Latest KFF Health News Stories
WellPoint Raises Stakes With New Hospital Reimbursement Policy
The Wall Street Journal reports that WellPoint Inc. will cut off annual payment increases to hospitals that fail to deliver quality patient care.
States Struggling With Medicaid Costs Look For Innovation
News outlets look at three states that are seeking alternate ways to handle Medicaid.
State Roundup: Calif. Considers Safety Measures For Mental Hospitals
News outlets report on state developments on health policy.
Medicare Trustees: Funds Will Run Out Sooner Than Expected
Last Friday, the Medicare trustees offered their annual take on the fiscal fitness of the health insurance program for senior citizens and the disabled. The reviews were worse than last year’s projections.
NY Election May Offer View Of Voters’ Take On GOP Medicare Plan
Just as this New York election approaches, news outlets analyze how public opinion is breaking in regard to the plan, as included in the budget advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Other elected officials are also offering their own responses to the approach.
WFP Resumes Food Aid Operations In South Sudan
The World Food Program (WFP) has resumed food aid operations in South Sudan after operations were suspended last month because of violence, Reuters reports.
Antiretrovirals Important To Protect HIV-Positive Children From Measles
Scientific American looks at the possible link between HIV prevalence and a recent increase in the number of children dying from measles in sub-Saharan Africa.
Critics Say Program Offering Money For Contraception To HIV-Positive Kenyan Women Is Illegal
IRIN/Plus News reports that “[t]he Kenyan government and rights groups have expressed outrage at a project in western Kenya that is paying HIV-positive women to undergo long-term contraception.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest reports about the politics and policy news surrounding the budget debate and health overhaul.
Gingrich Criticizes Obama And GOP Health Plans; Medicare Politics Sway N.Y. Race
News outlets focused on newly-declared Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s vision on health reform and on the continuing political fallout of Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposal.
As Consumers Postpone Care, Insurers Make Record Profits
The New York Times reports that consumers are putting off health care to save money and insurers are the big beneficiaries. Also, The Hill reports that the Obama administration has granted another 200 waivers to health plans.
Trustees’ Report: Medicare To Run Out Of Funds Five Years Sooner
The announcement comes as Democrats and Republicans are arguing over how to preserve the health care program for the seniors while also slashing the federal deficit. Although the trustees who oversee Medicare and Social Security say both programs face long-term financial problems, Medicare’s circumstances are more precarious because of the impact of the economy and rising health care costs.
Early HIV Treatment Can Reduce Transmission Risk By 96%, Study Results Show
Results from a multicountry clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), show that HIV-positive people who take combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their HIV-negative partners by 96 percent, U.S. researchers announced on Thursday “[i]n what is being hailed as a breakthrough in HIV prevention,” the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, 5/13).
Counterfeit Medicines Pose Increasing Risk To Patients Worldwide, U.N. Agency Says
Counterfeit medications are posing an increasing threat to patients’ health worldwide, because they offer high returns and low risks for criminal organizations, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a statement on Friday, Agence France-Presse reports.
Two Congressmen Launch Caucus To Improve Aid Effectiveness
Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Thursday launched “a bipartisan group that aims to improve aid effectiveness to further U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives,” Devex’s blog “Obama’s Foreign Aid Reform” reports.
Scientists ‘Tinker’ With HIV Drug Chemistry Hoping To Reduce Costs
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, founded by former President Bill Clinton, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.K. government, has hired former pharmaceutical company scientists “to tinker with the chemistry used to synthesize a key [HIV] drug, tenofovir, reducing the cost of manufacturing,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
U.S., Egyptian Officials Launch Report Documenting Results From USAID Health Assistance In Egypt
U.S. and Egyptian officials on Thursday gathered for the launch of Egypt’s Health and Population Legacy Report, which documents the results of USAID health sector assistance in Egypt, Daily News Egypt reports.
Obama, Senate Republicans Meet In Search Of Budget Compromises
President Barack Obama opened the private session by asking all parties to look for common ground, but the entrenched positions in play will make that difficult to achieve.
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.
