Latest KFF Health News Stories
Tempers Flare In Debt-Ceiling Talks As Deadline Looms
The hot questions now are which of the nation’s financial obligations would be paid and what would be left to default if the current negotiations fail to result in a deal.
Seniors Step Up Efforts To Protect Against Cuts To Medicare
With reductions in Medicare spending on the table in the debt-ceiling negotiations, the AARP is taking aggressive steps to defend the program.
Opinions About The CIA’s Vaccination Campaign In Pakistan
Health experts and writers continue to react to the CIA’s use of a vaccine campaign to hunt Osama bin Laden:
Congress Should Avoid Cutting International Affairs Budget, Clinton Says
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton argued against cutting U.S. foreign aid in a speech on Tuesday at a meeting of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the Washington Post’s “Checkpoint Washington” blog reports.
State Roundup: Model Insurance Brings ‘Modest’ Savings
News outlets report on a variety of state health issues.
Scientific American Presents Slide Show On MTCT Prevention
UNICEF’s goal of eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015 is “ambitious … but not impossible,” Scientific American reports. The magazine presents a slide show that “explores what is needed to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015, following Inonge Siamalambo and her baby Elson of Lusaka, Zambia, through their 18-month commitment to a transmission prevention program” (Diep, 7/13).
Viewpoints: Teaching Hospital Cuts; Medicare & Debt Deal Politics; End-Of-Life Care
A diverse selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
New England Journal Of Medicine Provides Health Policy Perspectives On Medicare, ACOs
The New England Journal of Medicine has three health policy perspectives today.
Hospitals Use Luxury To Attract Well-Heeled Patients
This development in hospital design mirrors a broader trend in health care.
CMS Actuary Offers Bleak Picture For Medicare Solvency
During congressional testimony, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chief Actuary Richard Foster also offered dark predictions for hospitals’ future profitability.
Medicaid Cuts Raise Physician Ire In Puerto Rico
Also in Medicaid news: In Alabama, an examination of pharmacy receipts leads to reduced costs. But in Texas, some hospital systems are bracing for the impact of Medicaid cuts currently under discussion in the debt-ceiling talks.
Exchanges: Critical Piece Of Health Law Implementation
News outlets also are reporting on physician interest in care coordination and a GOP proposal to change the Medicaid eligibility calculations to prevent a reported 3 million early retirees from becoming eligible in 2014.
Bill Would Boost IT Funding For Multi-Campus Hospital Systems
In other news, The Boston Globe reports on one of the perks enjoyed by doctors who use electronic health records, and Bloomberg details the British Medical Association’s advice to members to avoid patients on Facebook.
The Focus On Bringing Down IPAB
On Capitol Hill this week, the health law’s independent payment advisory panel drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was on hand to absorb some of the attacks and answer some of the questions.
Longer Looks: Penalties For Doctors Who Keep Patients Waiting
This week’s selections include MedPage Today, The Economist, Governing, the Nation, Slate, American Medical News and Modern Healthcare.
FDA Needs More Oversight Power To Protect Increasingly Globalized Drug Supply, Pew Report Says
“The Food and Drug Administration needs much more power to protect the U.S. supply of drugs as more and more are made in other countries,” according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Health Group, National Journal reports. The FDA estimates about 80 percent of the active ingredients in medications and up to 40 percent of finished pharmaceuticals are manufactured abroad, often in developing countries with little to no regulatory oversight, the news service adds.
Vaccine And Aid Workers Express Anger Over CIA Plot To Collect DNA Through Vaccine Program
“Vaccine program workers, who sometimes struggle to gain public trust and governmental cooperation in the first place, are furious about the deception” of the CIA in establishing a vaccination program in Pakistan in an attempt to gather DNA from Osama bin Laden’s family, ScienceInsider reports. “Aid workers also say that news of the vaccination plot may undermine their ability to work with the public and with developing world governments,” the news service writes (Reardon, 7/13).
CDC Investigators Working To Understand Nodding Syndrome Among East African Children
Nature News examines the work of a CDC team working in South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda to investigate nodding syndrome, “a poorly understood and seemingly growing problem in eastern Africa.”
Horn Of Africa Nations Risk ‘Massive Famine,’ Shah Says
The nations in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa “are at risk of ‘massive famine,’ Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), told the Huffington Post Wednesday.” “It’s very severe,” Shah said. “We know from the data that we’ve been collecting that this is the worst drought in 60 years and it’s going to have severe consequences. Eleven and a half million people are at real risk of malnutrition and famine already,” the Huffington Post reports (Hersh, 7/13).
