political messages during the upcoming campaign season.
State News: Calif. Blue Shield Begins Issuing Credits After Profit Cap
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Stanford Hospital ER Data Posted On Public Website, Now Removed
In what is being described as a major breach of privacy, the medical records of 20,000 emergency room patients were posted on a commercial website for a number of months. This situation raises questions about how to safeguard such information when it passes through numerous hands.
LA Times: Gov. Perry And Texas’ Struggling Health Care System
In the 11 years that Gov. Rick Perry has been in office, private health care costs have increased and the safety net has diminished.
Scorecard Shows Which States Are Best At Long-Term Care Support
The report, developed by AARP and the SCAN Foundation, found that Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Maine are performing best in a variety of ways, but still have room to improve.
Preventive Benefits, Exchanges… A Catch-All Of Health Law News
Media outlets report on a range of health law issues, including the latest estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the number of Medicare beneficiaries getting free preventive care, what difficulties may be ahead for health exchanges and the adminstration’s new “Enroll America” campaign.
Viewpoints: 4th Circuit Decision; Advice For The FDA; Docs And The AMA
A few opinions and editorials today.
In Deficit Reduction Debate, Some Stakeholders Point To Medicare
The American Hospital Association is lobbying to raise the program’s eligibility age from 65 to 67 as a means of heading off additional cuts to Medicare hospital payments. Meanwhile, some conservatives view the program’s fiscal challenges as the problem that stands above all others.
AARP Strategist Moves On To Health Care Coalition
After 27 years at AARP, John Rother will move on to head up the National Coalition on Health Care. He says his new position will give him a platform to take on health care costs, as issue he views as central to the nation.
Deficit Reduction, Entitlements Are Buzzwords As Debt Panel Starts Work
The ‘super committee’ held its first meeting this week, kicking off its mission with a note of bipartisanship. Many observers worry, though, that this might be the end of this spirit of cooperation. Meanwhile, a groups of Senators from both parties also met this week – privately – to revive the hope for a “grand debt-cutting bargain.”
Research Roundup: Medicare Advantage Stops Some Hospitalizations
This week’s studies come from Health Affairs, The Journal Of The American Medical Association, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Care Management Science.
First Edition: September 9, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision blocking two health law challenges as well as details about the congressional debt panel’s first meeting.
Capsules: Seeking The Best Place For Long-Term Care? Head North
According to a report released today, in many places there isn’t nearly enough long-term care help to go around.
Capsules: Donald Berwick On Turning 65, Enrolling In Medicare
He will be the first head of the health insurance program for seniors to be a beneficiary at the same time.
4th Circuit Appeals Court Rejects Virginia, Liberty University Challenges To Health Law
The Virginia case, brought by state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, was considered one of the highest profile challenges to the health law’s individual mandate. The appellate court also concluded that Liberty University’s challenge to the law should be dismissed.
