Latest KFF Health News Stories
Conservatives’ Mixed Message On Health Care Mandate
The New York Times explores the history of the individual mandate. In other health law articles, a Gallup poll finds small business owners worried about the costs they will incur and some doctors in favor of a single payer health system file a brief with the Supreme Court opposing the federal law.
Despite Fewer Amputations, Medicare’s Bill For Artificial Feet Rises 60%
The Associated Press examines the complicated issue of health costs by looking at foot amputations from diabetes.
“Malnutrition is the root cause of the deaths of 2.6 million children each year, and the bodies and brains of 450 million more will fail to develop properly due to inadequate diet over the next 15 years unless immediate action is taken, according to a survey published Wednesday by” Save the Children, the Guardian reports (Tisdall, 2/14). “A quarter of young children around the world are not getting enough nutrients to grow properly, and 300 die of malnutrition every hour,” according to the survey, “A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition,” the Independent writes (Valley, 2/15).
Hospitals Would Have To Voluntarily Return Overpayments Under New Proposal
Even as officials announced record recoveries of fraudulent Medicare claims, they proposed new rules to force providers to voluntarily return overpayments within 60 days of discovering them. The proposal is intended to cut down on the need for criminal or civil investigations.
DEA Tries To Stem Prescription Drug Abuse By Suspending Pharmacies
The Drug Enforcement Administration has suspended four Florida pharmacies – and is trying to stop their supplier, Cardinal Health – from selling controlled substances in an effort to fight prescription drug abuse, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Examining CDC’s Role In Global HIV, TB Research And Development
In “the first in a series of conversations with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discussing the CDC’s role in global HIV and tuberculosis (TB) research and development,” the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog interviews Kayla Laserson, director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)/CDC Field Research Station in Kisumu, Kenya. Laserson answers questions about her work with the CDC, the latest research projects underway at KEMRI/CDC, and progress in Kenya’s HIV response since she began working in Kisumu six years ago, among other topics (Mazzotta, 2/14).
CMS Signals It May Delay Deadline On New Codes To Be Used By Doctors, Hospitals
Acting Director Marilyn Tavenner says the agency will re-examine the October 2013 deadline for the coding system, known as ICD-10. It expands the number of codes used for billing medical services.
Research!America Shares Findings About Global Health R&D In Illinois
In this post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition’s (GHTC) “Breakthroughs” blog, Mandy Goldberg, global health research and development (R&D) advocacy intern at Research!America, shares the organization’s findings about the state of Illinois from an analysis conducted in target states to measure the health and economic impact of global health R&D in the U.S. “Illinois boasts more than 200 academic, government, and non-profit research institutions, as well as seven research and technology parks, all of which contribute significantly to employment within the state,” she writes, adding, “Illinois is one of the top 10 bioscience employers in the United States, with more than 57,000 people working in the industry” (Halnon, 2/14).
Report Looks At Autoworker Health Care For Spending Variation Clues
A new report looks at autoworker health care claims to find clues as to why spending varies by region and finds that hospital price variation made up one-third of the difference.
Bishops Plan United Front Campaign Against Contraception Rule
While most of the public favors the Obama administration’s contraception compromise, the Catholic bishops will launch TV and radio ads against the mandate.
Drilling Down Into Obama’s Budget
The Wall Street Journal reports the plan would scale back money for public health and prevention programs; The Associated Press covers the debate about the proposed defense budget, which would scale back retirees’ health coverage.
Private U.S. Investments Improve Maternal Care Capacity In Ethiopia
Writing on the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s website, Sarah Sagely Klotz, executive director of Hamlin Fistula USA, reports on how private U.S. investments “are building maternal care capacity and producing tremendous results” in Ethiopia. “Unfortunately, around the globe women are often neglected and have very limited access to maternal care,” she writes, adding, “Through the generous investments made by many Americans, however, communities in developing countries are yielding substantial and lasting benefits” (2/14).
Impact Of Child Malnourishment Similar To That Of AIDS
“Globally, malnutrition is the most important cause of illness and death,” Jeremy Laurance, health editor at the Independent, writes in this editorial. Laurance details the physical effects of malnutrition on a child and notes, “Malnutrition contributes to more than half of child deaths worldwide. … It affects virtually every organ system,” and “[i]ts impact on the immune system is similar to that of AIDS.”
Debate Over Medicare, Health Law Already Playing Out In 2012 Races
Nearly all the candidates for president are weighing in on how to make Medicare fiscally sustainable, while Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the health law will factor into which candidate he endorses.
State Roundup: Legislatures Tackling Abortion Restrictions, Medicaid Cuts/Revamps, Rx Drug Abuse
A selection of health policy stories from California, Georgia, Maine, Wisconsin, Oregon, Minnesota and Virginia.
Researchers Share Libraries Of Chemical Compounds To Spur Development Of Drug Candidates
Nature reports how “[i]n the hunt for drugs that target diseases in the developing world, … [p]harmaceutical companies are making entire libraries of chemical compounds publicly available, allowing researchers to rifle through them for promising drug candidates.” The journal writes, “The latest push for open innovation, unveiled last month as part of a World Health Organization road map to control neglected tropical diseases, will see 11 companies sharing their intellectual property to give researchers around the world a head start on investigating drug leads.”
Drugmaker Warns That Fake Cancer Drug Is On The Market
The Wall Street Journal reports that the manufacturer of Avastin says it has found counterfeit vials of the drug in the United States.
Tentative Deal Reached To Prevent Physician Pay Cuts, Preserve Payroll Tax Cut
But senior aides warned that negotiators still had to sign off on the agreement and that obstacles could surface given the long-running tensions over the measure.
States are in various stages of implementing, or opposing, aspects of the health care law.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the U.S.
