Latest KFF Health News Stories
Volatile Food Prices Likely To Continue, Threatening Food Security In Developing World, FAO Says
“Drought in some areas and heavy rain in others are keeping world food prices near record levels, threatening the food supply for poorer, food-importing countries,” the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its biannual report (.pdf) on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports (Rai/Henshaw/Moffett, 6/8).
Media Examine HIV/AIDS Epidemic As U.N. Meeting Prepares To Convene
This week, political leaders will gather in New York at the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS to “frame the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS,” Nature News reports.
Blue Shield Of California Will Cap Earnings
As part of a new initiative to hold down costs, the insurer announced yesterday that it will cut this year’s premiums by 2.5 percent for many of its policy holders.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
State Roundup: N.J. Plan Would Cut Medicaid By $500 Million
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
HHS Rule For Health Exchanges Takes Shape
Meanwhile, legislation in Oregon to create a health insurance exchange was passed by the state House of Representatives and will now go to the governor.
Costs, Insurance Company Regulations Can Make Physical Therapy A Pain
NPR reports on how high costs and limited care are becoming a harship for patients who need physical therapy.
Health Law’s Independent Payment Board Draws New Opposition
Politico reports on the Independent Payment Advisory Board’s growing unpopularity and CQ HealthBeat details the complexities that will be involved in the overhaul’s expansion of health coverage for children and families. In the background, politics come into play as part of the run up to 2012.
Hospitals Want Race, Ethnic Issues Factored Into Readmissions Program
The American Hospital Association noted in a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick that research shows facilities with disproportionately large numbers of minorities have higher readmission rates.
Ryan Medicare Revamp Continues To Be Political Flashpoint
A congressionial Democrat holds a town hall meeting on the budget plan by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which includes significant changes to the Medicare program. Republicans see the budget blueprint as a litmus test.
Study: Many Employers Will Cut Back On Health Plans When Overhaul Kicks In
A report by McKinsey & Co. concluded that at least 30 percent of employers will stop offering health insurance in 2014. The projection is based on a survey of more than 1,300 businesses of various sizes and industries.
Republican Demands, Democrats’ Strategies Emerge In Debt-Ceiling Talks
As negotiators work to identify possible spending cuts, the impasse between the two parties becomes increasingly clear. Democrats oppose any deal that would include cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs and Republicans oppose any deal that include tax increases.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about an announcement by Blue Shield of California that it plans to cap it’s earnings.
Cooperation Is Key To Finding Global Food Security
“We need a global approach to achieving food security,” Tom Daschle, former Senate majority leader and chair of the DuPont Advisory Committee on Agricultural Innovation and Productivity for the 21st Century, writes in a Politico opinion piece.
South African Researchers Examine Cash Incentive HIV Prevention Program
In South Africa, where 17 percent of the world’s HIV-positive population lives, researchers from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) in Durban are examining whether providing cash payments as a reward for good grades and undergoing annual HIV testing, along with teaching life skills, might help change young men’s and women’s risky sexual behavior, Nature News reports.
Withdrawal Of Aid From Madagascar Hitting Poor Hard
The Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog” examines the effects of the withdrawal of international aid and debt relief from Madagascar following the country’s last coup in 2009.
Global Fund’s Transparency Is Essential And Saves Lives
In the Huffington Post, Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the Global Fund’s latest report on its investigation of its grants in Mali.
GAVI Appeals For $3.7B Ahead Of Pledging Conference Despite Lower Vaccine Prices
The GAVI Alliance has appealed to donors for $3.7 billion to be pledged during an upcoming conference despite announcements by several major pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of their vaccines for childhood diseases, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (6/6).
