Latest KFF Health News Stories
Viewpoints: Weighing The Ballot Measures in Miss. And Ohio; The Super Committee’s Task
A selection of editorials and opinions about health policy from around the country.
Medicare Touts Progress On Closing Doughnut Hole
Meanwhile, MedPAC makes recommendations for controlling costs for “dual eligibles,” and Medicare sees new rules bring costs down for weight loss surgery.
States Trying To Wrangle Medicaid Costs, With Some Unintended Consequences
Across the country, changes to Medicaid programs are causing controversy.
U.N. Agencies Respond To Flooding In Horn Of Africa
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) “reports heavy rains and flooding in parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are causing havoc among thousands of displaced Somalis in the region” and “flood-damaged roads are hampering relief efforts to thousands affected by the heavy rains,” VOA News reports (Schlein, 11/4). “UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told a press briefing in Geneva that the agency has distributed 4,500 assistance kits so far, which include plastic sheets, plastic buckets and soap,” the U.N. News Centre writes (11/4). “In addition to providing emergency relief for floods, other U.N. agencies continue to increase their efforts to help Somalis who suffer from famine and insecurity,” VOA notes (11/4).
Blue Shield Of Calif. Turns To Retail Stores; Poll Finds Workers’ Share Of Health Costs Growing
Insurer’s retail outlet in San Francisco will be in a supermarket. Meanwhile, a poll of large U.S. employer health spending by Modern Healthcare finds workers’ costs are increasing.
Congress Examines Options To Improve Availability Of Prescription Drugs
CQ HealthBeat reports that Congress has taken an interest in tightening supplies of many drugs.
U.N. Increasing Joint Aid Efforts With Cambodian Government To Assist Flood Victims
The U.N. reported Friday “that it is increasing its joint efforts with Cambodian authorities and aid providers to offer food assistance to some of the thousands of people that have been displaced by severe flooding recently,” the U.N. News Centre reports. According to the news service, “Some 240,000 people have been displaced by heavy rains and according to the World Food Programme (WFP), 10 percent of the rice crops have been destroyed and 265,000 hectares of rice fields have been damaged, raising the price of rice by 12 percent” (11/4).
Fighting STDs: 20th Anniversary Of Magic Johnson News; HPV And Boys
The L.A. Times reflected back on the changes since Magic Johnson’s announcement that he was HIV-positive, and NPR examined the HPV vaccine controversy.
Federal Officials Say New Program Can Improve Health Services
The Innovation Advisors Program, intended to help leaders bring change to Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, could help spark changes throughout the industry, Modern Healthcare reports.
Health Coverage Issues For Young And Old: Broadening Access To CHIP; Closing The Door On CLASS Act
As many states open CHIP programs to provide coverage for children of some state employees, the halting of the CLASS Act implementation means consumers must carefully consider their long-term care options.
Reform Necessary To Overcome Challenges To Polio Eradication Efforts In Pakistan
In this Huffington Post opinion piece, Sania Nishtar, founder of Heartfile and the recently launched Sania Nishtar Health Fund, writes that “[a]fter 23 years of commencing the World Health Organisation-led Global Polio Eradication initiative, billions of dollars in investment, mobilization of 20 million health workers and a population wide intervention in 125 countries, vaccinating more than two billion children, there are only four countries in the world which continue to harbor the disease,” and Pakistan is “a living threat to the global goal of eradicating a disease for the second time from the face of this planet.”
Insurance Commissioners Delay Vote On Brokers’ Fees
The National Association Of Insurance Commissioners meeting could not come to a consensus on the issue of whether to remove broker and agent fees from the expenses that insurance companies can count as administrative costs under the health law. In the meantime, GOP lawmakers have asked the IRS commissioner to clarify that individuals in state exchanges get any tax credits created under the new law.
News outlets report on issues related to doctors.
Rural Hospitals Struggling; Health Hiring Steady; Hurricane Irene Still Affecting Vt. Mentally Ill
A selection of stories about health policy developments from around the country.
Perry’s Health Benefits Noted; Romney And Perry Spar On Immigrants And Health Care
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is entitled to a lucrative pension from his government job that includes lifetime health care paid for by the state, The Texas Tribune reports. Meanwhile, Perry and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney exchanged barbs about their records.
Commitment Of USAID Promises Future R&D Breakthroughs In Global Health
Since USAID launched 50 years ago, the agency “has had a rich history of supporting global health, including research and development (R&D),” Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) Director Kaitlin Christenson writes in the organization’s “Breakthroughs” blog. She notes oral rehydration therapy (ORT), smallpox eradication, and the funding of research tools to help women as “[s]ome of the major breakthroughs in global health that USAID has supported,” concluding, “With this strong commitment from USAID, the future of global health R&D will undoubtedly hold many breakthroughs that have the potential to save millions of lives worldwide” (11/3).
Inter Press Service reports on how the South African government, in setting up its own universal health coverage scheme, was inspired by Brazil’s Sistema Unico de Saude or Single Health System (SUS), which was shaped during the 1980s when the system was restructured to make health care a universal right. However, IPS notes that the news may be met with skepticism by Brazilians with a negative opinion of the country’s public health care system. “The SUS made it possible to provide everyone with health care, while reducing the chaos in the health sector,” but “[c]orruption, aggravated by insufficient inspections, has contributed to the poor execution of the” system, according to IPS.
Private Sector Companies Should Contribute To GAVI Matching Fund
The GAVI Alliance has “announced a major new initiative aimed at engaging private sector leaders: the GAVI Matching Fund,” through which “the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide a 100 percent match of contributions to GAVI from corporations and foundations as well as their customers, members and employees,” Bill Roedy, former CEO of MTV Networks and a GAVI Alliance envoy, writes in a post on the Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog. “Together, DFID and the Gates Foundation have pledged $130 million to support this effort, which means there’s the potential to generate $260 million for global childhood immunization efforts,” he notes.
Suggestions For Making A Difference In Fighting Hunger, Food Shortages
Kristi York Wooten, founder of SustenanceGroup.org and an advocate for fighting hunger and poverty, “canvas[sed] a panel of colleagues and experts for thoughts on how corporations and governments (and the rest of us) can make a difference to ensure a sustainable future,” and presents her findings in this post on the Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog.
