Latest KFF Health News Stories
McConnell Names Conferees For Tax-Cut, Doc Fix Negotiations
Late last month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., named his picks to negotiate for a year-long extension of the payroll tax holiday and Medicare doc fix.
IRIN, GlobalPost Examine Malnutrition In Yemen
IRIN reports that “[a]id workers hope ‘shocking’ new malnutrition figures from a survey conducted in western Yemen will help highlight the serious humanitarian situation in the country and prompt donors to act immediately.” The survey, conducted by Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population and supported by UNICEF, “found a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 31.7 percent — meaning nearly one third of children surveyed suffered from either moderate or severe acute malnutrition — of which nearly 10 percent were severe cases. These figures are more than double the internationally recognized emergency threshold of 15 percent,” IRIN writes (12/27).
U.S. Offers Initial $125 Million To UNHCR In 2012
“The United States said Thursday it will contribute an initial $125 million to the [U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR)] 2012 operations, including support for refugees returning to Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Agence France-Presse reports, noting, “The State Department said the funds
First Edition: January 3, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that New York seniors are experiencing reduced prescription coverage and more California patients are being added to the health insurance rolls.
Health Care 2012: Medicare Faces Big Changes, New State Laws Include Abortion Issues
News outlets began 2012 by looking ahead at what is promising to be a busy health care year, especially because of the law.
Geisinger System: We Won’t Hire Smokers
The Pennsylvania health care system announced it won’t be hiring smokers, though the policy won’t apply to current employees.
Roberts Defends Colleagues And Court’s Recusal Policy
In year-end message, Supreme Court chief justice addresses growing controversy about whether Justices Thomas and Kagan should participate in the health law case.
HHS Awards CHIP ‘Performance Bonuses’ To 23 States
The extra payments will go to states which have streamlined the enrollment for their Children’s Health Insurance Programs.
GOP Struggles To Find Replacement Plan For Health Law
Republicans have pledged to “repeal and replace” the 2010 overhaul, but they haven’t formulated the replacement yet, The Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, others examine prospects of a long-term Medicare fix for doctors’ payments.
Romney Defends Mass. Mandate; Gingrich Once Supported That Plan
Romney says an insurance mandate is fundamentally a conservative principle, The Hill reports. Meanwhile, recent news accounts have found past statements by Gingrich praising Romney’s health law efforts in Massachusetts.
House, Senate Pass Two-Month Extension Bill
The long process of negotiation between House and Senate ends as both chambers pass a bill to prevent a cut in Medicare payments, a payroll tax increase and reduced unemployment benefits for two months. But in the new year, Congress must resume talks about a longer-term solution.
N.Y. Times Review Finds Misuse Of Psychotropic Drugs In Disabled Patients
Article reveals that psychotropic medications, which alter the brain’s chemistry, are often dispensed sloppily, without rigorous or regular review, by general practitioners with little expertise in the area.
Roundup: HIV Staff To Be Cut In Ga.; Abortion News In N.J., Mo.; Wis. Medicaid Coverage In Limbo
News outlets report on state health policy developments in Georgia, California, Missouri, New Jersey, Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Oregon.
Medicare Spending Growth Slows, But 2011 A Profitable Year For Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare spending growth is slowing, even as enrollment rises, The Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, several large Medicare Advantage plans turned a mighty profit in 2011, despite the volatility of the larger economy.
Scientific Journal Retracts Study That Linked Mouse Virus To Human Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Editors at the journal Science have retracted a study that linked a virus in mice to chronic fatigue syndrome in humans after the Cleveland Clinic said some data came from a contaminated lab.
Mt. Sinai Financial Turnaround Offers Lessons; Hospitals Object To New Rules
News outlets report on a variety of hospital issues.
Republicans Widen Probe of AARP Tax Status
House Republicans question the tax-exempt group’s involvement in the sales of health insurance products.
Oregon Hospitals Lose Battle Against New Law; Pittsburgh Hospital, Insurer Reach Agreement
A roundup of hospital news from around the country.
Harkin Blasts South Carolina Over Exchange Grant
The chairman of the Senate HELP Committee wants the HHS inspector general to investigate whether a $1 million federal grant was misused.
Nurses Plan Strike In New York; Calif. Nurse Walkout Spurs Hospital Lockout
Nurses at one hospital in New York are planning a walkout in January unless they can hammer out an agreement with leaders there. In California in the meantime, nurses who staged a one-day walkout Thursday over a contract dispute and staffing issues will not be allowed back to work today, officials said.
