Latest KFF Health News Stories
200 Years Of Surgery In Eight Pages (With Drawings!)
For the 200th anniversary of the New England Journal of Medicine, Atul Gawande — surgeon, journalist, author, researcher, public speaker, father of three — takes a fun spin through two centuries of surgery by going back to the first volume of the publication, then known by the slightly less succinct name of the New England […]
Report: U.S. Has Comparatively High Rate Of Babies Born Early
The United States has a higher rate of babies born too early – and therefore at greater risk of death or health problems – than more than 125 other countries, including Rwanda, Uzbekistan, China and Latvia, according to a report out today. About 12 percent of U.S. babies are born at 37 weeks or less, […]
Analysis: ACOs Could Have The Medicare Muscle To Transform Health System
Accountable care organizations will confront questions, including whether this new model for delivering medical treatment has the muscle to overcome the system’s entrenched incentives.
Costly Heart Procedures Thrive In Some Places, Michigan Study Finds
Why do some doctors keep doing expensive medical procedures after it becomes apparent there are cheaper and equally safe ways to treat patients? A new study of cardiac procedures in Michigan takes a crack at this question, and while it comes up short on definitive answers, it has some interesting findings. The Center for Healthcare […]
Report: U.S. Has Comparatively High Rate Of Babies Born Early
The United States has a higher rate of babies born too early
Today’s Headlines – May 2, 2012
Good Wednesday morning! Here are your headlines: Politico: GOP: Cut State Bonuses For Children’s Health Care House Republicans want to stop rewarding states for finding and enrolling low-income children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and public health advocates are livid. The Republicans say it’s a smart fiscal move that will better protect […]
Questions Raised Over U.K. DfID Funding And Sterilization In India
A Wall Street Journal editorial addresses reports published on April 14 in the Guardian alleging that the U.K. Department for International Development (DfID) funded a program in India that “has ‘forcibly sterilized Indian women and men’ — a practice India supposedly left behind in the 1970s,” the editorial states. “DfID issued a statement objecting to the Guardian’s report, saying that its funding was not meant to be going to ‘sterilization’ centers, only to helping ‘women access a mix of reversible methods of family planning,’ such as contraceptive pills, and to ‘improve the quality of services,'” the editorial writes, adding, “DfID says it has also offered technical support to help Indian authorities crack down on forced sterilization.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “A DfID official, who declined to be named, clarified to us that the national Indian program funded by British taxpayers does include voluntary sterilization, but that sterilization specifically is ‘not part of what we fund,'” and “[h]e added that DfID will end its support for the national Indian program next year and will focus family-planning aid only on state governments in India’s poorest regions” (5/1).
Costly Heart Procedures Thrive In Some Places, Michigan Study Finds
Why do some doctors keep doing expensive medical procedures after it becomes apparent there are cheaper and equally safe ways to treat patients? A new study takes a crack at this question and it has some interesting findings.
Administration Gives Community Health Centers A $728M Boost
The administration noted that patient rolls have swelled at the centers as more Americans lost their jobs and health insurance. The White House said 20 million Americans – up from 17 million four years ago – now receive care at the federally funded facilities.
Congress Wrangling Over CHIP, Mandatory Medicare Cuts
On Capitol Hill, Republicans are charging that the health law is encouraging businesses to drop coverage and politicians prepare for the next fight on some of the law’s provisions.
When Is A Joint Committee Disjointed?
Over the past two weeks, 18 scathing messages hammering the Obama administration on health care matters have been e-mailed to reporters and congressional staff from an address associated with the congressional Joint Economic Committee – a panel of Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate. Isn’t the JEC a bipartisan, bicameral panel that alternates […]
A second federal judge in Texas issued an injunction allowing Texas to exclude Planned Parenthood from Texas’ Women’s Health Program — for now — a day after another judge in Texas had ruled the state couldn’t bar the group from the health program.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
Global Fund Completes Reorganization Of Workforce, Tightens Focus To 20 ‘High-Impact Countries’
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria “is cutting its workforce and tightening its focus on 20 countries hardest hit by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,” Reuters reports. Gabriel Jaramillo, who took over as general manager of the fund in February, “said in a statement that the fund had completed a reorganization that would rebalance its workforce with 39 percent more people managing grants and 38 percent fewer in support roles,” the news service notes.
Europe Becoming ‘Hotspot’ For Emerging Infections, Study Suggests
“Europe is becoming a ‘hotspot’ for emerging infections as those typically confined to tropical climates are making their way north, according to research that links climate change to the global spread of disease,” the Financial Times reports. “Changing environmental conditions have facilitated the spread of bacteria and other carriers across borders, reports a study” published in the journal Science last week, according to the news service. The study, which “cited outbreaks of West Nile fever in Greece and Romania and dengue fever in France and Croatia,” found that, “[u]nder current weather conditions, seven climate-influenced diseases, including Rift Valley fever and encephalitis, could pose a threat to people in Europe,” the news service writes.
Courtroom Turf Battle: Which Professional Should Administer Anesthesia?
The New York Times reports on the newest venue for this ongoing clash — which dates back to 2001 — between nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists.
Hospitals Struggling To Meet Electronic Records Goals
According to the American Hospital Association, more than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the first stage of electronic health record “meaningful use” and, therefore, can’t qualify for federal incentive payments.
Mass., Ariz. Senate Races Grab National Spotlight
The hotly contested race between Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic challenger, continues to involve health policy issues. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that Democrats are hoping that former Surgeon General Richard Carmona will turn Arizona “blue.”
Georgia Bans Most Late-Term Abortions
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill Tuesday banning most late-term abortions — those after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The law was pushed after controversial research found a fetus can feel pain at that stage of the pregnancy.
State Roundup: Mass. Health Cost Control Bill Could Save $8B To $34B
News outlets report on health policy issues in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Oregon.