Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Health Law Officially Turns Two — Now What?
Supporters are marking the health law’s second birthday today even as questions swirl about whether it will get to celebrate a third. Meanwhile, media outlets examine where implementation stands and what is yet to come.
House Appoves Bill To Kill Medicare Cost Panel
In what is viewed as a largely symbolic move, the GOP-led House passed a bill that would undo the health law’s Medicare cost control board. Though the measure initially drew some Democratic support, those votes all but disappeared after the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board was linked to medical malpractice legislation. The bill is not expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
High Court Health Law Action Already Making Political Waves
As supporters and opponents of the law formulate strategies to take advantage of the buzz surrounding next week’s oral arguments, a new report looks at how much has been spent in public opinion ads on the law.
Lawmakers Examine Ways To Stop Prescription Painkiller Abuse
Lawmakers held a hearing Thursday on what steps the federal government can take to help prevent the abuse of prescription painkillers.
Administration Chides Two Insurers For ‘Unreasonable’ Rate Increases
Although the government cannot force the companies to walk back the hikes in nine states, it is seeking to draw attention to the issue and asking for a public justification for the increases.
Health Business Sector Braces For Impact Of Supreme Court Review, Decision
Insurers and other parts of the health care industry are taking steps to brace for what the decision might be while also preparing for the changes the law puts in place.
Romney, Santorum Continue War Of Words Over Health Law Mandate, ‘Template’
Mitt Romney’s record on the individual mandate is coming up again as fellow GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum continues his drum beat that Romney’s Massachusetts health reform law was the “template” for the national overhaul.
Hutchison Calls On Perry To Work With Feds On Women’s Health Funding
The fight in Texas over its Women’s Health Program and the dual defundings of Planned Parenthood by the state and the entire program by the federal government gained a new wrinkle as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, called on Gov. Rick Perry to work out the state’s differences with the feds.
State Highlights: Mass. Enforcing Individual Mandate; Improving Kids’ Dental Coverage
A selection of stories from Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Montana, Arizona, Connecticut and Maryland.
Md. Launches Health Reform Website For Consumers; Calif. Public Option Lives On
Maryland is launching a health care reform website to educate residents on how they can use benefits in the health law. In California, health reform already affects most residents while the state gets set to offer a version of its own “public option” to buy health insurance.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
On Its Birthday, Health Law Feted As Giving Consumers ‘Control,’ Denigrated For Provoking ‘Showdown’
On the second anniversary of the enactment of the law, commentators offer Supreme Court advice on historic arguments next week, examine public opinion on the overhaul and note the political consequences.
The Individual Mandate: To Be, Or Not To Be? That Is One Of The Questions For The Supreme Court
News outlets report on the mandate’s chances of surviving a constitutional challenge that will be argued before the high court next week.
Research Roundup: Unequal ‘Culture Of Quality’ In Hospitals
This week’s studies come from The Archives of Surgery, the Urban Institute and The Kaiser Family Foundation.
Water Scarcity May Cause Global Instability, U.S. Intelligence Agencies Say In Report
U.S. intelligence agencies released a report (.pdf) on Thursday warning that “[d]rought, floods and a lack of fresh water may cause significant global instability and conflict in the coming decades, as developing countries scramble to meet demand from exploding populations while dealing with the effects of climate change,” the Associated Press reports (Lee, 3/22). “The Intelligence Community Assessment report says the water challenges will increase regional tensions and distract countries from working with the U.S. on important issues,” VOA News writes, noting, “The report’s purpose was to assess the impact of global water issues on U.S. security interests over the next 30 years” (3/22).
Blog Posts Comment On World TB Day
Several blog posts recently commented on the upcoming World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, commemorated on March 24. “Despite a clear legislative mandate, the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI) has consistently failed to live up to the goals of” the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria Reauthorization Act, a landmark legislation passed by Congress in 2008, John Fawcett, legislative director for RESULTS, writes in the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog. He continues, “Current GHI TB treatment goals are less than 60 percent of what was mandated in the Lantos-Hyde Act,” and concludes, “As the final authorized fiscal year of the Lantos-Hyde Act is debated, there’s still time to embrace its mandate: a bold effort to confront the world’s leading curable infectious killer” (Mazzotta, 3/22). “As people across the globe celebrate World TB Day this week, several groups are highlighting the fact that the current tools to prevent, test, and treat tuberculosis (TB) are greatly outdated,” Ashley Bennett, senior policy associate at the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), writes in the GHTC “Breakthroughs” blog. She commends GHTC members for their efforts to develop new technologies (3/22).
U.N. SG Calls For ‘Global Solidarity’ In Fight Against TB
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday during a visit to the Institute of Respiratory Medicine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “urged countries to step up their efforts to prevent tuberculosis (TB)” and “called for ‘intensified global solidarity to ensure that the children and people of all the countries get medical support, so that they can breathe with health,'” the U.N. News Centre reports. Speaking ahead of World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, Ban said “that countries have the means to prevent unnecessary deaths, but need to implement policies that not only raise awareness about the issue but provide accessible health care to their citizens,” according to the news service. In 2011, 1.4 million people died of TB, the news service notes (2/22).
Bringing Together NTD And WASH Sectors Of Public Health
In this post in the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases’ “End the Neglect” blog, Stephanie Ogden — a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and neglected tropical disease (NTD) consultant with Emory’s Center for Global Safe Water, Children Without Worms, and the International Trachoma Initiative — writes about a partnership among these organizations “that will encourage actionable dialogue and increased coordination between the NTD and WASH sectors.” She concludes, “I see more than ever that it will be essential for those in the WASH and NTD sectors to form long-term partnerships to achieve their common goals for health and development” (3/22).
World Water Day Resources Available From USAID, ‘DataBlog’
USAID’s water team on Thursday, World Water Day, published a new edition of their Global Waters Magazine to recognize the day, according to USAID’s IMPACTblog. The issue is available as an e-zine or a downloadable file (3/22). Also on Thursday, the Guardian’s “DataBlog” published graphics depicting the latest data from UNICEF and the WHO, which “show targets for safe drinking water are being met ahead of time” (Evans, 3/22).
Polio Eradication Must Be Achieved Or World Risks Rise In Number Of Cases
In this BMJ Group blogs post, Richard Smith, editor of the BMJ until 2004 and director of the United Health Group’s chronic disease initiative, examines whether efforts to eradicate polio can be successful, writing, “Despite the problems of geography, war, insurgency, politics, communication, finance, and people management, there are optimistic signs, said … Sir Liam Donaldson, former chief medical officer in England and now chair of the International Monitoring Board for the Global Polio Eradication Programme.” He continues, “This is, [Donaldson] concluded, a ‘unique moment in public health’: with one last heave the disease could be eradicated, but if it isn’t financial backing will disappear, health workers will not be paid, systems will break down, and cases of polio will rise back into the tens or hundreds of thousands” (3/22).
