Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: August 25, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a new Congressional Budget Office report and the usually unlikely assumptions it makes — including the end of Medicare physician payment fixes.
Implementation Of Maternal And Child Health Innovations Important
In a Huffington Post opinion piece, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah writes about the Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge in Development competition, which “called for groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant mothers and newborns around the time of birth in rural settings.”
Voters Connect With Deficit Panel Members On Spending Cuts
With the work of the ‘super committee’ picking up steam, news outlets report on how, while back in their districts for the August recess, some of the panelists are hearing concerns about Medicare and other entitlement programs.
On Health Exchanges, States May Get A Second Chance To Create Their Own
So far, 11 states have accepted federal money to set up their own state-run insurance exchange. Meanwhile, the Basic Health Program, another health law initiative, is drawing attention.
Some Fear Industry Interests Are Stalling Negotiations On U.N. NCD Summit, BMJ Reports
“In the run up to the U.N. summit on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), there are fears that industry interests might be trumping evidence-based public health interventions,” BMJ reports. “Many hope that this meeting will force [NCDs] into the spotlight just as the first health-related U.N. summit did for AIDS a decade ago,” but “[w]ith only weeks to go before the summit … [d]iscussions have stopped on the document that forms the spine of the summit,” BMJ writes.
TB Urine Test Developed By Indian Researchers Offers Quicker, Less Invasive Diagnosis
“The Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the Lala Ram Sarup Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, collaborated with the National University of Singapore to develop” a urine test that “offers a less invasive diagnostic method for” tuberculosis (TB), SciDev reports. “Drug-resistant cases need an expensive, sophisticated test that takes two weeks of culturing blood samples to detect the bacterium,” but developing countries, which “account for 95 percent of new infections and 98 percent of deaths … prefer a simple test requiring minimum resources and trained personnel, and one that gives quick and easily interpreted results, the Delhi scientists observed,” according to the news agency (Padma, 8/23).
IRIN Reports On HIV-Positive Kenyans’ Struggle To Reach Food Aid
IRIN reports on the difficulties some people living with HIV in Kenya face in accessing food. “Partly because of a prolonged dry spell, some 3.6 million Kenyans need emergency food assistance,” and, while there is food aid available in Kenya, poor roads prevent the aid from reaching some villages, according to IRIN.
Global Fund To Resume Suspended Grants To China
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which “froze disbursements of its AIDS grant to China in November and all other grants in May over suspected misuse of the money and the government’s reluctance to involve community groups, … said Tuesday that it was lifting the freeze on financing to ensure that AIDS work in China continued while it worked with government officials, representatives from United Nations agencies and private groups to resolve the dispute,” the Associated Press reports.
Viewpoints: Perry’s Health Record, Medicare Spending Slows, Postal Service’s Health Plan Controversy
A potpourri of opinions and editorials from around the country.
GetWellNetwork Doing Well With Hospitals
In other health IT news, a study found that Google-type word searches of hospital medical records are better at detecting patient safety issues than searches using numerical billing codes.
Insurer Continues Challenge To Its Exclusion From La. Medicaid Program
Other states wrestle with issues regarding Medicaid eligibility, payments and fraud.
HHS Sponsors Contest To Develop Public Health Emergency Facebook Application
The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is trying to harness the power of social media to respond to public health emergencies through a contest, titled “Lifeline Facebook Application Challenge,” that asks application developers to “provide actionable steps for Facebook users to increase their own personal preparedness and strengthen connections within their social networks for the sake of personal preparedness and community resilience,” Kaiser Health News reports. The competition runs through the end of hurricane season on November 4, the news service notes (Kulkarni, 8/23).
HHS Finalizes Rule On Medical Research And Conflicts Of Interest
The guidance, which is designed to help scientists avoid financial conflicts when conducting government-funded research, will take effect Aug. 24, 2012.
Study: Unemployed Skip Medical Care, Highlighting Need For COBRA
The report, out today, recommends that Congress extend COBRA subsidies through 2014.
State Roundup: Planned Parenthood, Ariz. Reach Interim Agreement
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Medicare May Begin Covering STD Screenings For Beneficiaries
The final decision won’t be made until November, but a draft recommendation is expected today.
Support For Dems’ Health Law Draws Early Attacks In Wis. Senate Race
In other news related to health reform politics, a coalition of health insurers and small businesses is launching a new assault on the law.
Medicare Tests Bundled Payment Structure In Hopes Of Saving Money
Ultimately, Medicare officials hope that bundling payments to hospitals, doctors and even post-hospital caregivers will lead to increases in cost-effective care.
Date Set For Oral Arguments In 8th Circuit Court Of Appeals
The action is scheduled for the week of Oct. 17 in St. Paul, Minn. The case is “one of the most prominent in the second round of health reform lawsuits working its way up to the Supreme Court.”
