Latest KFF Health News Stories
State Roundup: UMass Students Complain About Insurance Plan
News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues.
Around The Legislatures: Texas Passes Health Program Revamp
Legislators in Texas, Oregon and Massachusetts worked on several major pieces of health care legislation.
Christie To Sign Bill That Will Increase Costs Of Benefits For State Employees
The New Jersey state Senate on Monday approved the bill, which will raise pension and health benefit expenses for more than 500,000 state workers. Meanwhile, in Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn will sign today a measure to overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system.
Anti-Fraud Activities Shift To Medicare, Mortgage Lending; Others Less Likely To Face Prosecution
USA Today reports on this shift in who and what kind of fraud is being targeted by federal law enforcement agencies.
ACO Criticism Continues; Health Exchanges ‘A New Goldmine’
News outlets report on various developments related to implementation of the health law.
New Prostate Cancer Drugs Bring Cost Of Care Into Spotlight
Meanwhile, results from a three-decade Swedish study found that women who have mammograms have a lower death rate from breast cancer – a finding that some say may ease recent controversies around the screening procedure.
Study: Doctors Turning Away More Insured Patients
The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, tracked the rates of patients who were accepted by physicians — including those with private insurance and with Medicare.
Planned Parenthood Asks Court To Restore Funding In Kansas
The group turns to a federal district court as it seeks to have a new Kansas budget provision overturned.
Viewpoints: A Health Law Legal Precedent, Hospital-Acquired Infections, Price Cap Scrutiny
A selection of opinions and editorials from around America.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from the states about action on public employee benefit reforms and Planned Parenthood funding.
India Close To Eradicating Polio
“Scientists, health workers and community outreach officials in India believe they’re finally on the cusp of a major milestone, the defeat of polio throughout the country,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
GlobalPost Examines Family Planning And Maternal Health In Malawi
GlobalPost on Sunday published two articles examining family planning and maternal mortality in Malawi.
GAO Report Examines U.S. Food Aid
A new GAO report (.pdf) examines international food aid. “GAO recommends that Congress consider eliminating the 3-year waiting period for foreign vessels that acquire U.S.-flag registry to be eligible to transport U.S. food aid. Further, the USAID Administrator and the Secretary of Agriculture should develop a benchmark for ‘reasonable market price’ for food aid sales; monitor these sales; improve market assessments and coordinate efforts; and conduct postmarket impact evaluations,” according to a summary of the report (6/23).
U.S., South Korea Sign International Development Coordination Agreement
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan “on Friday signed an agreement to better coordinate international development aid during a meeting [in Washington] between the two countries’ top diplomats,” Agence France-Presse reports.
UNICEF Representative Warns Filipino Children Displaced After Flooding Face Disease Risk
About 450,000 children, displaced by severe flooding in the southern Philippines, could face an outbreak of diarrhea and pneumonia, Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF’s representative in the Philippines, said on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reports.
More Than 18,000 Cholera Cases Recorded In Haitian Capital Since Start Of May, WHO Says
More than 18,000 cases of cholera have been recorded in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since the beginning of May, an increase that may be related to “the beginning of the rainy season and the flooding that hit the capital,” according to Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesperson, Agence France-Presse reports.
Stretch U.S. Foreign Aid Spending By Encouraging Competition
“Given the competing factors of America’s growing international interests and shrinking resources to engage on the global arena, the federal government must take a more critical look at how best to deliver accountable, transparent, and sustainable development aid to countries in need and ask itself how best to support our national security, economic, and humanitarian goals.
Number Of Adults With Diabetes Doubled Over Past Three Decades, Study Shows
The number of adults with type 2 diabetes has doubled worldwide over the last three decades, rising from 153 million in 1980 to 347 million, “a sign that the epidemic will impose an ever-greater cost burden on health systems,” according to a study published on Saturday in the Lancet, the Wall Street Journal reports (Naik, 6/27).
