Latest KFF Health News Stories
House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) released a 2012 budget plan on Wednesday that would cut federal spending levels by $30 billion compared with current levels, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan “calls for cutting virtually every area of the federal government. The one exception would be defense spending” (Boles, 5/11).
PBS’ NewsHour Reports On Ukraine’s Efforts To Fight HIV/AIDS
PBS’ NewsHour on Wednesday featured a story on HIV/AIDS in the Ukraine, which has the region’s highest HIV/AIDS rate, increasing fears that the epidemic could spread to neighboring countries.
AP Reports On Global Fund Commitment To Transparency, Fund Responds
AP reports Global Fund is looking at scaling down transparency measures, Global Fund releases statement.
More Than 1,100 Women Raped Every Day In The Congo, Study Finds
More than 1,100 women are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a study published on Tuesday in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Agence France-Presse reports.
WHO Launches Decade Of Action For Road Safety
The WHO on Wednesday in Geneva officially launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 to raise awareness of and reduce the number of traffic-related deaths and injuries worldwide, the Washington Post reports (Brown, 5/11).
OPINION: Haiti’s Cholera Epidemic Endures
“The United Nations’ overall appeal to respond to the [Haiti cholera] epidemic, for $175 million, is 48 percent financed. Haiti’s continuing health emergency may have been overlooked in a crush of world events, but while the sick and dying are waiting for the world to respond, the disease is not,” a New York Times editorial states (5/10).
Longer Looks: Conservatives Vs. Liberals On Medicare – Who’s Winning?
This week’s selections come from Slate, The Nation, Time, The Atlantic, The New Republic and Governing.
Milliman Study Finds Health Costs Really Are Increasing
The consulting firm Milliman Inc. found that health care costs for a family of four rose again in 2011.
Census Data: The Age Gap Is Growing, Sharpening Political Divide
The age gap among regions in the U.S. has grown to its widest in decades. In some areas, the trend will increase pressure on already stretched budgets that provide services for the aging.
Federal Health Law Pushes Insurers To Retool
The Wall Street Journal reports that insurers are diversifying.
HHS Dual-Eligible Program Seeks To Lower States’ Medicaid Costs
The centerpiece of the program, which HHS says could result in savings of billions of dollars a year, would give states access to data detailing how Medicaid populations use Medicare services.
Next Stop For Health Law Appeal Includes Two GOP-Appointed Judges
As news outlets were chewing over Tuesday’s hearing on the health law, the next appeal panel was announced.
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Medicaid: Fla. Revamp Questions; Texas Hospitals Complain About Cuts
News outlets look at issues surrounding Medicaid funding in several states.
Wash. Gov. Signs Health Exchange Bill; Texas House Debates Federal Overhaul
News outlets report on how states across the country are responding to the federal health law.
In Connecticut, Aetna is proposing rate cuts for this year, a move that reflects, at least partially, the impact of the federal health law. Meanwhile, The Hill reports that consumer groups are anxiously awaiting regulations that will allow the Department of Health and Human Services to review rates. These regs are likely to be out by the end of the month.
State Roundup: Maryland Long Term Care Costs Examined
News outlets across the country report on developments in health policy.
House Energy And Commerce Committee Approves Malpractice Legislation
The Hill reports that – as it marked up the bill, which would impose new limits on lawsuits against doctors – the panel defeated Democratic efforts to preserve more lenient state laws.
Debt Talks Continue With Medicare Losing Prominence In Discourse
But GOP plans for the 2012 federal budget set the stage for significant cuts in health discretionary spending – which are among the programs that make up the core of President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda.
Catholic’s Faculty Criticizes Boehner’s Support For Medicare, Medicaid Cuts
Just days before House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is scheduled to give the university’s commencement address, a group of its faculty members criticized elements of the GOP’s 2012 budget plan.
