Latest KFF Health News Stories
Washington Post Publishes Leadership Roundtable Opinion Pieces On Foreign Aid And Somalia
The Washington Post on Wednesday published a leadership roundtable on U.S. aid and Somalia, featuring the following five opinion pieces:
TrustLaw Publishes Special Report On Child Marriage
TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, on Thursday published a series of articles, infographics and videos in a special report on child marriage. According to the series homepage, “[e]very day, 25,000 girls under the age of 18 are married worldwide. For many child brides, a future of poverty, exploitation and poor health awaits” (8/4).
States Seek Medicaid Waivers, Wrestle With Funding Cuts
Oregon and Utah have waiver requests pending. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, dramatic state Medicaid cuts are leading to the sale of some hospitals. And, in Arizona, a judge will soon decide whether health coverage should be restored for some low-income state residents whose health insurance ceased as a result of budget cuts.
Viewpoints: ‘Real’ Medicare Cuts?; HIV/AIDS Prevention Push; Contraceptive Coverage
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Rates For Calif. Pre-Existing Condition Plans Drop By An Average Of 18%
The federal government approved the state’s plan to lower the rates in an effort to increase enrollment.
CDC: HIV Infection Rates Hold Steady Except Among Young Black Males
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while the overall number of people who are infected with HIV each year is relatively steady, but there was a 48 percent increase in the number of young HIV-infected African American men who have sex with men from 2006 to 2009.
State Roundup: Windfall For Mass. Hospitals
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
New Doc-Fix Plan Links Payment To Quality
Politco Pro reports that a proposal being considered by GOP staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee would address looming cuts with a pay-for-performance system.
Medicare’s Recovery Audit Contractor Program Collected $575.2 Million Since 2009
Modern Healthcare reports that between March and June of this year, the program brought in $233.4 million in overpayments.
Appeals Court Tosses Out Health Challenge Brought By New Jersey Docs
The opinion, which affirms the lower court’s finding, is also a reminder – according to CQ HealthBeat – that decisions still haven’t been announced in two other pending suits.
Speculation About Essential Benefits Package Takes Spotlight
As the Department of Health and Human Services works toward setting the specifics of an essential health benefits package – the minimum coverage that would be offered by plans participating in the exchanges – stakeholders are offering actuarial models and suggestions of what they think would be the best approach.
Longer Looks: Treating Down Syndrome?; Mentally Ill, Meds & Trials
Today’s selection includes articles from The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Economist, The Atlantic, National Review, American Medical News and Slate.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how lawmakers and lobbyists are lining up for the next phase of the deficit deal.
U.N. Issues Appeal For Air Cargo Space, Warns About Rising Child Mortality Among Somalis In Kenya
UNICEF on Tuesday “appeal[ed] to the air transport sector to provide free and discounted cargo space to bring emergency food supplies into the region,” the U.N. News Centre reports (8/2). UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, warned in its latest situation report that “[c]hild mortality rates among Somali refugees in Kenya are on the rise and there are ‘alarmingly high rates’ of malnutrition,” according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C (8/3).
With Deal In Place, Focus Shifts To Role Of ‘Super Committee’
This panel will be tasked with searching out more than $1 trillion in spending reductions from the mandatory-spending side of the budget, which includes Medicare and Medicaid. If they fail, automatic across-the-board cuts will be triggered.
Debt Deal’s Potential Medicare Cuts Echo Through Health Care Industry
Medicare and Medicaid advocates prepare for their luck to run out as the debt deal will likely lead to pressure on providers and could lead to family physicians, hopsitals and even elderly patients feeling the pinch.
Obama Administration Issues New Guidance On Aid To Drought-Stricken Somalia
The Obama administration on Tuesday issued new guidance stating “the U.S. would not prosecute relief agencies for delivering aid to parts of Somalia controlled by the Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, despite concerns that unrestricted aid in the failed state would be diverted to the wrong hands,” Inter Press Service reports (Hough, 8/2).
Children Of Depressed Mothers In Developing Countries Less Likely To Thrive, Report Says
“Children of depressed mothers in developing countries are 40 percent more likely to be underweight or stunted than those with mothers in good mental health,” according to a report published in the August edition of the WHO Bulletin, Reuters reports. “The analysis was based on 17 studies of nearly 14,000 mothers and their small children carried out in Africa, Asia, and South America and the Caribbean,” according to the news agency.
State Roundup: Moving Vets Off Medicaid; San Fran. Grapples With Loophole
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
U.S., Western Governments Can Help Prevent ‘Mass Starvation’ In Somalia
With the State Department’s reassurance to aid groups on Tuesday that they “will not face prosecution if they are forced to pay bribes to al-Shabab or if militants divert some food supplies,” organizations still have “the problem of gaining access to famine victims and ensuring the safety of their personnel, a number of whom have been murdered by the militants,” a Washington Post editorial says. “But the crisis may be causing al-Shabab’s cohesion to break down; some commanders have been cutting deals with aid organizations to receive food supplies,” the editorial states.
