Latest KFF Health News Stories
A selection of viewpoints from around the country.
Report: Health Care Industry Offers Significant Opportunity
A PricewatershouseCoopers report concluded that, because health care spending will account for as much as 20 percent of the U.S. economy by 2019, certain types of companies will have the chance to take advantage of this growth.
Regulators Remove Restrictions On Aetna’s Medicare Sales
The sanctions had blocked Aetna Inc. from marketing Medicare plans and enrolling new beneficiaries. Now that they have been lifted, Aetna has indicated it will again promote its Medicare Advantage offerings. Meanwhile, Aetna has also purchase Genworth Finanacial Business.
Studies Examine Surgery Survival Odds, Hospital Readmission Risks
News outlets report on a pair of studies related to Medicare populations.
State Roundup: Conn.’s ‘Moderate’ Medicaid Cuts; Calif. Adult Day Care At Risk
News outlets report on state health policy issues.
Obama Administration Regulatory Review Won’t Include Health Law Rules
An official from the Department of Health and Human Services told a House oversight subcommittee that the health law’s regulations are too new for a second look. However, some Republican members of the panel disagreed, saying that the waivers that have been granted are reason enough for such examination.
Essential Benefits Rule, McKinsey Study Continue To Draw Headlines
Also, Neal Katyal, acting solicitor general who has argued four of the cases challenging the health law before appeals courts, has announced that he will leave the Department of Justice at the conclusion of the current Supreme Court term.
Medicare As A Political Weapon
NPR details Medicare’s political muscle. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports on a Florida representative who is unabashed in his defense of his support for the GOP plan to privatize Medicare.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from last night’s GOP presidential debate, as well as the latest developments related to Medicare and Medicaid.
U.N. High Level Meeting On AIDS Declaration Sets New Targets In Fight Against Disease
World leaders on Friday at the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS adopted by consensus a declaration stating that HIV is “an unprecedented human catastrophe” and set new targets in the fight against the disease, the Associated Press/Forbes reports.
Development Through Foreign Aid Requires Global Cooperation
The GAVI Alliance pledging conference is “being seen as a litmus test of how well aid can survive in the age of austerity,” columnist Madeleine Bunting writes in a Guardian commentary, addressing how foreign aid is viewed as “soft power
IRIN Examines Factors Influencing Health Worker Migration And How Countries Working Toward Solutions
In this article, “IRIN took a look at some of the push and pull factors behind health worker migration, and what countries are doing to address them.”
U.K., U.S., Australia, Gates Foundation Promise Funds To GAVI Alliance At Pledging Conference
At a pledging conference for the GAVI Alliance in London on Monday, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Microsoft founder, announced his foundation will provide an additional $1 billion in funding for the organization over the next five years, while Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said his country will provide $210 million over the next three years, Reuters reports (Croft/Kelland, 6/13).
How Foreign Policy Influences Health
In a BMJ analysis, Ilona Kickbusch of the Graduate Institute of International Studies’ Global Health Program, outlines four ways in which foreign policy and health can interact.
Heavy Rains Increasing Number Of Cholera Cases In Haiti
Heavy rains in Haiti have increased the number of cholera cases in the country, the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports.
Number Of E. Coli Deaths In Germany Reaches 35, Authorities Say
“Four more people have died in Germany, health officials said Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths from an E. coli outbreak to 35,” CNN reports.
Dengue Vaccine Could Be Available In Four Years
A vaccine against the mosquito-borne infection dengue, the first to reach the final stage of clinical testing, “has seen ‘very promising’ results in Thailand, a specialist involved in the tests said on Friday,” Reuters reports (Petty/Mahlich, 6/10).
Gates Foundation, Chinese Search Engine Company Launch Initiative To Reduce Smoking In China
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Robin Li, CEO of the Chinese search engine company Baidu Inc., on Saturday announced the formation of a global alliance for public health with its first initiative focused on smoking cessation, Bloomberg reports (6/11).
