Latest KFF Health News Stories
Supreme Court Of Canada Opens Hearings On Safe Drug Injection Facility
The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday began hearing the Canadian government’s case against Insite, a Vancouver-based legal injection site where people who use injecting drugs can obtain clean needles and syringes and inject their own drugs under a nurse’s supervision, the Canadian Press reports (5/12).
Report Calls For Developing New Methods Of Contraception For Women In Developing Countries
Women in the developing world need new methods of contraception that meet their needs and lifestyles, according to Guttmacher Institute report that urges more investment in contraceptive technology, Agence France-Presse reports.
HHS: Health Law Saves Medicare $120 Billion
The administration credits the significant savings to changes in the Medicare program that were put in place by the health law combined with other steps to cut down on fraud and abuse, quality of care incentives, and efforts to streamline care for people with disabilities.
Romney’s Defense Of Massachusetts Health Plan Triggers Political Questions
In what was billed as a major health care speech, Mitt Romney defended his state’s plan but distanced himself from the federal health law, despite many similarities to the law Mitt Romney signed while governor. The circumstances have him walking a political tightrope.
Study: HIV Treatment Drugs Slash Transmission Risk
AIDS researchers backed up the long-standing idea that people infected with HIV who are being treated are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who are not on drugs. This finding is being hailed as a breakthrough.
Pro-Gun Interests, Doctors Clash Over Gun Discussions
USA Today reports that, as three states consider laws that would penalize doctors who ask patients questions about whether they have firearms in their homes, the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun organizations say such inquiries violate second amendment rights.
Minnesota GOP Lawmakers File Brief In Health Care Lawsuit
News outlets report on how states are dealing with the new federal health law.
Viewpoints: Snappy Headlines, Prose On Romney And Medicare Dominate Today’s Opinions And Editorials
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
State News: Calif. GOP Offers Budget Plan
News outlets report around the country report on state health policy issues.
Some news outlets report that “what goes around comes around” as many House Republicans are being reminded of the last election’s raucous town hall meetings – this time, though, they are in the hot seat. Meanwhile, members of the GOP freshmen class have asked the White House to condemn liberal attacks on the Medicare proposal advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Medicaid Flexibility Bill Approved By House Subcommittee
The measure, which Medicaid advocates say would “devastate the program,” would repeal the maintenance of effort provision in the health law which prevents states from cutting eligibility rules before 2014.
Research Roundup: Medicare Costs In Nursing Homes; Health Law And Access To Care
Today’s studies come from The Commonwealth Fund, the National Academy of State Health Policy, the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Center for Studying Health Systems Change and UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research.
Quake, Tsunami Transform Japan Into Major Aid Recipient
“Until a few months ago Japan was the world’s fifth biggest aid donor, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), lending or giving away $9.5bn a year,” the Guardian reports. But the recent earthquake and tsunami have transformed the country “into a leading destination for international charity. In two months it has received what the Democratic Republic of the Congo is given in a year,” according to the article.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including details of Mitt Romney’s major health care speech as well as the latest updates on the debt limit and budget talks and the outlook for Medicare’s future.
Romney Confronts His Political Weakness: The Mass. Health Law
He offered no apologies for the Massachusetts law that was enacted while he was governor and expressed his support giving states the flexibility to create their own health care solutions.
Jamaican Organizations Will Receive PEPFAR Grants To Fight HIV/AIDS Stigma
Five Jamaican organizations on Tuesday signed agreements with the U.S. Ambassador’s HIV Program to receive PEPFAR-funded grants totaling $58,000 for projects aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, the Jamaica Observer reports.
OPINION: Three-Pronged Approach Needed To Fight Malaria
After lauding the recent successes in fighting malaria, Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC), writes in the Huffington Post, “A closer look provides a valuable reminder that sustained gains against malaria must be built upon a three-legged ‘stool’ that that includes 1) delivery of existing interventions, 2) operational research to improve delivery systems, and 3) research and development of new tools for control, prevention, and treatment” (5/10).
OPINION: Ending Female Genital Mutilation
“Is it cultural imperialism for Westerners to oppose [female] genital mutilation? Yes, perhaps, but it’s also justified. … But it is clear that the most effective efforts against genital mutilation are grass-roots initiatives by local women working for change from within a culture,” Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times column, which describes in detail “the most extreme form of genital mutilation” (5/11).
With Speech, Romney To Confront Health Reform Politics
Mitt Romney will deliver a speech today in which he will confront his biggest political vulnerability: the fact that the state health reform he signed into law as governor is often considered a prototype for the federal health law.
GOP Feels Heat Over Medicare Budget Votes, Seek To Craft New Message
GOP lawmakers hope to get back on the Medicare offensive. Ads will begin airing later this week that target a Democrat from Northern California, but some say the party needs to focus on a long-term strategy to regain its footing in this debate. Meanwhile, some House Democrats are pointing to a special congressional election in New York as proof that House Republican’s Medicare vote is backfiring.
