Latest KFF Health News Stories
Republican Demands, Democrats’ Strategies Emerge In Debt-Ceiling Talks
As negotiators work to identify possible spending cuts, the impasse between the two parties becomes increasingly clear. Democrats oppose any deal that would include cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs and Republicans oppose any deal that include tax increases.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about an announcement by Blue Shield of California that it plans to cap it’s earnings.
Cooperation Is Key To Finding Global Food Security
“We need a global approach to achieving food security,” Tom Daschle, former Senate majority leader and chair of the DuPont Advisory Committee on Agricultural Innovation and Productivity for the 21st Century, writes in a Politico opinion piece.
South African Researchers Examine Cash Incentive HIV Prevention Program
In South Africa, where 17 percent of the world’s HIV-positive population lives, researchers from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) in Durban are examining whether providing cash payments as a reward for good grades and undergoing annual HIV testing, along with teaching life skills, might help change young men’s and women’s risky sexual behavior, Nature News reports.
Withdrawal Of Aid From Madagascar Hitting Poor Hard
The Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog” examines the effects of the withdrawal of international aid and debt relief from Madagascar following the country’s last coup in 2009.
Global Fund’s Transparency Is Essential And Saves Lives
In the Huffington Post, Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the Global Fund’s latest report on its investigation of its grants in Mali.
GAVI Appeals For $3.7B Ahead Of Pledging Conference Despite Lower Vaccine Prices
The GAVI Alliance has appealed to donors for $3.7 billion to be pledged during an upcoming conference despite announcements by several major pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of their vaccines for childhood diseases, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (6/6).
Stop TB Partnership Releases 5 TB Prevention Steps
Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, the Stop TB Partnership released five guidelines aimed at preventing tuberculosis, which results in one in four AIDS-related deaths, the U.N. News Centre writes.
Health Officials Rule Out Sprouts As Source Of German E. Coli Outbreak
Health officials in Germany are continuing to search for the source of an E. coli outbreak after tests on suspected sprouts from a farm in the north of the country came back negative, Deutsche Welle reports.
Conference Panel Examines Manufacturing Of Nutrition-Rich Foods
IRIN reports on a World Conference on Humanitarian Studies panel discussion about the manufacturing of nutrition-rich foods to treat malnutrition in the developing world.
GSK, Crucell To Test Second-Generation Malaria Vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline and drug company Crucell, a division of Johnson & Johnson, will collaborate with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to test a second-generation malaria vaccine “within the next couple of months,” Reuters reports.
HP Partners With Nonprofit To Help Detect Malaria Outbreaks, Improve Health Monitoring In Botswana
Hewlett-Packard on Monday announced it will provide “smartphones and cloud computing technology to nonprofit group Positive Innovation for the Next Generation (PING)” to help improve health monitoring and malaria detection in Botswana, Venture Beat reports (Takahashi, 6/6).
Dems Push For Debt Deal That Doesn’t Include Medicare Cuts
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., expressed optmistism that ongoing budget talks will result in legislation to raise the debt limit that includes changes to health care entitlement programs.
Santorum Stakes Out Medicare, Budget Positions
News outlets report that former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., may turn out to be Rep. Paul Ryan’s, R-Wis., biggest advocate. He gave a strong defense of Ryan’s plan to revamp Medicare and control its costs.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
State Roundup: Texas Legislator Seeks To Force Vote On ‘Health Care Compact’
News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues.
As Health Care Technology Advances, Costs Increase
Whether it is new medical devices or cancer treatments, the new approaches seem to cost more than the older ones.
Doctors’ Move To Electronic Records Requires Serious Commitment
Several news organization look at recent efforts by health providers to use new technology.
