Latest KFF Health News Stories
As Obama Readies Jobs Plan, Health Sector Leads Pack
President Barack Obama will unveil a new jobs plan today. In the meantime, News outlets report on how health jobs are one clear area of promise.
Longer Looks: Unknowns In Sports Medicine; Shackling Pregnant Prisoners
Today’s articles come from The New York Times, Newsweek/The Daily Beast, the Huffington Post, Governing, American Medical News and AARP.
First Edition: September 8, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from last night’s GOP presidential debate, as well as explorations of what the future might hold for the ‘Super Committee’ and new developments related to physician payment issues.
Hospitals: HHS Inspector General Counsel Backs Telemedicine Plan For Stroke Care Program
Hospital issues making headlines include a telemedicine plan, the unreliability of some children’s hospital rankings and how some long hospital wait times can be deadly.
HHS Finds More Than 30,000 Health Record Breaches
The security breaches were relatively small scale but they exposed records of nearly 8 million people, Modern Healthcare reports.
Calif. Woman Presses For Breast Cancer Law
Nurse had mammograms every year and they showed nothing, but she says doctors knew she had a condition, “extremely dense breast tissue,” that could mask cancer.
Suit Accuses Generic Drugmakers Of Overcharging Medicaid
Three firms are accused by a whistleblower of getting pharmacies to dispense more expensive dosage forms than what was prescribed.
HHS Secretary Tours Alaska Health Care Facilities; Judge Halts Rollback Of Ariz. Same-Sex Benefits
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
CDC Reports Slight Drop In Smoking; Tick Worries Blood Experts
News outlets report on a variety of public health issues.
Attention Focuses On ‘Super Committee’ And Medicare
Health care industries and professionals have contributed millions of dollars over the years to the lawmakers now on the special deficit panel, The Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, some liberal groups are pressuring to protect safety-net programs, while a member of the committee comments on the possibility of compromise.
Viewpoints: Perry And Medicaid; Flawed ‘Universal’ Coverage?; Nursing Home Regulation
A brief collection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Med Schools Lack Curriculm On Gay Health, Survey Finds
A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association and a Mayo Clinic study examine medical school students’ curriculum and stress levels.
FTC Seeks More Details On Drug Company Deal
Pharmacy benefits management company Express Scripts announced in July it was acquiring a similar firm, Medco.
Republican Lawmakers Discuss Medicare, Autism Spending
GOP Rep. Joe Walsh talks to a high school class and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is backing efforts to provide federal funds for autism research.
Medicare Actuary: HHS’ Safety Plan Savings Projections ‘Reasonable’
But actuary Rick Foster said savings will be difficult to acheive by 2013. Meanwhile, more Medicare bundling experiments are coming.
Kansas Doctors To Request Rollback Of New Regulations; Anti-Abortion Group Backs Ohio Amendment
News outlets report on abortion issues in the states.
Health Law Supporters Press Obama Administration
Advocates of the law seek a change to the subsidy provision, and some fear that the administration is too eager to compromise with business.
Boston Hospital Names New Leader
Dr. Keven Tabb is picked to lead Beth Israel Deaconess.
TB Vaccine Candidate Shows Early Potential In Mice
Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Colorado State University report in the September 4 issue of Nature Medicine that “[a] potential vaccine against tuberculosis [TB] has been found to completely eliminate tuberculosis bacteria from infected tissues in some mice,” according to a HHMI press release. “The vaccine was created with a strain of bacteria that, due to the absence of a few genes, are unable to avoid its host’s first-line immune response,” the release states, adding, “Once this first-line defense has been activated, it triggers the more specific immune response that can protect against future infections” (9/4). A spokesperson for the campaign group TB Alert told BBC News, “These are interesting experiments but it is too early to tell what impact they will have on the development of a safe and effective vaccine,” the news service reports (Gallagher, 9/4).
Judge Halts Implementation Of La. Medicaid Managed Care Plan
News outlets report on Medicaid issues in the states.
