Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.”
U.N. Summit On NCDs ‘Is A Battleground’ Of Private Versus Public Interests
David Stuckler of the University of Cambridge, Sanjay Basu of the University of California, San Francisco, and Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, write in a BMJ commentary that misconceptions and fallacies “have led to serious under-budgeting for non-communicable diseases” (NCDs). The authors question whether food companies, or lobbying groups and non-governmental organizations that are influenced by food corporations, should “be viewed as trusted partners and have a seat at the table during public health negotiations” leading up to the U.N. High-level Meeting on NCDs.
South African Health Minister Promotes Exclusive Breastfeeding To Fight Rising Infant Mortality Rate
Speaking at a breastfeeding conference on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that “reducing child mortality is one of the most important priorities in our country and central to this is breastfeeding as a child survival strategy,” Agence France-Presse reports.
Crime And Violence Overshadowing Malnutrition In Guatemalan Presidential Campaign
“[M]alnutrition, one of the leading killers of children under five in the Central American nation [of Guatemala], is receiving scant attention on the campaign trail” ahead of the country’s presidential elections scheduled for September, AlertNet reports. “Organized crime and rising drug-fuelled violence” are overshadowing many issues, according to the news service.
Foreign Drug Manufacturing, Testing Raise Regulatory And Ethical Concerns
JAMA discusses “a recent report from the Pew Health Group about the growing risks of substandard and counterfeit medications resulting from the increasing overseas production of pharmaceuticals and their ingredients.” According to JAMA, “The report notes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now estimates that as much as 40 percent of pharmaceuticals used by U.S. consumers are made in other countries, and 80 percent of active ingredients and bulk chemicals used in drug manufacturing come from foreign countries.” The report “recommends that pharmaceutical companies exert tighter control over their international suppliers, that Congress provide the FDA with more resources and greater authority to oversee foreign drug production, and that a universal system be created to track drugs from production to the pharmacy,” the journal writes (Kuehn, 8/24).
First Edition: August 24, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that Medicare tries bundled payments and HHS may give states a second chance to avoid a federally-run health insurance exchange.
‘Super Committee’ Handicapping, Analysis Continues
The deficit panel has already set to work, holding conference calls and using the congressional recess to begin their process. As its members face a Thanksgiving deadline for making their recommendations to find $1.5 trillion in budget savings over 10 years, speculation continues regarding their chances for success.
Idaho Governor Appears ‘Open’ To State-Run Exchange, Texas Governor Is Not
Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter says it makes sense for his state to accept federal funds and set up its own exchange. But Texas Gov. Rick Perry stands firm in his opposition.
