Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report about how the debt-ceiling debate may have altered the discussion regarding changes to Medicare.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Introduces Foreign Relations Authorization Act For FY12-13
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-Mass.) released a bill (.pdf) on Wednesday that would authorize FY12 and FY13 funding for the State Department and foreign operations, as well as key programs and initiatives, Foreign Policy’s blog “The Cable” reports.
Education Can Help Alleviate ‘Brain Drain’ Of African Health Workers
In a post on the New York Times’ “On the Ground” blog, Rwanda Works Director Josh Ruxin writes about two cousins who are “fighting the international brain-drain trend that is dangerously affecting medicine in the developing world, and [have] committed themselves to building local medical capacity in their native country” by establishing a university and medical school, called the Kigali Medical University (KMU).
French Maternal And Child Health Clinics Threatened By Poor Economy
NPR’s KQED on Wednesday examined how France’s 60-year-old network of preventive health clinics for children and parents, which provides care free-of-charge, is being threatened by the nation’s flailing economy. “[W]hile it’s unlikely that France will abandon its maternal and child health programs, it remains an open question whether social changes and economic reality might intrude into such a sacred French ideal,” the article states (Varney, 7/27).
Cholera In Congo Has Killed 279, Infected More Than 4,000 People
“A UNICEF official says a cholera outbreak in Congo has killed 279 people and infected more than 4,000 others in the last four months,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (7/27). According to the VOA’s “Breaking News” blog, “[a] cholera outbreak has been declared in four provinces with northeastern Orientale province showing the most cases.” The WHO last week expressed concern that the disease could spread along the Congo River, according to the blog (7/27).
U.N. Officials Reiterate Clean Drinking Water And Sanitation Are Human Rights Issues
One year after the U.N. General Assembly “adopted a resolution declaring that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right,” top U.N. officials on Wednesday “stressed the need to realize the human right to water and sanitation, stating that it is critical not only to a life of dignity but also to achieving progress in the areas such as poverty reduction, boosting child health and combating diseases,” the U.N. News Centre reports (7/27). Nearly 900 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water, and more than one million children die each year because of diseases such as cholera that are transmitted by contaminated water, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C notes (Krafczyk, 7/27).
WHO Marks First-Ever World Hepatitis Day
The WHO on Thursday marked the first-ever World Hepatitis Day, recognizing a disease that affects nearly one of every three people in the world, the U.N. News Centre reports (7/27). According to a WHO press release, 1.4 million cases of hepatitis A occur each year, two billion people are infected with a hepatitis virus, and at least 130 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C (7/28).
U.N. Begins Food Airlifts To Somali Capital
For the first time since the food crisis in the Horn of Africa began, a U.N. plane carrying 10 tons of food aid for children landed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday, “as aid groups warned of a growing influx of hungry families from the famine-hit south of the country,” Reuters reports (Sheikh, 7/27).
U.S. Foreign Policy Should Promote Healthy Women
“When women are healthy and empowered, they can spark a ripple effect in their families, communities and nations that can lead to lower rates of poverty and stronger economic growth and productivity,” Tamara Kreinin, executive director of women and population at the United Nations Foundation, writes in a “RH Reality Check” blog post. “By voting to reduce funding for international reproductive health and family planning activities, eliminate funding for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), and reinstate the Global Gag Rule, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs threatens to turn back the clock on women’s health and has taken its disturbing war on women to a global stage,” she writes, referring to the House FY12 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (7/27).
Debt-Ceiling Pressure Increases As Deadline Approaches
News outlets report that states are getting more nervous and are taking steps to prepare for the loss in federal dollars. Meanwhile, in the background, political maneuvering surrounding Medicare and Medicaid continues.
Nation’s Health Care Tab Continues To Grow
Even as new projections estimate that the costs will reach $4.6 trillion by 2020, some point out that the current rate of increase is slower than expected.
Niger Facing High Child Malnutrition Rates
While the world focuses on the famine in East Africa, warnings about high child malnutrition rates in Niger appear “to have gone unnoticed by the international media,” AlertNet reports.
Longer Looks: Expensive Cities For Health Care; Mapping Medicaid
This week’s collection includes articles from Bundle, Time, The Economist, Marketplace, The Nation and American Medical News.
A selection of opinons and editorials from around the country.
State Roundup: Mass. Communities Look To New Law For Health Savings
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Federal Judge Upholds Obama Rule On Stem Cell Research
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth rules that NIH guidelines do not violate federal law.
Kansas Health IT Officials Get First Big Test; Utah Faces Digital Incompatibility
The hospital association has asked the Kansas Information Exchange to probe pricing structures of electronic health record vendors, the Kansas Health Institute News reports. Meanwhile, in Utah, plans some analysts are raising concerns that doctors and hospitals have already signed up with systems that may not work together, the Salt Lake Tribune writes.
Veterans’ Health Care Costs Are A Big Part Of Federal Budget
The New York Times reports on how these costs will continue to rise for decades.
However, the Associated Press reports on a trend that has led some insurers to increase profits and may now also give consumers a break from premium hikes.
