Latest KFF Health News Stories
FDA Gives Patients Less-Expensive Option, Approves First Generic Versions Of Plavix
The Food and Drug Administration’s go-ahead will give patients who have to take blood thinners more options.
Geithner Pushes Back Against GOP Calls For Long-Term Cuts To Medicare, Social Security
The Wall Street Journal reports that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner offered a broad-based criticism of the Republican economic agenda.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
State Highlights: U.S. Says Medicaid Overpaid $700M To N.Y
A selection of health policy stories from New York, Kentucky, Texas, Connecticut and California.
Responding To Flap, Hospital Debt Collector Draws On Political Defenders
Chicago-based Accretive Health calls for national standards on bill collection practices, as the American Hospital Association reports recent updates to its 2003 guidelines on the topic.
Survey: Health IT Spending A High Priority At Not-For-Profit Hospitals
In other news, Partners HealthCare hopes to replace its patchwork approach to electronic health records with a single commercial system.
Research Roundup: EHRs Don’t Seem To Improve Diabetes Care
This week’s selections come from the Annals of Family Medicine, the Urban Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rand Corp.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, report that congressional conservatives are fighting amongst themselves over health law strategies.
HHS Sets Deadline For State Health Exchange Proposals
The Department for Health and Human Services released guidelines detailing the requirements states must meet in their proposals if they want to gain federal approval to operate these insurance markets.
GOP Makes Plans To Pursue After The High Court Rules On The Health Law
If the law is upheld, Republicans plan to take to the floor to “tear out” the law’s most controversial provisions, Politico reports. Meanwhile, in related news, Reuters reports on the questionable fate of lesser known, but still controversial, aspects of the health law — billions of dollars in new taxes.
House Appropriations Committee Releases Draft Report On FY13 State, Foreign Operations Spending Bill
The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the FY 2013 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill on Thursday, The Hill’s “Global Affairs” blog reports (Pecquet, 5/17). On Wednesday, the committee released the State and Foreign Operations Draft Committee Report (.pdf), which provides additional information on funding through the appropriations bill for U.S. global health programs at USAID and the State Department, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Policy Tracker. “This funding comprises a significant portion of the Global Health Initiative budget (total funding for the GHI is not currently available as some funding provided through USAID, HHS, and DoD are not yet available),” the website writes. The House Appropriations State and Foreign Affairs subcommittee released the draft bill on May 8 and approved it on May 9, according to the website.
Doctors Trade Prescription Pads For Electronic Options
The Associated Press reports on this trend.
Ad Charges President Obama With Using The Health Law To Raise Taxes
News outlets report on the details of the ad campaign, which is being paid for by Crossroads GPS, and also provide fact checking regarding some of its assertions.
WellPoint: Protestors Push For More Disclosure Regarding Insurer’s Political Giving Habits
But The Associated Press reports that shareholders rejected the call for more disclosure about the insurers’ contributions.
State Budgets Aim At Health Programs, Medicaid To Bridge Shortfalls
Medicaid and other health program cuts are on the minds of state lawmakers around the nation. In Maine, the governor signed Medicaid cuts into law Wednesday, and California and Kansas are weighing similar cuts as they struggle to balance their budgets.
The House is considering a bill that would ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Elsewhere, Missouri lawmakers consider allowing businesses to opt-out of a mandate to cover contraception in their health plans, and another Catholic university — this one in Florida — considers dumping its health plan instead of complying with the mandate.
Legislatures Push Health Care Changes In Disabled, Immigrant Care, Medical Boards
State lawmakers grapple with health care issues including establishing a new monitor for disabled care in New York, avoiding cuts for undocumented immigrant care in D.C. and a Massachusetts revamp of the state medical board.
Decision In N.Y. Case On Access To Emergency Contraception Could Impact Politics
Politico looks at how a court decision to make emergency contraception accessible to women younger than age 17 could put both President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney on the spot.
Despite Bishop’s Disapproval, Sebelius Will Speak At Georgetown University
The Health and Human Services secretary was invited in January to address graduates of the Public Policy Institute at the Jesuit institution.
A Senate Panel Contemplates Innovations For The Health Care System
At a Wednesday hearing, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee considered various strategies to make the health system more efficient.
