Health Affairs and the Center for Global Development are co-sponsoring a March 7 global health briefing, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The briefing is being held in conjunction with the launch of Health Affairs' new global health initiative and will feature global health experts who have written articles for the March/April Health Affairs issue. Panelists will discuss efforts to combat the surge in multi-drug resistant malaria; a proposed pharmaceutical voucher system to support R&D on treatments against neglected diseases; and the benefits of introducing private health insurance in poor countries.

The March/April issue of Health Affairs, due out on Tuesday, March 7, addresses health policy topics of global concern. Supported by a 5-year grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Health Affairs is taking on the health policy issues facing the developing world as a part of its core mission. In addition to the articles on global subsidies for malaria treatment, drug development vouchers, and private health insurance being discussed at the National Press Club briefing, the March/April edition discusses India's medical "brain drain" and the most efficient ways to increase childhood vaccination rates in the developing world.

Data from a much-cited 2005 study show that medical expenses contribute to less than 20 percent of all bankruptcies, far fewer than the 50 percent estimate offered by the original study's authors, according an article by Kellogg Management School researchers David Dranove and Michael Millenson, published 28 February as a Health Affairs Web Exclusive. In their paper, Dranove and Millenson critique a 2 February 2005 Health Affairs Web Exclusive written by David Himmelstein, Elizabeth Warren, Deborah Thorne, and Steffie Woolhander.