Latest KFF Health News Stories
Vet Groups Sound Alarm That VA’s Mental Health Expansion Is Going Too Slowly
The AP reports that lawmakers and advocates are taking this position.
Survey: Americans Spend More For Health Care Than People In Other Countries
The report from the International Federation of Health Plans found that Americans pay more for physician time, for scans, surgery and drugs than people in other countries.
Viewpoints: Statins And Diabetes; Frightening Tobacco Warnings; The U.S. Dental Crisis
A selection of editorials and opinions on health policy from around the country.
“An alliance of 200 U.S. aid groups has written to the head of the CIA to protest against its use of a doctor to help track Osama bin Laden, linking the agency’s ploy to the polio crisis in Pakistan,” the Guardian reports, noting Pakistan recorded the highest number of polio cases in the world last year. The CIA used a “fake vaccination scheme in the town of Abbottabad … in order to gain entry to the house where it was suspected that the al-Qaida chief was living, and extract DNA samples from his family members,” the newspaper writes. But the plan “provided seeming proof for a widely held belief in Pakistan, fuelled by religious extremists, that polio drops are a western conspiracy to sterilize the population,” according to the Guardian.
“More than 170 [of Zimbabwe’s] parliamentarians from across the political divide have resolved to undergo voluntary counseling and HIV testing in a bid to encourage the grassroots to follow suit,” and “the 150 male members in the 175-member group have also resolved to be circumcised,” a Herald editorial states. “Members of Parliament are regarded as role models whose power of influence in society is immense,” the editorial writes, adding, “And as leaders, their message is readily received particularly if it is coupled by exemplary behavior in the communities they serve.”
Contraceptive Debate Roils On In Editorial Pages
Commentators find fault with both Obama administration and GOP on the issue.
Medicaid: Texas Rule Lowers Pharmacy Presciption Pay; N.H. Gets Grant
In Texas, new Medicaid rules mean pharmacies get paid less for filling prescriptions for Medicaid patients. In New Hampshire, however, a new Medicaid grant will help people with disabilities stay in their homes.
GOP Medicaid Plans Trigger Wariness Among Some Republican Governors
The Hill reports that the budget plan to soon be unveiled by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is likely to take a similar approach to last year’s block grant proposal and is drawing some concerns. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how Medicaid waivers are helping states leverage money to pay for health reform.
In Shift, Calif. Hospitals Try To Keep Patients Out Of Beds
Hospitals are in the news in California, Oregon and Massachusetts.
AMA Details Concerns About Payment Policy Changes For Medicare Part C, D
Modern Healthcare details the positions taken by the American Medical Association in response to recent changes proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Also, in related news, a new panel sets to work on improving the physician payment system.
State News: Ore. Gov. Signs Reform Bill; Texas Seeks Early Release Of Sick Inmates
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Administration Officials Press Forward On Implementing Health Law, Shoring Up Support
Roll Call reports that, even in the midst of uncertainty about the health law’s future, efforts continue to cement the health law’s foundation while also avoiding controversy.
Rep. Sensenbrenner Sends ‘Fact-Finding Letter’ To White House Science Adviser About Bird Flu Studies
“Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a former head of the House committees on science and the judiciary, and currently vice chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, last week sent a ‘fact-finding letter’ to White House science adviser John Holdren, asking pointed questions about how the U.S. government has handled the controversy” surrounding two studies that showed how H5N1 bird flu virus could be manipulated to become transmissible among ferrets, a model for humans, “and questioning whether it should have funded the two flu studies,” ScienceInsider reports. “The [Obama] Administration’s response has appeared ad hoc, delayed, and inadequate,” Sensenbrenner writes, adding, “An ad hoc approach is inadequate to balance the priorities of public health and the free flow of academic ideas,” according to the article, which includes the full text of the letter.
Male Circumcision Initiative In Kenya Fails To Meet Target For First Time, PlusNews Reports
“Kenya’s most recent male circumcision rapid results initiative failed to meet its target, and officials are stepping up efforts to identify and fix the problems that could foil the government’s campaign to circumcise more than one million men by 2013,” PlusNews reports. “Conducted between November and December 2011, the initiative aimed to circumcise 70,000 men over a 30-day period, but results released in February show that only 40,000 men were circumcised,” the news service writes, adding, “This is the first time the annual initiative — which began in 2008 — has failed to reach its target.”
USAID Committed To Early Action On Sahel Drought, Drawing From Lessons From Horn Response
“A year after the worst drought in 60 years sent 13.3 million people in the Horn of Africa into crisis, we are now facing a rising threat of crisis in the Sahel — an arid belt that stretches from Senegal through Niger and Burkina Faso to Chad,” Nancy Lindborg, head of democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance at USAID, writes in this post in Huffington Post’s “The Blog.” She notes, “Today, rising food prices, another failed rain, and conflict in Mali and Libya, means that between seven and 10 million people are at risk of sliding into crisis as we enter the lean season of the months ahead,” and writes, “As we focus on the rising crisis in the Sahel, we are committed to responding immediately and acting on the most important lessons learned from the Horn response.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports setting the scene for the upcoming “Super Tuesday” primary elections and how GOP presidential candidates are pointing to health policy issues as part of the debate.
Senate Rejects Blunt Amendment
In a mainly party-line vote, the Senate rejected this amendment, offered by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to an unrelated transportation bill. It would have broadened religious exemptions to the Obama administration’s birth control rule.
Sebelius Hints At Contraception ‘Accommodation’ During House Testimony
Lawmakers questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on a range of issues related to the implementation of the health law, the Obama administration’s birth-control coverage mandate and the fiscal year 2013 budget.
Chinese Government Pledges Greater Support For Organizations Fighting HIV/AIDS
“Organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS will get greater government support,” Yu Jingjin, director of the disease prevention and control bureau under China’s Ministry of Health, said, China Daily reports. He said, “‘The government will beef up investment and support for social groups’ and cooperate with reliable ones,” and added, “Each province this year will support three to five civil societies tackling HIV/AIDS and help them with operational costs and training,” according to the news service. “Yu urged health authorities to work more with society in general to fight AIDS,” China Daily writes, adding, “Cooperation in this sphere has not always worked fully to its potential, he said” (Shan, 3/2).
IPS Examines Gender Discrimination, Disparity In Child Mortality In India
Inter Press Service examines gender discrimination and mortality in India, writing, “Global infant and child mortality rates have been on the decline in recent years, with a large portion of the world seeing young girls experiencing higher rates of survival than young boys; but India remains the exception to this positive trend.” A new report, “‘Sex Differentials in Childhood Mortality,’ a project of the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), reveals that a girl aged between one and five years is 75 percent more likely to die than a boy in India, marking the world’s most extreme gender disparity in child mortality,” according to the news service.
