Latest KFF Health News Stories
Drugmaker Merck To Pay $24M To Settle Medicaid Case
The drugmaker has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit that accused a former subsidiary of overpaying pharmacists for a widely used medication.
Wis. Study Finds Problems In Medicaid Oversight
Kansas lawmakers grilled state officials about Gov. Sam Brownback’s plans to streamline the state bureaucracy. In Wis., the legislative analysis found that private contractors are taking on an increasing share of the work of administering Medicaid programs.
State Roundup: Health Coverage Drops Again In Fla.
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
PolitiFact’s 2011 Lie Of The Year: ‘Mediscare’
This marks the third year in a row that a health care claim has won this title. This time around, the Democrats take the prize for their assertions that Republicans had advanced policies to “end Medicare.”
Analyzing The Politics And Policies Of The Wyden-Ryan Medicare Plan
Politico reports on how the Medicare revamp proposal announced last week by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., may add to Ryan’s conservative street cred. Meanwhile, Medscape reports on one of the cost controls included in the approach.
A Gradual Approach? The Health Law In The States
The New York Times analyzes the Obama administration’s approach to implementing the health law at the state level.
Viewpoints: HHS Punts On Essential Benefits; A Doctor’s View Of Medicare
A selection of editorials and opinions about health care policy from around the country.
Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation MDG Will Be Met But Inequalities In Access Remain
Reaching the Millennium Development Goal of “[r]educing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015” likely will be reached, “but large numbers of people in the world’s least developed regions will still not benefit,” according to a report (.pdf) released Tuesday by UNICEF and the WHO, the U.N. News Centre reports (12/20). The report “found that between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of the world’s population with access to improved drinking water sources increased from 77 percent to 87 percent,” which means 1.8 billion more people have drinking water access, according to Medical Daily (Daley, 12/20).
Government, Humanitarian Agencies Respond To Flooding In Philippines, Warn Of Disease Threat
“Philippine authorities are warning of the spread of diseases in cramped evacuation centers, days after flash floods hit the southern Philippines and claimed more than a thousand lives,” ABC/Asia Pacific News reports, noting that flooding also has affected the country’s northern provinces, displacing at least 50,000 people (Escalante, 12/20). Tropical Storm Washi “hit the main southern island of Mindanao over the weekend, bringing heavy rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers that swept whole coastal villages away,” forcing 44,000 people to evacuate the area, Agence France-Presse/Inquirer News writes (Celis, 12/21). Officials say hundreds of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the U.N. has stepped up its efforts in the area, the U.N. News Centre reports (12/20).
First Edition: December 21, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Capitol Hill’s holiday stalemate and PolitiFact’s 2011 Lie of the Year.
Impasse On Payroll Tax Cut Extension Leaves ‘Doc Fix’ In Flux
A group of House Republicans is taking a hard line against the short-term measure passed by the Senate – creating anxiety across Capitol Hill and causing uncertainty about the future of the “doc fix.”
High Court Sets March Dates For Health Law Arguments
March 27 will be the day for two hours of arguments over the provision, which starting in 2014 will require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. The high court is expected to announce its decision by the end of June.
The FY12 Appropriations Agreement recently passed by Congress includes reinstatements of bans on the domestic and international use of federal funds for needle-exchange programs, the Haiwai’i News Daily reports (Smith, 12/20). The following summarizes several opinion and blog pieces on the issue.
IPS Profiles Maternal Shelter In Kenya’s North Eastern Province
Inter Press Service profiles the Garissa Maternal Shelter in North Eastern Province, Kenya, “the only such facility in an area with the country’s highest maternal mortality rate.” The news service writes, “At 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, [the maternal mortality rate] is almost double the country’s average, [b]ut despite this, there are only seven women here in a facility that can accommodate 24.”
Guardian Examines Efforts To Bring Therapeutic Food Production Into Developing Countries
The Guardian examines how ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) — “small packets of a sticky, peanut butter-like paste, fortified with minerals and vitamins, that can reverse severe malnutrition within six weeks” — “have revolutionized famine relief in Africa,” and asks whether these products could be produced in the countries in which they are being distributed. “The vast majority of RUTFs are produced in the U.S. or Europe, bought by aid agencies such as UNICEF, and transported great distances to reach those in need,” the newspaper writes, adding, “But a small group of social enterprises is questioning this business model, redesigning it with a more local footprint in mind.”
HHS Selects 32 ‘Pioneers’ To Test New Health Care Model For Seniors
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday a group of 32 medical providers that will work with the federal government to test an experiment in improving the quality and lowering the cost of health care.
Public-Private Partnerships ‘Exponentially Expand’ Effects Of USAID Aid To Jamaica
Public-private partnerships “will boost small enterprises, bring technology to schools and improve sanitation and clean water in Jamaica,” a VOA News editorial states and highlights three such partnerships created by USAID. The first, between USAID and the Jamaican National Building Society, will create a Social Enterprise Boost Initiative; the second, between food processing company GraceKennedy Ltd. and the Western Union Company, will train teachers and bring technology to 13 schools in Jamaica; and the third, between USAID in Jamaica and the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, will help provide access to sanitation and clean water in a neighborhood of Jamaica’s capital. “The effect of USAID’s aid to Jamaica expands exponentially with these public-private partnerships,” the editorial writes, adding, “The projects are valued at more than $7 million. USAID’s contribution is less than $2 million” (12/18).
