Latest KFF Health News Stories
Opinion Pieces Examine Malaria Fight In Recognition Of World Malaria Day
Wednesday, April 25, marked World Malaria Day, which this year had the theme “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria.” The following opinion pieces address the fight against malaria.
“A lack of awareness of the importance of skilled hospital deliveries in Ethiopia, cultural beliefs, and transport challenges in rural areas are causing a high number of deaths during childbirth,” officials say, according to IRIN. “Only 10 percent of deliveries take place within health facilities, according to Ethiopia’s latest (April) Demographic Health Survey results,” the news service writes, adding, “Nevertheless, the figure is a significant improvement on six percent in the previous 2005 survey.”
Senate Committee Questions Federal Officials About Dual-Use Research Of Concern Procedures
“Spurred by events surrounding two controversial H5N1 transmission studies, a U.S. Senate committee [on Thursday] questioned federal officials whose agencies have a stake in dual-use research of concern (DURC) about the procedures they use to spot possible bioterror threats,” CIDRAP News reports. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs “hearing marked the first time officials have testified before Congress on the issue, and follows concerns raised in recent letters to federal officials by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), who has questioned the Obama administration’s safeguards on DURC and has inquired about allegations of bias that arose following an expert group’s recommendation that helps clear the way for publication of the two papers,” the news service notes (Schnirring, 4/26).
Rumors, Politics Swirl Around Supreme Court’s Much-Anticipated Health Law Decision
The Supreme Court this week completed the current term’s last oral arguments, and now begins a waiting game for what might be its most anticipated decisions in years — the constitutionality of the health law.
Rebates For Those Who Bought Their Own Insurance To Average $127 Per Person
Millions of consumers and small businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from their health plans this summer under a provision of the health care law that requires insurance companies to pay refunds if they don’t spend a high enough percentage of premium dollars on health care costs, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
State News: Cuomo’s Plan For Out-Of-Network Charges Runs Into Trouble
Today’s news on local health policy issues comes from New York, Connecticut, Mississippi, Colorado, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina and Kansas.
Members Of Congress Urge Investigation Of Accretive Health
Accretive Health, which is one of the nation’s largest medical debt collectors and which has been the subject of an inquiry by Minnesota’s attorney general, is also drawing attention from lawmakers in Washington.
After Losing Two State Contracts, Molina Healthcare Pushes On
The Los Angeles Times reports on how marketplace changes are creating challenges for this insurer.
GOP Report: Obama’s Corporate Advisers Say Health Law Will Increase Costs
The report by Republican staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee also contends consultants have advised large employers to drop employee coverage after the exchanges come online in 2014. Democrats say the report takes comments out of context, calling it “misleading, inaccurate, contradictory.”
Public Health Prevention Fund At Center Of Partisan Clash On Student Loans
House Republicans are eyeing the fund as a means to offset the costs of extending the current interest rates for student loans, but Democrats have other plans.
McKesson To Settle Medicaid Billing Lawsuit
The Justice Department had charged the drug distributor with causing Medicaid to overpay for prescription drugs.
Minn. Gov. Vetoes Anti-Abortion Bill; Calif. Bill Stalls
The Minnesota bill would have required clinics performing 10 or more abortions a month to be licensed. The California measure would let nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform specific types of abortion in the first trimester.
A selection of editorials and opinons on health care policy from around the country.
GAO Report: Millions Of Adults Have Pre-Existing Conditions
A report issued by the Government Accountability Office estimated that between 36 million and 112 million American adults have some form of pre-existing condition that could result in health coverage denials or restrictions.
Texas Tops MLR Rebate List: What About Other Locations?
Media outlets from Texas, Minnesota, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia offer insights into what these rebates will mean on a more local level.
Research Roundup: Practice Guidelines May Not Stop Defensive Medicine
This week’s selections include studies from the Urban Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the SCAN Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation as well as an aggregation of news coverage of other studies.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a new study finding that, as a result of the health law, consumers and businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from insurance companies this year.
Respite Programs For Family Caregivers Face Cuts Despite Growing Need
As states face tough budget decisions, such programs are increasingly on the chopping block.
Blog Posts Report On International Treatment As Prevention Conference In Vancouver
Two separate posts in the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog report on the International Treatment as Prevention conference in Vancouver. The first post recaps an update from Stephen Becker of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday “about the Foundation’s treatment optimization activities,” writing, “According to Becker, the Foundation acknowledges that treatment will be at the center of HIV prevention efforts, but ‘no amount of treatment will obviate the need for primary prevention modalities'” (Lubinski, 4/24). The second post reports that, “[d]espite its status as one of the poorest countries in Africa and its failed effort to garner a Round 10 grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — Malawi is moving forward to implement ‘Option B+’ for pregnant women,” meaning “pregnant and lactating women are enrolled in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs for life, regardless of CD4 count” (Lubinski, 4/24).
Blogs Examine Malaria Fight In Recognition Of World Malaria Day
Wednesday, April 25, marked World Malaria Day, which this year had the theme “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria.” The following blogs address the fight against malaria.
