Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: September 29, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that a Supreme Court ruling on the 2010 health law is now likely before the 2012 presidential election.
Administration Seeks Quick Supreme Court Health Law Ruling
This Justice Department step is being viewed as a signal that the Obama administration wants the high court to decide the question of the health law’s constitutionality before the 2012 presidential election. KHN summarizes today’s news coverage.
NFIB Asks High Court To Strike Down All Of The Health Law
The National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy organization, will file an appeal today. In it, the group will ask the Supreme Court to move beyond the law’s individual mandate and strike down the entire measure.
Costs Of Premiums For Employer-Provided Health Insurance Jump
A study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average annual premium for family coverage was 9 percent higher in 2011 than in the previous year. Although many benefit analysts say the federal health law’s requirements played only a small part in the rise, the results could provide political fodder for the law’s supporters and opponents.
State Roundup: D.C. Facing Doctor Shortage
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
NPR: What Boomers Think About Health And Retirement
A new poll finds a switch from previous years in which most baby boomers recognize the threat of long-term care costs to their future financial wellbeing.
WSJ: Federal Judge Advances Medical Records Case
The lawsuit, brought by the newspaper’s publisher, seeks to overturn an injunction that keeps the public from being able to see Medicare billing records. In related news, the Fiscal Times examines Medicare waste and improper payments.
Post-Soviet Economic Breakdown May Have Contributed To Re-Emergence Of NTDs In Central Asia
A Public Library of Science press release highlight’s Central Asia’s “hidden burden” of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), writing that, according to an article written by Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and Ken Alibek of Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan and published in the PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal on Tuesday, “the region continues to suffer from a post-Soviet economic breakdown that may have contributed to a re-emergence of several NTDs in the area, especially among its most economically disadvantaged groups.” According to the press release, “[t]he five mostly landlocked Central Asian countries created after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — became increasingly vulnerable to NTDs due to a deterioration of health care services and infrastructure” (9/27).
Viewpoints: Blocking, Replacing Health Law; A Doc’s HPV Advice; County Wellness Plan Working
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Hospitals Fall Short In Efforts To Curb Readmissions
A Dartmouth Atlas report that studied Medicare beneficiaries concluded that hospital readmission rates are largely static. Facilities will face financial penalities next year if they do not improve their statistics.
ACOs: Will Feds Be Ready For The Start Date?
Politico Pro reports that many observers are convinced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will not be ready for the Jan. 1 deadline to launch this program.
Calif. Bill Could Affect Out-Patient Surgery Centers
Also in news about local hospitals, the Mayo Clinic announces plans to develop a new medical school branch in Arizona and a Minn. hospital is accused of dumping a patient.
HHS Awards Prevention Funds With Community Transformation Grants
News outlets report on local winners, how they will use these new resources to promote healthy living and disease prevention and how the funding is sometimes at odds with leaders’ opposition to the health law.
Ryan Proposes ‘Comprehensive ‘ Plan To Replace Health Law
His approach, which he describes as “comprehensive,” would take away incentives for people to seek employer-provided coverage to create a more market-driven system. This plan is an updated approach to the budget blueprint he offered earlier this year that would have revamped Medicare and Medicaid.
Senate Gives Nod To Autism Bill
In legislative action, the Senate on Monday approved a bill to reauthorize autism-related research and screening. It was passed by the House last week. Without action, the program would have expired at the end of the month.
House GOP Lawmakers Launch New Investigation Into Planned Parenthood
House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Chairman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., sent Planned Parenthood a six-page letter earlier this month requesting financial information and details on how the women’s health organization keeps federal funds separate from abortion services.
L.A., DeKalb County, Ga. Revisits Cuts To Public Workers’ Health Benefits
Los Angeles officials are challenged on their authority to make changes and, in Georgia, officials have delayed their vote after concerns were raised about costs of the popular program.
Debt Panel Operates In Secret, Eyes ‘Dual Eligibles’ As Source Of Savings
The ‘super committee’ is taking a look at proposals to reduce spending on this population, which qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid and is made up of the sickest and poorest American citizens. In the background, The New York Times examines what congressional “short-term fixes” say about the legislative body.
Scaling Up Communication And Coordination Biggest Challenge In GAVI’s $1B Vaccine Initiative
In this post in the Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog, Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins University, responds to the GAVI Alliance’s announcement on Tuesday that it will supply more than $1 billion in childhood vaccines to 37 of the world’s poorest countries, writing, “As the Alliance takes perhaps the most significant step ever toward increasing access to lifesaving immunization with this new and exciting round of country approvals, the challenge will be to ensure that every piece of the puzzle is in place to deliver on GAVI’s tremendous promise.”
