Large Childhood Immunization Campaign Begins In Haiti, With Support From U.S., Other International Partners
April 17, 2012
Morning Briefing
Haiti, the U.S. and other international partners on Monday launched “a nationwide vaccination campaign in the Caribbean country that seeks to curb or prevent infectious diseases, health officials said,” the Associated Press/Fox News reports. The campaign will include immunizations against measles, rubella and polio, as well as the pentavalent vaccine, which is effective against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type b, according to the news agency. Immunization rates are low in Haiti, with the WHO reporting slightly more than half of the population immunized for measles and polio, but the current campaign aims to vaccinate 90 percent of Haiti’s youth population, according to Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume, the news agency notes.
Some Public Health Advocates Disagree With Indian Government’s Decision To Roll Out Pentavalent Vaccines, IPS Reports
April 30, 2012
Morning Briefing
“Ignoring widespread concern over the safety, efficacy and cost of pentavalent vaccines” — which provide protection against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) — “India’s central health ministry has, this month, approved inclusion of the prophylactic cocktail in the universal immunization program in seven of its provinces,” Inter Press Service reports. Pentavalent vaccines have “had a history of causing adverse reactions and deaths in India’s neighboring countries like Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan,” the news service writes, noting that India’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) in 2010 “recommended limited introduction of pentavalents in southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu and evaluation of results over a year before extension to other states.” Despite this recommendation and outstanding public interest litigation, the government on April 16 announced the vaccines would be introduced in five additional states, IPS reports.
J&J Fined $1.2B For Hiding Anti-Psychotic Drug Dangers, Deceptive Marketing
April 12, 2012
Morning Briefing
An Arkansas judge fined the drug maker and a subsidiary for misleading doctors and the public on the risks involved with taking an anti-psychotic drug, Risperdal, and for marketing the drug for an off-label use to the state’s Medicaid system.
Enrollment Still Growing In Medicare Advantage Plans, GAO Says
By Mary Agnes Carey
December 1, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Predictions of the demise of Medicare’s private insurance plans are premature, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Building Health Reform’s Research Arm
By Shefali S. Kulkarni
January 9, 2012
KFF Health News Original
KHN’s Shefali S. Kulkarni interviews Dr. Anne Beal, COO of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Tells GlobalPost State Department Reviewing Nearly $1.5B In Unused PEPFAR Funding
April 19, 2012
Morning Briefing
Prompted by an inquiry from GlobalPost, U.S. officials have said the Obama administration called for a $550 million reduction — an 11 percent cut — for its global AIDS program in its FY 2013 budget request because the “government didn’t need more money because there has been nearly $1.5 billion stuck in the pipeline for 18 months or more,” GlobalPost reports. According to the news service, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, headed by Ambassador Eric Goosby, “said this week it will immediately start a consultation period with Congress, its partners across the U.S. government and AIDS advocates to address a key question: What should they do with $1.46 billion?” GlobalPost reports that Goosby “explained that $1.46 billion designated to fight AIDS hasn’t been used because of inefficient bureaucracies; major reductions in the cost of AIDS treatment; delays due to long negotiations on realigning programs with recipient country priorities; and a slowdown in a few countries because the AIDS problem was much smaller than originally estimated” (Donnelly, 4/17).
Today’s Headlines – December 22, 2011
By Lexie Verdon
December 22, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Here are your morning headlines for the first day of winter! Stay warm. The Los Angeles Times: U.S. Leaders Say They Are Hard At Work On Payroll Tax With no endgame in sight to prevent a looming payroll tax hike, President Obama and congressional leaders took turns trying to convince Americans that they were hard […]
Today’s Headlines – December 16, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
December 16, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Good morning and happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines. The Washington Post: Medicare’s ‘SGR’ Formula Has Snowballed To Budget-Busting Juggernaut It was adopted by Congress in 1997 almost as an afterthought — a new formula to keep Medicare spending on doctors from growing faster than the economy as a whole. But like a snowball […]
Report: Savings of $125B Possible for Coordinating Care of Dual Eligibles
By Marilyn Werber Serafini
September 21, 2011
KFF Health News Original
The federal government could save $125 billion over ten years by requiring all people who get both Medicare and Medicaid – dual eligibles – to enroll in team-based coordinated care programs, according to a report written by Emory University’s Kenneth Thorpe and funded by America’s Health Insurance Plans. States could save $34 billion, and the […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 28, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
October 28, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Happy Friday! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the health law’s public support, the latest on the super committee and news about the cost of Medicare Part B premiums. The Wall Street Journal: Repeal Health Law? It Won’t Be Easy Every Republican presidential candidate has promised to repeal the Obama […]
Health On The Hill: Budget Experts Warn Super Committee About Consequences Of Failure
November 1, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey about the super committee’s public hearing Tuesday when it heard from the leaders of previous deficit reduction groups.
Clock Is Ticking for ‘Doc Fix,’ Medicare ‘Extenders’
December 6, 2011
KFF Health News Original
In today’s Health on the Hill, Jackie Judd and KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey discuss the prospects for an agreement this month on Medicare reimbursement rates, and what happens if nothing is done before the end of the year.
Reuters Examines Cancer In Africa
May 2, 2012
Morning Briefing
Reuters examines cancer in Africa, writing, “Most of Africa’s around 2,000 languages have no word for cancer. The common perception in both developing and developed countries is that it’s a disease of the wealthy world, where high-fat, processed-food diets, alcohol, smoking and sedentary lifestyles fuel tumor growth.” However, according to the news service, sub-Saharan Africa will see an estimated one million new cancer cases this year — “a number predicted to double to two million a year in the next decade,” and, “[b]y 2030, according to predictions from the [WHO], 70 percent of the world’s cancer burden will be in poor countries.”
Romney, Santorum, Others Call For Medicare ‘Premium Support’ In New Hampshire GOP Debate
January 9, 2012
KFF Health News Original
While health care issues did not take up much of Sunday morning’s debate, the candidates agreed that Medicare should be a Rep. Paul-Ryan-style “premium support” system and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney said that, in the future, he believes wealthy Medicare recipients should have to pay more for the program.
Testy Santorum, Romney Tussle Over Mass. Health Reform
February 23, 2012
KFF Health News Original
In the last scheduled Republican debate, candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul attacked the Obama administration on its birth control stance. Santorum dovetailed the issue into an attack of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law, which then-Gov. Romney endorsed. Here is a transcript of the health care portions of the debate:
Do Extra Brain Cells Offer A Clue To Autism?
By Jessica Marcy
November 10, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reads from around the Web. Time: Study: Autistic Children Have More Brain Cells There’s growing evidence that the brains of autistic children are very different from the brains of other youngsters. Now a new study that found an excess of brain cells in children with autism comes closer […]
Number Of People Worldwide With Dementia Expected To Triple By 2050; Caregivers Need Support, Report Says
April 11, 2012
Morning Briefing
The number of people living with dementia is expected to double to 65.7 million by 2030 and more than triple by 2050, with “the [current estimated] cost of treating and caring for those with the condition at $604 billion a year,” according to a report released Wednesday by the WHO and Alzheimer’s Disease International, Agence France-Presse reports (4/11). “Dementia affects people in all countries, with more than half (58 percent) living in low- and middle-income countries,” and “[b]y 2050, this is likely to rise to more than 70 percent,” according to a WHO press release.
Group Seeks To Reopen Case Over Access to Plan B
February 9, 2012
Morning Briefing
Women’s advocacy group seeks wider access to contraceptive, while study reports lowest teen pregnancy rate in decades.
N.Y. Malpractice Program May Offer Model For Medical Liability Cases
By Michelle Andrews
November 21, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Under the system, when a lawsuit is filed, a judge with expertise in medical matters becomes the point person for that case and helps broker a settlement.
