Latest KFF Health News Stories
DaVita To Buy Privately Held HealthCare Partners
The deal between the dialysis services provider and the doctor network operator is estimated to tally $4.42 billion in cash and stock.
Colo. Gov. To OK Medicaid Payment Pilot Program, And Other Medicaid News
Medicaid programs are covered by news outlets in Colorado, New York, Illinois, Minnesota and Georgia.
Some States Taking Federal Funds Are Still Hesitant About Building Health Exchanges
Several articles look at the efforts around the country to establish these insurance marketplaces.
Medicare Expenditures, Quality Rating System Grab Headlines
Kaiser Health News looks at criticisms of the government’s program for rewarding higher-quality Medicare Advantage plans, while Modern Healthcare reports on a memo from the Medicare actuary that projects expenditures in the federal health care program.
Viewpoints: A Gamble On Alzheimer’s Research; Hidden Costs Of Insurance Rebates
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
Gallup Poll: Obama Edges Out Romney On Health Care Issues, But Romney Leads On The Budget Deficit
This new survey measures how the public views President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on three top issues. Meanwhile, news outlets examine how candidates and organizations are positioning themselves on the campaign trail.
Supporters are seeking a November vote on proposal that would allow state regulators to reject rate increases.
State Roundup: Fla. Dismisses Fraud Cases
A selection of health policy news from Florida, Texas, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, California and North Carolina.
New Poll Explores What It’s Like To Be Sick In The United States
A poll by NPR with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health asked people to share their experiences with the health care system.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on a new poll that explores what it is like to be sick in America
Higher Prices Charged By Hospitals, Other Providers, Drove Health Spending During Downturn
A new study finds prices rose at least five times faster than overall inflation for emergency room visits, outpatient surgery and facility-based mental health and substance abuse care from 2009 to 2010.
Meanwhile, “surrogates” for the president and Romney campaign discussed significant differences in the two men’s approaches to economic policy.
Second Guessing Medicare’s Star Rating System
Supporters say the bonus system is improving care for millions of seniors, but critics say it can be a clumsy measure of value and rewards mediocrity.
Sebelius At Georgetown Calls For ‘Conversation and Compromise’
In a graduation speech, the HHS secretary didn’t mention the controversy over the mandate for contraception coverage but she told students that public policy debates “can be painful.”
Sebelius Tells Georgetown Students To Follow Their ‘Own Moral Compass’
About 200 students earned degrees this year from Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute, but most of the attention at Friday’s graduation ceremony was focused on one person: Kathleen Sebelius. The Health and Human Services Secretary gave commencement remarks – with only one major interruption – to a largely supportive audience. In her speech, Sebelius didn’t directly address […]
Today’s Headlines – May 18, 2012
You made it to Friday. Enjoy your weekend, but first, here are your headlines: The Wall Street Journal: Geithner Says Austerity Alone Won’t Work Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sharpened the Obama administration’s criticism of Republican fiscal policy in a speech Thursday, pushing back against the GOP on calls for immediate spending cuts and long-term plans […]
House Appropriations Committee Approves FY13 State, Foreign Operations Spending Bill
The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved its FY 2013 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill (.pdf), which would provide $40.1 billion in regular discretionary funding and an additional $8.2 billion in funding for ongoing efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, The Hill’s “On the Money” blog reports (Wasson, 5/17). Taken together, the bill would provide about $5 billion, or nine percent, less than FY 2012 funding levels, a committee press release notes (5/17). “The bill contains tough new limitations on aid,” including cutting all funding for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) and reinstating the Mexico City policy, also known as the “global gag rule,” which prohibits foreign aid from going to any organization that performs abortions or provides information about or referral for the procedure as a method of family planning, according to The Hill.
Several blogs recently have published posts in anticipation of a symposium on food security taking place in Washington on Friday, at which President Barack Obama is expected to speak, and the G8 summit at Camp David in Maryland on Friday and Saturday, both of which will focus on food security and agriculture in Africa.
USAID Releases New Issue Of ‘Frontlines’
The June/July issue of USAID’s “Frontlines” focuses on the agency’s efforts to improve child survival and its portfolio of projects in Ethiopia, according to an overview of the issue in USAID’s “IMPACTblog.” In his “Insights” column, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah writes, “Over the past decade, we’ve made tremendous strides to reduce child mortality across the world, thanks in large part to the scaled up distribution of proven interventions and new technologies that are making it easier to reach and save more children,” noting, “In Ethiopia, where families have had to contend with one of the highest rates of infant and child mortality in the world, we’ve seen a dramatic and rapid decline” (Rucker, 5/17).
In this post on her blog, “The Garrett Update” — the last of a series of posts examining the safety of drugs and vaccines — Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), further details the key findings of the CFR’s Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 21, a six-point policy recommendation for the G8/20 that she authored, titled “Ensuring the Safety and Integrity of the World’s Drug, Vaccine, and Medicines Supply.” She concludes, “The crisis is global, growing and massive. Unless international solutions are eagerly embraced, such as we and others have recommended, the very integrity of Medicine and Public Health will be undermined amid a steadily rising toll of illnesses and deaths ascribed to bad medicines” (May 2012).