Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicaid News: Florida Prepares For Shift To Managed Care
News about Medicaid developments in Florida and Minnesota.
Ariz. Senate Approves Bill To Ban State Funds For Planned Parenthood
The vote follows abortion restrictions passed by the Arizona legislature this year. In addition, N.H., Calif. and La. lawmakers are weighing abortion bills.
Hospital Debt Collector Puts ‘The Squeeze’ On Patients
A report released Tuesday by the Minnesota Attorney General spotlights aggressive practices used by one of the nation’s largest collectors of medical debts, including demanding payments from people seeking care in emergency rooms, cancer wards and delivery rooms.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
Romney Sweeps 5 GOP Primaries, Moves Closer To Presidential Nomination
Meanwhile, news outlets report on criticism aimed at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and action in congressional races in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Studies: Against Best Advice, Docs Continue Unneeded Prostate Screenings
JAMA and another journal found that despite government recommendations, doctors continue to screen too many men for prostate cancer.
Nonprofit Hospitals Will Likely Face Higher Costs If Mandate Is Overturned
Striking the mandate but leaving other parts of the law would put many hospitals in a bind, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Meanwhile, The Hill reports that a majority of hospital executives expect the overhaul to shrink revenues.
In Victory Speech, Romney Goes After Health Law
As Mitt Romney celebrated his primary night wins in Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New York, he attacked the Affordable Care Act and the president.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that Medicare is proposing a change in how it decides hospital reimbursements and the latest on the GOP Capitol Hill budget strategy.
Medicare To Add Hospital Efficiency, Patient Safety To Payment Formula
Medicare is proposing a significant change in how it decides on hospital reimbursements, adding two measures of patient safety and a financial assessment of whether hospitals are careful stewards of Medicare’s money. The changes represent a broadening of the way Medicare plans to pay hospitals through its value-based purchasing program, which is set to begin in October. Medicare […]
An Even Bleaker Prognosis For Medicare?
If readers can bear the first 276 pages of bad news in the annual Medicare trustees report, released Monday, they will come to several pages in which Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster argues the program’s financial future is even bleaker than what the trustees suggest. Foster acknowledges the trustees did exactly the job they were asked […]
An Even Bleaker Prognosis For Medicare?
Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster argues the program’s financial future is even bleaker than what the trustees suggest.
Los Angeles Is Betting On One Crusading Doc To Turn Public Health System Around
Los Angeles has some 2 million uninsured residents. It has long had one of the most disorganized public health systems, too. Now, Dr. Mitch Katz is looking to reshape the system and match patients with their own doctors.
Under the slogan “Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday,” USAID on Monday launched a social media campaign featuring childhood photos of celebrities, global health leaders and lawmakers, with the aim of “build[ing] support to fight preventable deaths of children,” CQ HealthBeat reports. “‘By asking others to remember their own fifth birthdays, we want to remind people that more than seven million children each year never get the chance to celebrate that milestone,’ USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said in a statement,” the news service writes, noting, “Children who reach age five are much more likely to become adults, experts say.” The article notes, “The campaign is a different tack for USAID, engaging the public as well as congressional leaders who decide the agency’s funding.” “The trend follows an attempt by the Obama administration, through its Global Health Initiative (GHI), to broaden and better coordinate U.S. global health policies, … addressing systemic health care problems in developing countries, rather than focusing primarily on individual diseases like HIV/AIDS or malaria,” CQ writes, noting, “Many advocates say that while the president’s [global health] plan is the right approach in terms of long-term international development,” it has “attracted tepid support from some lawmakers and has been dogged by the anti-spending environment in Congress.”
U.N. SG Ban Speaks About Need For Reproductive Health Care For Young People, Releases UNFPA Report
In remarks to the U.N. Commission on Population and Development, which on Monday opened a week-long session in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “stressed the need to provide reproductive health care for young people, as well as give them access to the necessary information and the means to protect themselves from sexual abuse and violence,” the U.N. News Centre reports. Ban “underlined the importance of combating HIV/AIDS among youth, lowering the rates of teenage pregnancies, and protecting children from early marriage” the news service writes (4/23). “In order to empower the youth of the world, said Ban, the international community must ensure that they have jobs and resources, including reproductive health care,” Xinhua/Mysinchew.com notes (4/23).
Speaking at a press conference at U.N. Headquarters ahead of World Malaria Day, observed Wednesday, a U.N. envoy on Monday called for “[a]n increase in collaboration and partnerships among donor and recipient countries … to boost efforts to prevent and treat malaria, … while also calling for an increase in funding to combat the deadly disease,” the U.N. News Centre reports. The U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria Ray Chambers “said that although malaria deaths have declined significantly in recent years, there is still much to be done to reach the target of zero deaths by 2015, and countries would need to increase their coordination in addressing the issue,” the news service notes (4/23).
Global Health Council To Close Operations This Year
On Friday, the Board of Directors of the Global Health Council (GHC) announced “[w]ith deep regret, … that the Council will close operations within the coming months,” according to a statement on the organization’s homepage. “For the past four decades, the Council has been the neutral convening place for a diverse community of organizations, all advocating for improvement and equity in global health” and “working together to form broad-based coalitions to address challenges that affected us — whether advocating for increased U.S. government funding on global health or developing common positions on major health policy issues,” the statement says, concluding, “Although the Global Health Council will no longer play the same role, we will continue to fight for the goals that first inspired us to action” (4/20).
Today’s Headlines – April 24, 2012
Good morning! Here is your morning news roundup. The New York Times: Social Security’s Financial Health Worsens The Obama administration reported a significant deterioration in the financial outlook for Social Security on Monday, while stating that the financial condition of Medicare was stable but still unsustainable. … One of the trustees, Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary […]
Report Examines Efforts To Move To Universal Health Coverage
The Council on Foreign Relations recently released a new report titled, “The New Global Health Agenda: Universal Health Coverage,” in which “authors Oren Ahoobim, Daniel Altman, Laurie Garrett, Vicky Hausman, and Yanzhong Huang discuss [a] rise in support for universal health coverage and the financial benefits that may be reaped by implementing such schemes, and provide examples of models used to date by countries in establishing universal health coverage,” according to the report summary (4/19).
Opinion Pieces Marking World Malaria Day Urge Sustainability In Prevention, Treatment Programs
Wednesday, April 25, marks World Malaria Day, which this year has the theme “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria.” The following opinion pieces address the fight against malaria.