Latest KFF Health News Stories
Dems, GOP Continue Heavyweight Fight Over Medicare Proposals
Democrats and Republicans are looking for their next messaging steps on proposals to slow the growth of Medicare costs in the wake of a congressional election and talks to tackle to mounting debt.
Government Questions Plantiff’s Standing In Challenge To Health Law
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the Thomas More Law Center case in Cincinnati tomorrow.
Health Law Implementation Issues: Challenges With Exchanges, Doc-Owned Hospitals
Health insurance exchanges are among several health law implementation issues making news.
Today’s headlines include articles on the federal efforts to improve hospital quality, the politics of Medicare and the move by some GOP governors to set up health exchanges.
Medicare Politics Heat Up, Already Driving Presidential Campaign
The future of Medicare may hinge on the next election, according to the politicians’ rhetoric over the past few days.
Some Veterans’ Health Jeopordized Due To Poor Infection Control
Several news outlets cover hospital-acquired infections.
McConnell, Romney, Freshmen Republicans Face Tough Questions On GOP Medicare Plan
The political fallout from Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan, with its changes to Medicare, continues to reverberate around the country.
Strategies, Spin Emerge After NY-26 Special Election Results
Because of what many view as the vote-changing impact that Medicare had on this congressional contest, Democrats and Republicans are considering how to advance their positions toward 2012.
Proposed Rule For The CLASS Act Expected In October
The rule is expected to make major changes, including a possible move to index the premiums for inflation.
U.N., U.S. Re-Evaluate HIV/AIDS Treatment Targets
Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, scheduled for June 8-10 in New York, “public-health leaders face a paradox: New evidence suggests the epidemic can finally be controlled, but that would demand increased spending at a time of severe global budget restraints,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Preliminary estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS show last year donor funding for HIV/AIDS fell for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, according to the newspaper.
Appointment Of Drug Company To GAVI Board Draws Criticism From NGOs
The appointment of Dutch pharmaceutical company Crucell, recently acquired by Johnson & Johnson, to the board of the GAVI Alliance is “sparking concerns over conflicts of interest and demands for tougher competition to reduce prices,” the Financial Times reports.
AP Examines Debate Over India’s Poverty Line
The Associated Press examines the debate over the poverty line in India, noting that a commission, which helps set the country’s economic policy, told the Supreme Court earlier this month that the poverty line in cities was 578 rupees ($12.75) per person per month, and about 450 rupees ($9.93) per person per month for rural areas.
OPINION: Aid For Women Farmers Is A Worthy Investment
In a piece on The Hill’s “Congress Blog,” Eva Clayton, a former Democratic member of Congress from North Carolina and assistant director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization between 2003 and 2006, calls on the World Bank to invest more in women farmers in the developing world, after the agency “largely ignored the role women and small entrepreneurs can play in the developing world to improve food security” at an April 2011 meeting.
OPINION: U.S. Must Do More On Global Food Security
“Washington cannot allow food insecurity to exacerbate instability in already volatile regions. We are not doing all that must be done,” Catherine Bertini, a former executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, and Dan Glickman, a former agriculture secretary, write in Politico.
Viewpoints: Medicare Controversy Continues To Raise Outrage, Prescriptions, Vivid Prose
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Research Roundup: Medicaid Co-Payments, Access To Docs Causes Worse Health
This week’s studies come from the Urban Institute, PLoS Medicine, Journal Of The American Medical Association, Pediatrics, The Scan Foundation, The Journal of General Internal Medicine and Medical Care.
Senate Dems Pressure States To Maintain Planned Parenthoold Funding
Meanwhile, access to abortions and funding for women’s health are areas of continued focus in states and localities.
Obama, Medvedev Reaffirm Efforts To Eradicate Polio Ahead Of G8 Summit
President Barack Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Deauville, France, ahead of the G8 summit, ABC News’ “Political Punch” blog reports.
Gov. Shumlin Signs Vermont’s Single-Payer Law
Questions remain, however, and full implementation may take six years or more.
