Latest KFF Health News Stories
UNICEF Calls On Governments To Improve Status Of Children On Day Of The African Child
“African governments need to provide ‘more protective environments’ to keep children safe and free from harm and exploitation,” UNICEF said in a statement marking the 2011 Day of the African Child on Thursday, the U.N. News Centre reports.
Civil Society Must Have Voice In Future Of MDGs
There are three main options on the table” about what to do after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015, Leo Williams, chair of Beyond 2015, an international campaign that aims to “ensur[e] that the process of developing a [development] framework is participatory, inclusive and responsive to those directly affected by poverty and injustice,” writes in a post on the Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog.”
Integrating AIDS Fight With Other Global Health Efforts Is Next Step
An “invisible turning point” in the fight against HIV/AIDS recently occurred: “the realisation that simply strengthening the vertical programme that is AIDS has to end. The new opportunity is integration,” a Lancet editorial states.
Biden: Budget Talks Now Focus On ‘The Hard Stuff’
Partisan differences on core issues such as taxes and Medicare spending continue to be a part of the deficit-reduction negotiations being led by Vice President Joe Biden, who says the talks will go on “around the clock” next week as lawmakers work to resolve the stand-off over raising the nation’s debt limit.
Baucus Challenges McKinsey & Company On Insurance Survey
The survey concluded that an estimated 30 percent or more of businesses would drop employer-sponsored health coverage after 2014 because of the health law. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., is demanding that the consulting firm release its methodology.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Technology Aids In Maintaining Quality Of Life In Aging
The Los Angeles Times reports on trends in high-tech aging.
White House Focuses On Prevention With Release Of National Strategy
Described as a way to improve the nation’s prosperity, the Obama administration announced a sweeping plan to emphasize health promotion and disease prevention for all walks of life.
Justice Department Sides With Planned Parenthood In Indiana Case
The group is seeking to block a new law that would bar Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood. Meanwhile, the N.C. legislature has overturned a veto by the governor of a measure that would also cut state payments to Planned Parenthood.
Pawlenty Aims Verbal Barb At Romney
On Thursday, GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty called rival Mitt Romney a “co-conspirator” in the federal health overhaul. He also repeated his call for repealing the measure, and maintained that, when he was governor, he handled health reform “the right way.”
State News: N.J. Workers Rally Against Pension And Health Care Changes
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Lawmakers Draw Lines, Offer Views On Medicare
Senate Democrats argue that the best way to find savings in Medicare is to build on the program changes that were included in the health law. Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says he is open to Medicare changes that would leave the traditional program intact as an option for seniors in the future.
Dems Introduce Bills To Push For Medicare Negotiated Drug Pricing
Congressional Democrats introduced legislation to let Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices
House Panel OKs Bill That Would Defund Individual Mandate Enforcement
By defunding this health law provision next year, even though it doesn’t actually kick in until 2014, the measure could prevent the administration from hiring and training the necessary Internal Revenue Service personnel. In other reform news, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official defended the way the Department of Health and Human Services has proceeded in developing and implementing regulations related to the health overhaul.
Longer Looks: A Male Birth Control Pill; Teenagers And Tanning Beds
This week’s collection includes articles from The Atlantic, National Review, Time, Governing and American Medical News.
Research Roundup: Kids On Medicaid Have Trouble Seeing A Specialist
This week’s sudies come from the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the University of Kansas, the Commonwealth Fund and the Government Accountability Office.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including updates about how health entitlement programs are faring in the ongoing deficit-reduction negotiations.
Wall Street Journal Examines Business Schools’ Focus On Health Care
The Wall Street Journal examines how some top business schools are tailoring their programs to students who are interested in the health care industry, “which promises to grow as populations age and those in developing countries demand access to the latest treatments.”
G20 Agriculture Ministers Should Focus On Small Farmers To Address Food Price Volatility
“When the G20 Ministers of Agriculture develop an action plan to address food price volatility and its impact on the poor, they should focus on both urgent actions and the vital role of smallholder farmers,” Shenggen Fan, director-general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, writes in an Inter Press Service opinion piece.
