Today’s Headlines – Oct. 25, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
October 25, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that a group of Republcian governors communicated their concerns to the super committee. The Washington Post: Republican Governors Submit Recommendations To Debt “Supercommittee’ Four GOP governors sent a letter Monday to the congressional joint committee tasked with drafting a plan to reduce the […]
Today’s Headlines – Nov. 17, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
November 17, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Good morning! The fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision on a hearing for the health law continues, as observers watch for signs that the super committee will find common ground before their Wednesday deadline. The Washington Post: Supreme Court’s Planned Review Of Health-Care Law Shocks Medicaid Advocates While there was no surprise over the Supreme […]
A Delay In Signing Up For Medicare Can Lead To Big Penalties
January 23, 2012
Morning Briefing
Reuters reports on how seniors who wait too long to sign up for Medicare Part B could face costly penalties. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat reports on the political implications of Medicare’s monthly premiums.
Protesting Kenyans Call For Emergency Donor Conference To Raise $2B For Global Fund
January 31, 2012
Morning Briefing
“Hundreds of HIV-positive Kenyans protested outside the European Union’s Nairobi office on Monday, accusing the E.U. of causing unnecessary deaths by cutting funding to” the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, AlertNet reports. Late last year, the Global Fund announced it would not hold a new round of grants until 2014, the news service notes, adding, “The demonstrators called on the Global Fund to hold an emergency donor conference to raise $2 billion so developing countries can apply for grants this year” (Migiro, 1/30). Though no new grants will be awarded before 2014, the Global Fund “has set up what it calls a ‘transitional funding mechanism,’ which covers the continuation of essential services” of existing grants, VOA News writes (Majtenyi, 1/30).
Today’s Headlines – Nov. 2, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
November 2, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Tuesday’s super committee hearing and the message communicated by bipartisan budget hawks to the panel — raise revenue and revamp health programs. The Associated Press/Washington Post: Bipartisan Budget Hawks To Debt-Cutting Panel: Raise Revenue, Revamp Health Programs Four prominent deficit-cutters told Congress’ bipartisan […]
Health Care: Super Power For The Super Committee
By David Kendall
October 12, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Health care costs are typically kryptonite in budget talks, but this time they are also the common enemy to both Democrats and Republicans. But both will have to give in order to reach a successful deal.
UNICEF Appeals For $1.28B To Provide Humanitarian Assistance For Children In 25 Nations
January 30, 2012
Morning Briefing
UNICEF on Friday “appealed … for $1.28 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to children in over 25 countries this year, with nearly one-third of the total amount earmarked for the crisis in the Horn of Africa,” the U.N. News Centre reports (1/27). The agency also released its annual “Humanitarian Action for Children 2012” report, which “decried the rising levels of starvation and malnutrition among children under the age of five in many of the world’s troubled regions,” GlobalPost writes (1/27). UNICEF “said it was seeking nine percent less than in 2011, linked to lower needs in Pakistan and Haiti, but that its needs for fighting hunger had jumped by nearly 50 percent,” according to Agence France-Presse (1/28). The agency said more than one million children in Africa’s Sahel region are at risk of severe malnutrition, Reuters reports (1/27).
As Federal Court Action Looms, Sebelius Says Plan B ‘Not About Politics’
December 13, 2011
Morning Briefing
A federal judge in Brooklyn will hear arguments Tuesday afternoon on the constitutionality of the federal decision regarding the access teenage girls should have to morning-after contraceptive pills. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the decision about Plan B’s over-the-counter status was not a political one.
Romney’s Plan Would Fundamentally Change Medicare
By Marilyn Werber Serafini Mary Agnes Carey
November 9, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Although the GOP presidential candidate is offering to let beneficiaries stay in the traditional fee-for-service program, critics say his plan could shift more cost to individuals.
Blog Posts Report On International Treatment As Prevention Conference In Vancouver
April 26, 2012
Morning Briefing
Two separate posts in the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog report on the International Treatment as Prevention conference in Vancouver. The first post recaps an update from Stephen Becker of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday “about the Foundation’s treatment optimization activities,” writing, “According to Becker, the Foundation acknowledges that treatment will be at the center of HIV prevention efforts, but ‘no amount of treatment will obviate the need for primary prevention modalities'” (Lubinski, 4/24). The second post reports that, “[d]espite its status as one of the poorest countries in Africa and its failed effort to garner a Round 10 grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — Malawi is moving forward to implement ‘Option B+’ for pregnant women,” meaning “pregnant and lactating women are enrolled in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs for life, regardless of CD4 count” (Lubinski, 4/24).
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 20, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
October 20, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports analyzing the super committee’s progress, and detailing how Republican rivals’ stabs at ‘Romneycare’ are starting to gaining traction. The Washington Post: Supercommittee’s Lack Of Progress On Debt Reduction Raises Alarms On Hill Committee members say there is still time to cut a deal […]
The Specifics: How Obama Plans To Cut Health Programs By $320 Billion
By Phil Galewitz
September 19, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports that the biggest cut to Medicare requires pharmaceutical companies to lower the rates for low-income beneficiaries.
CHIP Outreach Gets More Kids Covered
By Phil Galewitz
August 18, 2011
KFF Health News Original
If you build it, they will come … at least some of the time. The number of children eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but not enrolled fell to 4.3 million in 2009 from 4.7 million the prior year, according to a report out today. The drop is significant because it occurred even […]
Today’s Headlines – Sept. 6, 2011
By Lexie Verdon
September 6, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Welcome back from the Labor Day holiday! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations include reports from a GOP presidential candidate forum in South Carolina and analysis of what to expect as Congress returns to Washington. Los Angeles Times: GOP Hopefuls Court ‘Tea Party’ Conservatives In South Carolina In a Labor Day warm-up for […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 19, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
October 19, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report that health policy issues triggered “withering attacks” during last night’s Las Vegas GOP presidential debate. Los Angeles Times: Vegas Debate: Romney Faces Withering Attacks Over Healthcare After the candidates sliced and diced Herman Cain’s “9-9-9” plan, they turned their attention to the […]
Improved Access To Family Planning In Africa Will Lead To Economic Development
April 3, 2012
Morning Briefing
Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation writes in an opinion piece in Nigeria’s Vanguard, “My top priority as a co-chair of the foundation I run with my husband is making sure that all families have access to safe and effective contraception tools that empower them to make a decision about what’s best for them and their family. And that means encouraging aid donors and governments here in Nigeria and across Africa to make family planning a priority.” Improved access to modern methods of contraception and child spacing would save millions of lives, “[b]ut family planning doesn’t just save lives; it also makes life better for families and communities, becoming a key driver of economic development,” Gates continues.
Berwick Turns 65: Medicare Chief First To Join Medicare
By Phil Galewitz
September 8, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Friday is a big day for Medicare chief Donald Berwick. He turns 65 and will become the first head of the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled to be a beneficiary at the same time. “I’m excited,” he told KHN in a pre-birthday interview Thursday. “I feel like I’m in my 20s […]
Senate Democrats Seek Justification For Plan B Decision
December 14, 2011
Morning Briefing
Thirteen Democrats and one independent expressed disappointment in Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to block younger teenagers from buying the emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B” without a prescription. Meanwhile, a federal judge says he will review the decision.
Obama Defends Limits On Morning-After Pill
December 9, 2011
Morning Briefing
The New York Times, Washington Post and others analyze the president’s support of his health secretary’s decision to limit access to the Plan B pill.
HHS: Plan B Access Will Stay Limited
December 7, 2011
Morning Briefing
The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that the morning-after pill will continue to be kept behind the pharmacy counter and girls younger than 17 will continue to need a prescription to obtain it. KHN tracked news coverage of this development.
