Latest KFF Health News Stories
House Panel Seeks Records About Kagan And Health Law
The Supreme Court justice’s role in her old job at the White House is under examination by the House Judiciary Committee.
Congress Facing Deadline On Medicare Payments To Doctors
Preventing a scheduled cut in reimbursements to physicians is estimated to cost $20 billion next year, but Congress is expected to find at least a short-term fix before the end of the year.
First Edition: November 23, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations include an examination of changes in Medicare that the Democrats have endorses and a Kansas abortion case.
Medicare To Cover Infusion Costs For Prostate Cancer Vaccine, Company Says
In Medicare news, the drug maker Dendreon says federal officials have said they will pay doctors to administer the drug. Also, policymakers are studying Medigap to see if curbs on those policies could help cut Medicare costs.
Recession Cuts Into Health Spending; High-Deductible Plans Spread
Politico looks at the effect of the economic downturn on consumers use of health care services and the Los Angeles Times finds more employers are offering the high-deductible plans.
WHO Director-General Chan Submitted As Applicant For Second Term
The WHO “said on Monday it has received just one application for the U.N. health agency’s top post,” from China, which submitted Margaret Chan, the current WHO director-general and former Hong Kong health chief, Agence France-Presse reports. “An executive board meeting in Geneva between January 16 and 23 will decide whether to put the name forward to the World Health Assembly in May, which would make the final decision regarding the appointment,” the news agency writes (11/21).
Commonwealth Fund President To Step Down At End Of 2012
Karen Davis, who has run the health care research foundation The Commonwealth Fund since 1995, will step down at the end of 2012.
Romney, Gingrich Targeting Medicaid To Pay For Other Programs
To prevent automatic cuts to the defense budget, Mitt Romney calls for reducing federal payments to states for Medicaid, while Newt Gingrich would “transform” Medicaid to help fund partial Social Security privatization.
Flagging Medical Errors; Expediting Malpractice Settlements in N.Y.
News outlets report on innovations to reduce medical errors and speed up resolution of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Prioritizing The Family Planning Needs Of Young Women
The world reached a population milestone in October, but “[i]n the many discussions that have sprung up around the seven billion benchmark — all of them important and illuminating — I don’t hear enough about our world’s most vulnerable: our youth,” Jill Sheffield, founder and president of Women Deliver, writes in this Huffington Post opinion piece. “Nearly half of the world’s seven billion inhabitants is under the age of 25,” she notes, adding “when it comes to sexual and reproductive health, young women and girls around the world face tremendous challenges — which demand tremendous solutions.”
George W. Bush To Travel To Africa To Raise Awareness About Cervical, Breast Cancer
Former President George W. Bush will travel next month with former first lady Laura Bush and officials with the George W. Bush Institute to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia “where they’ll visit clinics and meet with governmental and health care leaders … to raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a ‘natural extension’ of” the PEPFAR program launched during his presidency, the Associated Press reports. “The new program, called the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative, seeks to expand the availability of cervical cancer screening and treatment and breast care education in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America,” the news service notes.
California Providers Sue Over Medicaid Rates; Texas Weighs Steep Cuts For Medicaid Rehab
Medicaid news from California and Texas.
Crackdown At Social Security Disability Program Upsets Doctors
The Wall Street Journal examines how doctors have reacted to an effort to end the backlog at a Baltimore facility.
Nigeria has reported 43 cases of polio so far this year, up from 11 cases in 2010, and the disease has spread to Niger, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire, according to a WHO official, BBC News reports. “Polio was affecting eight northern Nigerian states — two more than a few months ago, the head of Nigeria’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad, told the BBC.”
In Colo. and Mass., Worries About Health Care Impact Of Super Committee’s Failure
In Colorado and Massachusetts, some health care professionals are worrying about what the super committee failure will mean for their states.
U.N. Says AIDS Deaths Decline For Third Successive Year
A new report also finds that globally nearly 50 percent of people infected with the virus get treatment.
A selection of health policy stories from California, Maryland, Florida, Georgia and Oregon.
