Latest KFF Health News Stories
Minn. Government Shuts Down; New Calif., Iowa and Ill. Budgets Take Effect
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, state legislators send unions a warning about the consequences of rejecting benefit cuts.
We Must Do More To Monitor Aid Spending Abroad
In a Washington Times opinion piece, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) points to recent developments and experiences that have led him to conclude that “vast amounts of U.S. aid money is being spent with little documentation or verification of quantifiable results.”
D.C. Study Probes Disparities In Stroke Treatment
The Washington Post reports on a new study that offers a detailed look at treatment differences between black and white stroke patients.
Al Jazeera Examines How War Has Affected Iraq’s Health System And Physicians
Al Jazeera examines how Iraq’s public health system has been affected by the war and the challenges doctors in the country currently face.
TB Fight Must Break From Status Quo
“As WHO prepares for reform, it is also adjusting to a new financially constrained environment. WHO’s STOP TB department, like others, has to downsize and refocus its activities. With increasing demand for guidance, technical support, and capacity-building in countries, the STOP TB department and partnership will have to do more with less in the future,” a Lancet editorial states.
Research Roundup: Hospital Care In U.S. Territories Lags; Health Spending Unevenly Distributed
This week’s studies come from The Archives of Internal Medicine, The Journal Of General Internal Medicine, The National Institute For Health Care Management, The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Science Should Inform Global AIDS Policy
Thirty years have passed since the first reported case of AIDS, and “we now have an unprecedented opportunity, based on solid scientific data, to control and ultimately end the AIDS pandemic,” after decades of the idea being “a distant aspiration because we lacked sufficient evidence-based tools to convert the hope to reality,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, writes in a Science editorial.
Roundup: Mass. Doctors Seek Care-Management Funds; Fla. Groups Fear Scott Will Block Federal Grants
In other state news, state legislatures seek to block local public health and nutrition regulations.
Japan’s Coastal Health Systems Facing Long Rebuilding Process Following Tsunami
The Lancet reports on Japan’s “daunting task of rebuilding hundreds of damaged health facilities” four months after an earthquake and tsunami hit the country. “When the tsunami ripped houses from their foundations and sent cars and other debris miles inland, it also caused widespread damage to the health infrastructure in a region already struggling to fund health services for its large elderly population,” the Lancet writes.
CDC Helping To Detect And Control Disease Outbreaks In Other Countries
“The Atlanta-based CDC is expanding its involvement in cases of illness overseas, from helping track the source of the highly toxic E. coli outbreak in Germany to homing in on the cause of cholera in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake,” in an effort “to stop epidemics before they can reach the United States,” Reuters/MSNBC.com reports.
Judge Halts Enforcement Of S.D. Abortion Law; Hearing On Kansas Law Today
As a federal judge halts enforcement of a S.D. law requiring a three-day waiting period and counseling for women seeking abortions, Kansas abortion providers head to federal court to challenge tough new licensing requirements.
Aflatoxin Treatment Project In Kenya Faces Challenge In Marketing Product To Poor Farmers
IRIN examines an 18-month project in Kenya testing a maize treatment aimed at controlling “a deadly fungus, aflatoxin,” which has the potential to cause cancer, immune system suppression, growth retardation, liver disease and death among the “literally billions of people in the developing world” who are chronically exposed to the fungus.
Viewpoints: Medical Docs Begin Residency; Best Practices; Kansas Abortions
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Analysis Of Appeals Court Ruling On Health Law Focuses On Bush Appointee
Legal experts are parsing the judge’s opinion for clues to what may happen if the case goes to the Supreme Court.
Patients To Get Satisfaction Survey When They Leave Hospitals
As part of the health law, federal spending will be determined partly by patients’ view of the facility and their care.
Medicare To Cover 2 Expensive Cancer Drugs
Federal program will pay for Avastin for breast cancer and Provenge for prostate cancer.
Poll Finds Some Support For Minor Medicare Cuts
Americans approve of minor cuts to help trim the federal deficit, but are much less likely to favor major cuts, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation tracking survey.
New Sleep Rules For Medical Residents
New federal rules, designed to help insure safety, go into effect today limiting first-year residents to 16-hour shifts. Meanwhile, an academic medical center in Denver is setting the standard for patient safety.
State Insurance Officials’ Panel Endorses Protection For Insurance Brokers
Key task force endorses bill to exclude fees paid to brokers from insurers’ calculations of their administrative costs. Under the health law, insurers must hold administrative costs under 20 percent, and brokers fear the companies will cut their commissions to meet that mark.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about sleep deprived medical residents, decisions by Medicare officials on covering two expensive drugs and states struggling with budget cuts.
