Latest KFF Health News Stories
Global Review Offers Vote Of Confidence For Dental Therapists
A report released Tuesday suggests that, based on a worldwide review, dental therapists could help the U.S. address some of its difficulties with access to dental care.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
IOM Report: Tax Medical Care, Double Public Health Spending
An Institute of Medicine panel recommended a new tax on medical care to generate more funding for public health initiatives to help prevent disease.
The White House Reacts To Claim That Health Law Would Add To Deficit
The White House criticized the findings of a report by a conservative economist who serves as a trustee overseeing Medicare and Social Security finances, saying they represented a partisan analysis.
Families USA: Ryan Budget Health Cuts Would Tally $3 Trillion
The Families USA report tallied the state-by-state costs of the GOP budget plan. However, the analysis did not include the controversial Medicare overhaul that is included in the Republican fiscal blueprint.
Hospitals Step Up Efforts To Control Spending
Hospitals are expecting that, regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, the health law’s Medicare cost control provisions will stay in place. As a result, they are taking steps to reduce costs and control spending.
State Roundup: Calif. Essential Benefits Bill Progresses; Where Are The Doc Waits
A selection of health policy news from California, Arizona, New York, Iowa, Florida and Minnesota.
Shinseki: VA Pushing To Improve Vets’ Access To Care
Appearing in New Hampshire, US Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said a major problem for the VA continues to be the backlog of benefit claims.
Berwick: Six Categories Represent 20% Of Nation’s Health Care Expenditures
Former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick said these categories, which include fraud and abuse as well as poor care coordination, offer opportunities for cost-cutting.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the Obama administration’s latest ACO announcement as well as about a new poll exploring Americans’ expectations for the Supreme Court’s health law ruling.
Bloggers Stew Over Obama’s Warning On ‘Judicial Activism’
Nearly any comment from a sitting president can elicit negative feedback from opponents. But when a president takes on the Supreme Court — and raises questions about the proper role of the judiciary vis-a-vis Congress — the response can be swift and loud. That’s the case this week as the blogosphere reacts to President Barack Obama’s […]
Study: Dental Therapists Thrive On A Global Scale
More than 50 million Americans lack access to dental care, but only two states — Minnesota and Alaska — allow mid-level dental providers to practice basic dental services on low-income, low-access communities. Today a report released by the the W.K. Kellogg Foundation looks at 26 nations and territories’ experiences with mid-level dental therapists, and found that they […]
ACOs Multiply As Medicare Announces 27 New Ones
A key provision of the health law supports the creation of organizations intended to improve quality of care and to restrain rising costs.
Today’s Headlines – April 10, 2012
Happy Tuesday morning! Here are your morning headlines to get you going: The Washington Post: Health-Care Law Will Add $340 Billion To Deficit, New Study Finds President Obama’s landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation’s budget woes over the next decade, […]
Study: Health Law Would Add $340 Billion To Nation’s Deficit
Although the health overhaul is touted by the Democrats as a means to control health care costs, a study by a Republican member of the board that oversees Medicare financing contends that it will add at least $340 billion to the federal deficit.
Polls And Politics: How The High Court Is Changing Public Health Law Views
Recent polls generally indicate that last month’s oral arguments changed public views about the health law, but it is not clear in which direction. There are also surveys and analysis about the law’s under-26 coverage provision and whether people think seniors with higher incomes should pay more for Medicare.
Has The Saturation Point For Under-26 Coverage Been Reached?
Has one of the health law’s most popular benefits – the provision that allows children to stay on their parents’ insurance up to age 26 – hit a plateau? A recent survey suggests this might be case. According to a Gallup poll released last week, the uninsured rate among 18- to 25-year-olds has leveled off around 24 percent […]
Children Under Five At Risk Of Malnutrition, Death From Looming Sahel Famine, UNICEF Warns
The Guardian examines child malnutrition in Chad, where “[r]ising therapeutic feeding center admissions highlight the growing urgency of the situation in one of Sahel’s driest, most remote areas.” Chad’s Kanem region “is one of the worst-hit regions in the current food crisis, which UNICEF estimates is affecting approximately 15 million people in the Sahel,” the news service writes. “‘The needs are many and varied in Chad, as we are facing multiple crises,’ said Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, during a visit to Mao,” according to the Guardian. The news service writes, “Chad has a cereal deficit of about 400,000 tons this year, and stocks of only about 40,000 tons” (Hicks, 4/10). “The United Nations has warned that at least one million children under the age of five across Africa’s Sahel region are at risk of dying from severe famine and malnutrition due to drought,” Press TV reports, adding, “UNICEF said it needs $120 million to tackle the looming crisis” (4/10).
In September 2010, “91 percent of Americans surveyed say they support the right for all women to have access to quality maternal and reproductive health care,” PSI’s “Healthy Lives” blog reports. The blog contains a Population Action International infographic depicting the data and writes, “While support is slightly stronger in some parties, the consensus is hard to ignore” (4/9).
WHO Publishes ‘Programmatic Update’ On Use Of ARVs To Treat Pregnant Women, Prevent PMTCT
The WHO “recently published a ‘Programmatic Update’ [.pdf] on the use of antiretrovirals (ARVs) to treat pregnant women and prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT),” the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog reports. “According to the executive summary, the WHO has started a comprehensive revision of all ARV guidelines, to include ARVs for pregnant women, which it plans to release in early 2013,” the blog notes (Mazzotta, 4/9).