Gilead Becomes First Company To License Drugs To Medicines Patent Pool
July 12, 2011
Morning Briefing
“In the first agreement between a pharmaceutical company and the new international Medicines Patent Pool, Gilead Sciences announced Tuesday that it would license four of its AIDS and hepatitis B drugs to the pool,” the New York Times reports (McNeil, 7/12).
Experts Ponder ‘Plan B’ Options For The Individual Mandate
By Joanne Kenen
December 16, 2010
KFF Health News Original
If the courts were to strike down the provision of the health law requiring consumers to buy insurance, some experts say there are other ways to get people covered.
CBO Outlines ‘Key Features’ Of Ryan Budget Proposal: ‘Substantial’ Changes To Medicare, Medicaid
April 5, 2011
KFF Health News Original
The Congressional Budget Office analyzed Rep. Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget proposal and revealed some additional details not in the Republicans’ news conference Tuesday.
Judges Reviewing Health Law Say Penalty Is Not A Tax
By Julie Rovner, NPR News
February 23, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Congress took great pains to ensure that the penalty imposed on people who don’t get health insurance was not called a tax in the health law. This could make it tough for the Justice Department to argue that it is a tax.
Direct Incentives For Vaccination Would Increase Rates
June 28, 2011
Morning Briefing
In its first decade, the GAVI Alliance has helped prevent the deaths of more than five million children by introducing more widespread vaccination in low-income countries, “[b]ut, going forward, the alliance is going to have to think more about getting parents to vaccinate their kids
Text: Health Law Repeal Bill And House ‘Resolution’ On Replacing The Law
January 17, 2011
KFF Health News Original
This document contains the text of the bill to repeal the health law and a Republican resolution “instructing certain committees to report legislation replacing” the law.
Large Donations Help GAVI Raise $4.3B, Exceeding Goal
June 14, 2011
Morning Briefing
“Large donations from the U.K., Norway and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped a global vaccine charity raise $4.3 billion at a summit Monday, exceeding its targets and allowing it to carry out all its immunization plans through 2015,” the Wall Street Journal reports. The U.K. pledged $1.34 billion to the GAVI Alliance, the Gates Foundation promised $1 billion and Norway offered $677 million (Whalen, 6/14).
Understanding Rep. Ryan’s Plan For Medicare
By KFF Health News Staff
April 4, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Are vouchers the same as premium support? Will seniors’ health care look like that offered federal workers? A guide to some of the questions and issues in the House Budget chairman’s plan.
Global Fund Disbursed Record $3B In 2010, Faces More Than $1B Shortfall For 2011-13, Report Says
May 20, 2011
Morning Briefing
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday in Paris released a report (.pdf) noting that while it disbursed a record $3 billion in 2010, the $1.3 billion shortfall if faces for 2011-2013, “threaten[s] goals to roll back diseases that together claim more than four million lives a year,” Agence France-Presse reports.
Glossary
February 23, 2011
Page
The most important terms in health care policy, from A to Z. The main sources for this glossary are the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Other sources include: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Internal Revenue Service, University of California, San Francisco, U.S. Department of Labor, […]
Studies: Unintended Pregnancies Cost Taxpayers $11B A Year
May 20, 2011
Morning Briefing
Two studies have found that unplanned pregnancies cost taxpayers up to $11 billion per year. The figure is sure to generate discussion on Capitol Hill as lawmakers grapple with funding for Planned Parenthood.
GAVI Appeals For $3.7B Ahead Of Pledging Conference Despite Lower Vaccine Prices
June 7, 2011
Morning Briefing
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).
Text: Republicans’ Health Reform Repeal Legislation And Original Overhaul Proposal
By KFF Health News Staff
January 6, 2011
KFF Health News Original
With Republicans setting a Jan. 12 vote in the House to try to repeal the new health care law, here is the language of the GOP’s repeal and health reform bills.
India Pledges $5B In Aid To Africa To Help Continent Reach MDGs
May 26, 2011
Morning Briefing
India on Wednesday at the conclusion of the second India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pledged $5 billion in aid to Africa to help the continent reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Guardian reports.
Nine Ways The New Health Law May Affect You in 2011
By KFF Health News Staff
January 3, 2011
KFF Health News Original
In 2011 many new provisions of the health law kick in, providing benefits for many and potential new costs for some others.
New Scrutiny For Insurance Mandate After Repeal Vote
By Jessica Marcy Aimee Miles Amita Parashar
January 19, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Republicans are eager to repeal the requirement in the health care law. Public support for the mandate is shaky, and even some Democrats have signaled a willingness to look at alternatives. Some – but not all – health policy experts say the mandate is essential. KHN interviewed several to get their views.
The Medicare Doc Fix: Physicians Again Are Staring Into The Abyss
By Gail Wilensky
November 18, 2010
KFF Health News Original
At the end of November, the most recent “doc fix” will expires. Without congressional action, physicians who see Medicare patients will face an across-the-board 23% reduction in their fees. If nothing happens by January, physicians would face an additional 7 percent reduction.
AMA Head Readies New Medicare ‘Doc Fix’ Push
November 1, 2010
KFF Health News Original
No matter what the outcome of the midterm elections, the American Medical Association is hard at work on a new proposal to fix the Medicare physician payment system. The AMA wants to stave off cuts of up to 30 percent, slated to begin taking effect Dec. 1. AMA chief Cecil B. Wilson talks with Kaiser Health News to talk about the looming cuts, why it’s increasingly difficult for doctors to see Medicare patients in America and how the AMA will soon try to lobby lawmakers for a permanent fix to the system.
Deficit Reduction Plans Would Squeeze Medicare
By Mary Agnes Carey
November 29, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Spurred by growing concerns about the federal deficit, plans to curb Medicare spending are proliferating – setting the stage for potentially bruising battles between seniors’ advocates and budget cutters.
Smoking-Related Illnesses Could Kill Up To 1B People This Century, U.N. Official Says
May 2, 2011
Morning Briefing
As many as one billion people could die of smoking-related illnesses this century if efforts to curb the practice are not implemented, a senior U.N. health official warned on Friday, the U.N. News Centre reports.
