Researchers Closer To Developing Meningitis B Vaccine
July 18, 2011
Morning Briefing
“New research may bring scientists one step closer to developing a vaccine that protects against hundreds of strains of meningococcus B, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis,” according to research published last week in Science Translational Medicine, HealthDay News reports. Researchers used methods that allowed them to identify the most effective vaccine candidate, technology that could be used to develop vaccines for malaria and AIDS, the news service notes (7/15).
Berwick Says Obama’s Plan To Trigger Medicare Cuts Won’t Be Necessary
By Susan Jaffe
April 15, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Current plans to improve quality and reduce waste should avoid the need for the Independent Payment Review Board to step in and order cuts, Medicare chief says.
First Edition: July 15, 2011
July 15, 2011
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that the debt-ceiling strategy appears to moving toward a “plan B.”
Small Phase I Trial Shows HIV Vaccine Candidate Is Most Powerful To Date
September 29, 2011
Morning Briefing
Researchers at the Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) have successfully completed a small Phase I human clinical trial of an HIV vaccine candidate that granted 90 percent of 30 study participants an immunological response against the virus, Gizmag reports. “The MVA-B vaccine draws on the natural capabilities of the human immune system and ‘has proven to be as powerful as any other vaccine currently being studied, or even more,’ says Mariano Esteban, head researcher from CSIC’s National Biotech Centre,” the magazine writes (Borgobello, 9/28).
Some Seniors Are In For Sticker Shock On Drug Premiums
By Mary Agnes Carey
February 11, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Starting this year, affluent Medicare beneficiaries will begin paying more than the standard premium for their Part D coverage.
Plan B Gaining Traction In Debt-Ceiling Strategy
July 15, 2011
Morning Briefing
A proposal offered earlier this week by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is emerging as a means to resolve the current stalemate in negotiations to raise the nation’s debt limit. But even as this approach continues to gain momentum, it will face considerable political and procedural hurdles.
Guyana Coast At Risk Of Malaria Resurgence As Climate Change Brings Warmer Temperatures, More Rainfall
September 7, 2011
Morning Briefing
“Guyana is battling to prevent the spread of malaria as climate change brings higher temperatures and more rainfall, threatening to push the disease back into densely populated coastal regions,” AlertNet reports. The majority of malaria cases occur in the northwest of the small South American country, [b]ut recently, the mosquito-borne disease has also been found in an adjoining coastal region, as well as further inland to the east and south,” the news service writes.
Medicare Patients Aren’t Taking Advantage Of Some Newly Free Tests
By Susan Jaffe
April 26, 2011
KFF Health News Original
This year, seniors enrolled in Medicare no longer have to pay for more than a dozen tests and services to prevent disease thanks to the health law. Many, however, aren’t lining up for mammograms or colonoscopies though free wellness checks are luring many.
Vaccination Must Be Part Of Response To Cholera Outbreak In Haiti
September 23, 2011
Morning Briefing
Though “[c]holera vaccines are not a magic bullet and are not available in adequate numbers” to vaccinate everyone in Haiti, where at least 10 people die each day in an outbreak that began in October 2010, “there are compelling reasons to add vaccinations to the arsenal of public health weapons that has been deployed against cholera in Haiti,” a Washington Post editorial states. Efforts to improve access to clean water, educate the public about cholera transmission and treat those infected are ongoing, “[b]ut those efforts should be supplemented with an ambitious vaccination program starting as soon as practicable,” the editorial writes.
U.N. Increases Humanitarian Aid Need To $7.9B For 2011
July 21, 2011
Morning Briefing
The U.N. on Wednesday said during a donor meeting in Geneva that “it needs $7.9 billion this year, $500 million more than it had originally sought, to fund relief operations in the face of spreading humanitarian crises in Africa and Asia,” Reuters reports (7/20).
Under Health Law, Colonoscopies Are Free – But It Doesn’t Always Work That Way
By Harris Meyer
April 25, 2011
KFF Health News Original
The billing can get complicated if doctors find a polyp during a screening: Some insurers
After The Deluge: Health Reform Without An Individual Mandate
By Austin Frakt and Kevin Outterson
February 24, 2011
KFF Health News Original
As challenges to the health law’s individual mandate wind their way through the courts, it is important to focus on the real question: what happens to the health law if this provision is ultimately struck down?
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.