The Players
July 9, 2009
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MELODY BARNES DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL Date of Birth: April 29, 1964. Education: B.A., University of North Carolina; J.D., University of Michigan. Career Path: Barnes worked in private practice at a major New York law firm before becoming director of legislative affairs for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1992. She then […]
UNICEF Report Highlights Gains In Child Health, While 1B Still Lack Essential Services
November 20, 2009
Morning Briefing
A special edition of UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children report, released 20 years after the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, shows that “fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school
Reading the Fine Print on Health Reform: Encouraging News For Public Health
By Harold Pollack
June 25, 2009
KFF Health News Original
Partisan health reform fights have focused on a handful of concerns: the proposed public health insurance plan, individual and employer mandates, financing measures to subsidize low-income Americans and to cover the uninsured. As a combatant in some of these fights, I’m not one to say the partisan conflict is misplaced.
The Players
July 12, 2009
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REP. JOHN DINGELL, D-MICH. CHAIRMAN, HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE, HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMITTEE Date of Birth: July 8, 1926. Education: B.S. and J.D, Georgetown University. Career Path: Dingell won a special election in 1955 to assume the seat of his father, who died. Reelected 26 times, he is the longest serving representative. Dingell lost his chairmanship […]
The Players
July 7, 2009
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EZEKIEL EMANUEL SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR HEALTH POLICY TO THE DIRECTOR OF WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Date of Birth: Sept. 6, 1957. Education: B.A., Amherst College; M.Sc., Oxford University; M.D., Harvard Medical School; Ph.D. in political philosophy, Harvard University. Career Path: Emanuel, an oncologist, moved to the National Institutes of Health after serving […]
Medical Imaging: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
By Pat Basu
August 13, 2009
KFF Health News Original
In its current state, diagnostic imaging can be seen as “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. Congress must separate healthy and unhealthy growth
ARTs Safe Without Routine Lab Tests, Lancet Study Finds
December 10, 2009
Morning Briefing
A Lancet study published online Tuesday validates the safety of administering first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) to patients with HIV without routine toxicity and efficacy lab tests, “[b]ut tests of immune-system function might still be a good idea to monitor the progression of the disease and guide the second year of treatment,” HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report reports. Patients in Africa “often receive [HIV] drug treatment … without routine laboratory monitoring,” according to the article.
The Players
July 5, 2009
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RICHARD UMBDENSTOCK PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION Date of Birth: Oct. 4, 1950. Education: B.A., Fairfield University; M.S., health services administration, State University of New York at Stony Brook. Career Path: Umbdenstock worked as a health system administrator and hospital consultant before becoming head of AHA in 2007. Role in Health Care […]
The Players
July 1, 2009
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DAVID CUTLER OTTO ECKSTEIN PROFESSOR OF APPLIED ECONOMICS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Date of Birth: June 22, 1965. Education: A.B., Harvard University; Ph.D. in economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Career Path: Cutler joined Harvard’s faculty in 1991. He served on President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council. Cutler was one of the key […]
The Players
June 4, 2009
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SEN. MIKE ENZI, R-WYO. RANKING MEMBER, SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR AND PENSIONS COMMITTEE Date of Birth: Feb. 1, 1944. Education: B.A., George Washington University; M.B.A, University of Denver. Career Path: Enzi owned a shoe business then worked in the financial sector before getting involved in local and state politics. He was elected to the U.S. […]
Press Release: Baucus’ Plan To Lower Health Care Costs
September 16, 2009
KFF Health News Original
The following is a press release on Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ new health care reform legislation.
The Players
June 4, 2009
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REP. PETE STARK. D-CALIF. CHAIRMAN, HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE Date of Birth: Nov. 11, 1931. Education: B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; M.B.A., University of California-Berkeley. Career Path: Stark founded a successful chain of banks in the San Francisco Bay area. He was initially a Republican but became a Democrat because of his opposition to […]
The Players
June 4, 2009
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NANCY-ANN DEPARLE DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF HEALTH REFORM Date of Birth: Dec. 17, 1956. Education: B.A., University of Tennessee; J.D., Harvard Law School; B.A. and M.A., Balliol College, Oxford University. Career Path: DeParle served as Tennessee’s Medicaid director before moving to Washington, where she became associate director for health and personnel at the White […]
Medical Device Manufacturers Launch Ad To Head Off $40B Tax On Their Products
October 29, 2009
Morning Briefing
A new ad campaign is aimed at stopping Congress from imposing $40 billion in taxes on medical devices in health care overhaul, Roll Call reports.
The Players
June 26, 2009
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DAVID BLUMENTHAL NATIONAL COORDINATOR FOR HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Date of Birth: Aug. 31, 1948. Education: A.B., Harvard College; M.D. Harvard Medical School, and M.P.P., John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Career Path: Blumenthal worked on the Senate subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research for Sen. Edward Kennedy and later headed Harvard’s Center for […]
The Players
June 29, 2009
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LARRY SUMMERS DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL Date of Birth: Nov. 30, 1954 Education: B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ph.D. in economics, Harvard University. Career Path: Summers received his Ph.D. at Harvard and became the youngest tenured professor in the school’s history at age 28. He was a member of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, […]
Coburn Opposes Medicare Part B Premiums Freeze, McCain Calls Drug Pact ‘Unsavory’
October 8, 2009
Morning Briefing
Sen. Tom Coburn blocks a request to keep Medicare Part B premiums constant next year while Sen. John McCain calls President Barack Obama’s deal with the pharmaceutical industry “unsavory.”
The Players
June 4, 2009
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KAREN IGNAGNI PRESIDENT AND CEO OF AMERICA’S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS (AHIP) DATE OF BIRTH: Dec. 1953 EDUCATION: B.A., Providence College; M.B.A., Loyola College. Career Path: Ignagni’s early career included positions at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and as director of the AFL-CIO’s department of employee […]
House Passes Bill To Stop Some Medicare Premium Increases
September 25, 2009
Morning Briefing
The House voted overwhelmingly to stop scheduled Medicare Part B premium increases next year and is sending the bill to the Senate.
The Players
June 24, 2009
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JOHN ROTHER POLICY DIRECTOR, AARP Date of Birth: April 18, 1947. Education: B.A., Oberlin; J.D., University of Pennsylvania. Career Path: Rother began his career as a Senate lawyer, first for Jacob Javits, R-N.Y., and then for the Special Committee on Aging. He became AARP’s head policy staffer in 1984. Role in Health Care Reform, 1993-1994: […]