Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.”
South Sudan Facing Chronic Food Shortages, U.N. Agencies Say
U.N. agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), are warning that South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, “will face chronic food shortages next year due to internal and border insecurity, erratic rains and a huge influx of returnees from the North,” IRIN reports. “U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande said more than three million people (36 percent of the population) in South Sudan were classed as moderately or severely food insecure in 2011, and the burden was increasing,” IRIN writes (9/27).
Think Creatively To Financially Support Global Health And Development Goals
In this post in the Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog, Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, and Gro Brundtland, a board member of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health, the former prime minister of Norway, and the director-general emeritus of the WHO, discuss the notion of “innovative financing for development” and how, “[f]aced with impending fiscal constraints, the international community has devised several promising financing models to protect investments in global health.”
Philippines Health Officials Warn Of Disease Risk Following Typhoon Nesat
“Philippines authorities are warning of possible water-borne disease outbreaks following Typhoon Nesat,” which ripped through the country on Tuesday causing widespread damage including power outages, flooding and landslides, IRIN reports (9/28). According to Reuters, at least 21 people have been killed by the storm and its consequences (Mogato, 9/28).
With ALMA Scorecard, African Leaders Are Taking Responsibility In Malaria Fight
The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) is “spearheading the fight against malaria” in Africa, bringing together 40 heads of state and “offer[ing] a compelling example of what is possible through co-operation, leadership, commitment, and sound management of national and international funds,” Tanzania President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete writes in a post on the Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog.” With the launch of the “groundbreaking” ALMA scorecard for accountability and action last week, leaders are now able “to measure our own performance against a set of key malaria metrics including national policies, financial controls, delivery of prevention and treatment commodities, and, most importantly, lives saved,” Kikwete writes.
