Financial Times Examines How GAVI’s $2.6B Shortfall Might Affect New Vaccine Programs In Developing Countries
June 16, 2010
Morning Briefing
GAVI Alliance’s plan to introduce new vaccine projects in the developing world “is under threat amid the international economic downturn,” the Financial Times reports. “Subsidies to extend the use of vaccines against rubella, HPV to tackle cervical cancer, cholera and Japanese encephalitis in the developing world are among those likely to be cancelled or delayed, the head of the U.N.-backed” Alliance’s CEO Julian Lob-Levyt said, the newspaper writes.
Small Anti-Abortion Advocacy Group Flexes Muscle In Midterm Elections
May 14, 2010
Morning Briefing
The Washington Post reports on the increasingly important role of a small antiabortion advocacy group, the Susan B. Anthony List, which is targeting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in his bid for re-election.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee To Mark Up $3.5B Haiti Reconstruction Bill
May 25, 2010
Morning Briefing
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday is expected to mark up a bill that would “authorize $3.5 billion in reconstruction funds for Haiti over five years” and would also require USAID “to submit a long-term reconstruction plan to Congress as well as mandate the president to appoint a senior policy coordinator for Haiti,” The Hill reports (Bogardus, 5/23).
Graphic: HHS Discretionary Spending In President’s Proposed 2011 Budget
February 2, 2010
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By Christopher Weaver KFF Health News Staff WriterFEB 02, 2010 The lion’s share – by far – of the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget is consumed by Medicare and Medicaid, the towering entitlement programs that cover health care for the elderly/disabled and low-income, respectively. Together, and with additional smaller mandatory spending programs, they […]
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Passes 2-Year, $2B Measure To Aid Haiti Rebuilding
May 26, 2010
Morning Briefing
The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee passed a $2 billion aid package to assist with Haiti’s rebuilding from the January 12 earthquake, Agence France-Presse reports (5/25).
Transcript: Health On The Hill – What The Massachusetts Senate Race Could Mean For Health Reform
January 19, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The outcome of the Massachusetts Senate race could play a pivotal role in efforts by President Obama and congressional Democrats to pass a health care overhaul bill this year.
Give Nurses A Bigger Role In Improving Health Care
By Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
January 20, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Poll after poll finds that nurses are either the most trusted group of professionals, or one of the most trusted groups, in the country.
Transcript: Health On The Hill – What’s Ahead This Week
March 8, 2010
KFF Health News Original
President Obama will visit Philadelphia and St. Louis this week to continue his push to have Congress pass health overhaul legislation this month.
Mail-Order Drug Provider Identifies $163B In Potential Prescription Drug Savings
April 21, 2010
Morning Briefing
A study by Express Scripts, a mail-order prescription drug provider, said Tuesday that an “estimated $163 billion in health care spending could be saved each year if patients took their medicines as prescribed, chose generic drugs and other low-cost alternatives, and had their prescriptions delivered by mail,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Obama Requests $2.8B In Emergency Funds For Haiti
March 25, 2010
Morning Briefing
President Barack Obama sent a letter (.pdf) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Wednesday asking the Congress “for $2.8 billion in emergency funds to provide for costs associated with relief and reconstruction for Haiti, after its devastating earthquake on January 12,” Reuters reports.
Donors Pledge $5.3B Over 18 Months To Help Rebuild Haiti
April 1, 2010
Morning Briefing
Donors at a conference Wednesday pledged to provide Haiti with $5.3 billion over the next 18 months to help the country rebuild after the January earthquake, the Wall Street Journal reports (Rhoads/Lauria, 3/31).
Haiti Rebuilding Effort Could Cost $11.5B Over 3 Years, Assessment Says
March 16, 2010
Morning Briefing
A “thorough analysis prepared by the Haiti government, together with the United Nations and other international organizations” estimates it will take $11.5 billion over the next three years to repair damage to Haiti after a major earthquake struck in January, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Report Estimates Haiti Earthquake Damages Could Reach Nearly $14B
February 17, 2010
Morning Briefing
The total cost of the destruction in Haiti, resulting from the major earthquake last month, could add up to twice the value of the country’s annual economy, a three Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) economists said in a report on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.
Medicare Coverage Explained
By Jessica Marcy
September 22, 2009
KFF Health News Original
As a part of our “Are You Covered?” series, KHN and NPR examine how the health overhaul would affect medicare.
U.N. Calls For $1.4B To Fund Basic Needs In Haiti Through The End Of 2010
February 19, 2010
Morning Briefing
The U.N. on Thursday launched its “largest appeal following a natural disaster,” calling for $1.4 billion “to provide food, water, shelter and sanitation to 3 million Haitians throughout 2010,” Bloomberg/BusinessWeek reports (Varner, 2/18).
10 Experts Weigh In On Plan To Replace Public Option In Health Bill
By KFF Health News Staff
December 14, 2009
KFF Health News Original
Can a spinoff of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program help some of the country’s uninsured? Experts evaluate a proposal that the Office of Personnel Management, which manages the FEHBP, oversee national health plans.
House To Move Forward To End Antitrust Exemption For Health Insurers
February 4, 2010
Morning Briefing
“House Democratic leaders are moving forward with Plan B for passing health care reform by introducing a stand-alone measure to strip the antitrust exemption for health insurance companies – a popular piece of their stalled health care reform package,” Roll Call reports.
$1.2B Needed To Aid Women, Children In 28 Countries ‘In Crisis,’ UNICEF Says
February 5, 2010
Morning Briefing
UNICEF on Thursday launched a $1.2 billion appeal aimed at providing “life saving emergency assistance to millions of children and women in dire need,” VOA News reports (Schlein, 2/4). “The appeal is part of UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action Report 2010, released in Geneva … which spotlights the desperate situation of children and women in 28 countries and territories facing deep humanitarian crises,” the U.N. News Centre writes (2/4).
VA Expected To Move Soon To Cover More Effects Of Agent Orange
January 8, 2010
Morning Briefing
The Department of Veterans Affairs expected to issue a rule soon that presumes Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemia and heart disease are the result of chemical used during the Vietnam War.