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Political cartoon: 'Second Guessing?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Second Guessing?" by Mike Smith.

2 Apr 2012

New York Times examines global response to Haiti's cholera epidemic

The New York Times examines the global response to Haiti's cholera epidemic, writing that while "[m]any health officials consider the cholera response 'pretty remarkable,' as John Vertefeuille, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's director in Haiti, said ... [o]thers ... believe the bar for success was set too low and more lives could have been saved."

2 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 2, 2012

Today's headlines offer more analysis of what could become of the Supreme Courts consideration of the health law.

2 Apr 2012

States' efforts to change health system take on new significance

Variations in the way states have moved to implement the 2010 federal health-care law have taken on greater significance after last week's Supreme Court hearings, whose tone heightened speculation that the statute would be overturned.

2 Apr 2012

Post-Supreme Court, political debate on health law heats up

Just a few days after the Supreme Court's marathon consideration of the health law, news coverage centered around political ramifications.

2 Apr 2012

Biden, Schumer expect court to uphold health law

Biden attacked Romney and the GOP broadly for only staking out a position against what the Obama administration has done, and not offering an alternative. Biden used the healthcare reform law as an example. "What is the Romney answer? There's nothing. All they argue is cut, get rid of that," he said. Biden said that there are "millions of people" benefiting from the law already, and that he was confident the Supreme Court would uphold it when it rules in June.

2 Apr 2012

Autism rate soars to 1 in 88 children

The number of children with autism in America has climbed 23 percent in the last two years, but the increase could be partially attributable to better diagnoses, officials say.

31 Mar 2012

U.S. suspends resumed food aid to North Korea

"The United States has suspended planned food aid to North Korea as Pyongyang vows to push ahead with a plan to launch a long-range missile in defiance of international warnings, U.S. military officials said on Wednesday," Reuters reports.

31 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Ryan's budget called 'cruel' or 'sophisticated'

In February, after embarrassing himself by saying he was "not concerned about the very poor," Mitt Romney explained that the government's safety net would take care of them, and he promised to repair any holes in the net. That promise didn't last very long. On Thursday, House Republicans approved, on a party-line vote, a disastrous new budget that would leave millions of struggling families desperate for food, shelter and health care - and Mr. Romney has embraced it.

31 Mar 2012

Johns Hopkins Hospital's new home to open on May 1

The Johns Hopkins Hospital's new home, set to open on May 1, will redefine the very essence of the hospital experience, and cutting-edge technology designed to improve care, streamline workflow and encourage efficiencies will play a central role.

31 Mar 2012

High court's health law consideration has political repercussions

The pending ruling could be a stamp of "repudiation or endorsement" during the upcoming election season. But, if the court overturns the health law, will the GOP be prepared to turn the decision into political victory and could that outcome have a "silver lining" for the Obama administration?

31 Mar 2012

Contemplating the options: What will become of the health law?

With the Supreme Court arguments complete, media outlets consider the various scenarios that could play out, and the complications that could arise. To quote the Tom Petty song: "The waiting is the hardest part."

31 Mar 2012

Course of state implementation efforts unchanged by high court's review

Politico reports that state plans appear unchanged by this week's events. Those that were moving ahead at full speed will likely continue to do so. Those who were taking a go-slow approach have no need to change strategies now.

31 Mar 2012

Justices hold first vote today on health law's fate

If past practice holds, the Supreme Court will meet privately today to cast a preliminary vote. No one else will be present, and drafts of opinions are likely to be written and rewritten many times in the next few months before the actual decision is issued, likely sometime in June.

31 Mar 2012

USAID issues Scientific Integrity Policy to guide scientific, scholarly activities

"Spurred by a 2009 directive from President Obama and subsequent guidance from the White House," USAID on Wednesday "issued a new Scientific Integrity Policy to safeguard the quality and integrity of the Agency's scientific and scholarly activities," according to a USAID press release.

31 Mar 2012

Report examines political history of international AIDS conferences

In this post in the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) "Smart Global Health" blog, Katherine Bliss, deputy director and senior fellow at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, discusses a report -- titled, "The International AIDS Conference Returns to the United States" -- that "examines the political history of the international AIDS conferences from 1985 to the present."

31 Mar 2012

House OKs Ryan budget -- with Medicare changes; Entitlement program cuts

The budget blueprint, advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is unlikely to gain passage in the Senate but will be a key marker in the upcoming election season.

31 Mar 2012

Oral arguments inspire RNC ad

The Republican National Committee uses audio from Supreme Court oral arguments to craft a campaign ad criticizing President Barack Obama and the health law. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign has had a health law strategy of its own in place.

31 Mar 2012

India's success against polio is promising step in defeating disease worldwide

"That India is free of wild polio today is a testament to the commitment of the Indian government," which "invested more than $1 billion over the last decade and collaborated with community leaders, health workers, businesses, and parents," as well as governments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral agencies, to fight the disease, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius writes in a Foreign Affairs opinion piece.

31 Mar 2012

Study examines TB services in prisons in countries receiving Global Fund grants

According to a study recently published in a special supplement of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, half of countries receiving grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria provide tuberculosis (TB) services in prisons; "even when TB services were provided to prisoners, they were limited in scope; and "few of the programs receiving a grant from the Global Fund offered services dedicated to the treatment and prevention of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB)," an aidsmap news story reports.

31 Mar 2012