Tag: KFF

Harris or Trump? Health in the US election

Volume 404, Issue 10464
2 November 2024 
WORLD REPORT  Aside from abortion, health issues have largely been neglected in the run-up to the Nov 5 election. What have the candidates proposed to improve health? Susan Jaffe reports.

As election day approaches on Nov 5, the US presidential race remains a tense and close competition despite unprecedented events—the Democratic candidate was  replaced in August, and two attempts have been made to assassinate the Republican candidate. And despite the sharp contrast between former President Donald Trump, a Republican, and Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris, neither has so far managed to emerge as the frontrunner as The Lancet went to press. [Here‘s what the candidates say they would do on abortion, Affordable Care Act and other key health issues.]…

Why aren’t the Republicans talking about health?

Volume 403, Issue 10450
27 July 2024 

WORLD REPORT  Health-care issues were conspicuously absent from the 4-day party convention culminating in Donald Trump’s nomination as the Republican 2024 presidential candidate. Susan Jaffe reports.

Former US President Donald Trump spent 93 minutes accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president last week, exceeding his own 2016 record for the longest acceptance speech at a political convention. But there was no time to mention major health-care issues such as abortion, the COVID-19 pandemic, medical research funding, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or the opioid epidemic, to name a few. Yet domestic and global healthcare spending consume the largest part of the US budget. [Continued here.]…

Doctors on call for the Biden campaign

Volume 403, Issue 10448
13 July 2024 

WORLD REPORT  Health-care workers are urging Americans to support the Democratic candidates for president and vice president, emphasising the health issues at stake. Susan Jaffe reports. [Continued here.]…

Biden prioritises health care in State of the Union speech

Volume 403, Issue 10431
16 March 2024 

WORLD REPORT  Plans to protect reproductive rights, further reduce drug prices, and improve women’s health research have been welcomed by some experts. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.  

The State of the Union address is typically a report to Congress on the nation’s progress and goals entwined with occasional lofty rhetoric, but this one was different…. “This speech signals that health care will be a big part of President Biden’s campaign this year”, said Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy at KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation. [Continued here]…

Abortion foes threaten PEPFAR

Volume 402, Issue 10402
19 August 2023 

 

WORLD REPORT  Republicans question funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, one of the USA’s most effective global health programmes. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

As Congress considers next month whether to renew funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), global health advocates fear its two decades of bipartisan support might fracture. Created by President George W Bush in 2003, the programme is often cited as proof that adversaries across the political spectrum can agree on healthcare policy. But this time is looking different.  [Continued here.]

US pharmaceutical companies sue to halt cuts in drug prices

Volume 402, Issue 10399
29 July 2023 

 

WORLD REPORT  Medicare will soon be able to negotiate some drug prices to reduce costs for patients and taxpayers. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

The first set of ten drugs subject to price negotiations by the US Medicare programme will be unveiled on Sept 1, 2023, but some pharmaceutical companies and their allies are not waiting to find out which products will be on the list. So far, four manufacturers and two trade associations are suing to stop the process before it begins. [Continued here.] 

 …