Latest KFF Health News Stories
Options For ‘Super Committee’ Could Include IPAB, Tricare, Nothing At All
Several news outlets examine how the committee, tasked with cutting the federal deficit, might operate.
Feds Hold Off On Decision About Yanking Medicare Funding To Parkland
The 672-bed public hospital in Dallas had submitted a plan of action for fixing problems identified by federal regulators.
In Research World, Walter Reed Fights Malaria While New Facility Seeks To Prevent Medical Errors
Two news outlets profile Washington-area research facilities.
New Study Finds 9/11 Firefighters Have Higher Risks Of Cancer
Research published in the Lancet suggests that the firefighters who were at the World Trade Center are 19 percent more likely to get cancer than those who were not there.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Reuben Brigety, “[t]he top U.S. official for refugee issues, … says that despite intensive efforts, relief agencies have made little progress in reducing child mortality rates at refugee camps along Somalia’s border with Ethiopia,” VOA News reports. Brigety, “comment[ing] as he returned from Dollo Ado, a sprawling camp complex in Ethiopia that houses 120,000 refugees from famine-stricken southern Somalia … tells VOA that humanitarian agencies have made impressive progress in establishing health facilities and registering the backlog of refugees arriving daily from Somalia’s famine zone. But he said children are still dying at an alarming rate of malnutrition and other complications, such as measles,” the news agency writes.
WHO African Region Member States Have Challenges To Meet MDGs, WHO/AFRO Director Says
Speaking at the 61st session of the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, on Thursday, African Regional Director of WHO Luis Sambo said “that 46 Africa member countries still had remarkable challenges to scale before meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” Nigeria’s The Nation reports.
New Rules Require Insurers To Justify Rate Increases Over 10%
Federal rules mandate that companies explain the hikes and submit them to regulators. Also, HHS announced that association health plans must meet the same rate scrutiny as other types of insurance.
Viewpoints: What Price For A Life?; Texas Tort Reform; Health Law And Job Creation
A selection of some opinions and editorials from around the country.
“Finland’s national health institute said on Thursday its latest research on previously found links between children’s narcolepsy and GlaxoSmithKline’s [GSK] Pandemrix vaccine against [H1N1] swine flu also involved a genetic risk factor,” Reuters reports. In Finland, where 98 narcolepsy cases have been reported following the flu vaccinations, researchers found vaccinated children ages four to 19 “had a 12.7 times higher risk of experiencing narcolepsy than those who were not,” the news agency notes (9/1).
Refugee Self-Settlement May Provide ‘Lasting’ Solution To Humanitarian Crises
In this New York Times’ “Opinionator” blog post, journalist and author Tina Rosenberg examines the contrasts between refugee situations in rural camps — such as Dadaab in Kenya, where tens of thousands have sought relief from drought and famine in Somalia — and more urban areas, such as cities in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, where approximately 1.6 million Iraqi refugees are living. “At Dadaab, [refugees] receive food, medical care, basic shelter — the emergency relief they need,” but “[t]he camp lacks the money to provide even subsistence rations” and “the refugees give up their rights to move freely and to work,” she writes. In urban areas, refugees “get help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with an ATM card that allows them to withdraw money every month. … They buy their own food and rent their own apartments. They use the local schools and health clinics,” Rosenberg says.
Family Planning Should Be ‘Cornerstone’ Of U.S. Policy In Afghanistan
“Without attention to population, countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan stand a good chance of staying mired in poverty, conflict, and corrupt, repressive government. That is why sustained investment in family planning by the United States and other countries would do more to stabilize the political climate there than any other foreign-policy initiative,” Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba, former Defense Department consultant and the Mellon Environmental Fellow in the department of international studies at Rhodes College, writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece.
This week’s reports come from the National Governors Association, the Journal Of Public Health Policy, the Government Accountability Office, the Journal Of Internal General Medicine, the New England Journal Of Medicine, the Urban Institute and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
First Edition: September 2, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on a new study of the health problems suffered by 9/11 first responders.
Health Politics: Huntsman Supports Ryan Plan; Perry’s Thoughts On Health Law
GOP presidential contenders Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry express their views on the nation’s health care system.
NAIC Members Raise Concerns About Exchange Waiver Process
Meanwhile, the S.C. governor turns down federal funds for building her state’s exchange.
HHS Awards $40 Million In Public Health Grants
The funds, which are partly from the health law and will go to states, will help support health departments.
Researchers Seek Ways To Reduce Battlefield Amputations, Identify Heart Attacks Early
A Kansas scientist has developed a device to stabilize fractures during battle in the hopes of cutting down the number of amputations needed. Meanwhile, St. Jude researchers have launched a study of a new heart defibrillator.
