Latest KFF Health News Stories
States Struggle To Rein In Medical Costs
In the various state capitals, legislatures seek savings due to fiscal constraints.
CMS Announces Dollars Doled Out To Docs, Hospitals For Digital Records
The Boston Globe reports on Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is one of the facilities that received one of these grants.
Despite Senate Budget Vote, Ryan Presses Forward On Debt Reduction
Meanwhile, a range of policy groups offered ideas and solutions to reduce health care spending.
Report: Budget Impact Of Health Law Defunding Unclear
A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation found the actual impact of GOP proposals to defund the health law “unclear” because too many variables are involved in the calculation.
Will Budget Balancers Now Set Sights On Medicaid?
NPR explores the political interests actively involved in supporting Medicaid.
Dynamics In The Health Care System Trigger ACO Concerns
The traditional wariness that exists between doctors and hospitals, as well as worries related to anti-trust issues, raise questions about which players have the advantage as the specifics regarding accountable care organizations take shape.
Candidate Pawlenty Says He Would Sign Ryan Budget Plan
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, praised the courage and leadership displayed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with his budget plan.
State News: Calif., Iowa Hope To Streamline Mental Health Care Delivery
A round up of press coverage regarding a variety of health developments at the state level.
Current Efforts Not Enough To Halt HIV/AIDS In Philippines, UNAIDS Country Coordinator Says
The Philippines has not been making progress in meeting its sixth Millennium Development Goal, which is halting and reversing the spread of … HIV/AIDS…, according to the country coordinator of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),” the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including more on Medicare’s role in this week’s special congressional election in New York as well as interesting state news developments.
NY-26 Election Results Make Dems Gleeful, Republicans Defensive
The results from the special congressional election in New York earlier this week have caused Democrats to see Medicare as a defining issue for the 2012 campaign. Republicans are scrambling to refine their message.
GOP In Hot Seat As Senate Dems Force Vote On House-Passed Ryan Budget
Just a day after Democrats claimed an upset win in the New York special election to fill a historically Republican-controlled congressional seat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a vote on the GOP budget as a means to force Republicans to go on the record regarding the plan to revamp Medicare. Most responded by standing by it.
India Pledges $5B In Aid To Africa To Help Continent Reach MDGs
India on Wednesday at the conclusion of the second India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pledged $5 billion in aid to Africa to help the continent reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Guardian reports.
Nature Special Issue Focuses On Vaccines
The May 26 issue of Nature explores vaccines, which the journal says “are responsible for some of the world’s greatest public health triumphs.” Though new vaccines for deadly diseases have been developed in the past 10 years, and more are in development, “funding is tight, and unfounded doubts about the safety of vaccines persist.” The issue features stories on polio, measles, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as issues surrounding vaccine rejection and hysteria about risk (5/26).
Kenya Considers How PEPFAR Technical Guidance On MSM Squares With Laws Against Homosexuality
PEPFAR’s recent release of its “Technical Guidance on Combination HIV Prevention” (.pdf) for men who have sex with men (MSM) “could force countries like Kenya who are strongly opposed to men having sex with men to backtrack,” Nairobi Star/allAfrica.com reports.
“The oil-rich governments of Sudan and Angola are among the worst in Africa for looking after children, while poorer Tanzania, Mozambique and Niger are the best,” according to a report from the African Child Policy Forum that ranked countries based on their health, education and social program budgets, Reuters reports.
Los Angeles Times Reports On Case Of Libyan Children Infected With HIV
The Los Angeles Times examines the case of more than 400 Libyan youth who were infected with HIV in a Benghazi hospital between 1997 and 1998, some say deliberately.
State Roundup: Budget Battles Continue In Statehouses
Fiscal issues dominate news from the nation’s state capitals.
OPINION: Bipartisan Consensus On Medical Research
“Good health makes good politics,” Michael Castle, a former Republican Congressman from Delaware, and Kaitlin Christenson, director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition, write in a Roll Call opinion piece that makes the case for widespread support for medical research that aims to improve global health.
OPINION: How Universities Can Advance Global Health
“I am glad to see that U.S. research universities, too, now all seem to boast programs in global health. But claiming to have programs in global health is not the same thing as creating programs that can make a difference to populations facing poverty and ill health,” Paul Farmer, chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and founding director of Partners In Health, writes in the Harvard Crimson.
