Latest KFF Health News Stories
State News: Fla. Lawmakers To Vote Today On Medicaid Changes
News outlets across the country report on developments in health policy.
Medical Societies Still ‘Welcome’ Drug Company Support
ProPublica reports that the relationship continues between societies that represent medical specialists and certain corporate interests.
Appellate Hearing For Two Health Law Challenges Scheduled For Tuesday
USA Today reports on the specifics of these cases and this step in the process.
Vermont Legislature Passes Bill To Establish Single Payer Health Plan
The bill now goes to Gov. Peter Shumlin, who is expected to sign it.
Abortion Bills Move To Governors In Texas And Florida
Bills in both states are designed to cut down the number of abortions.
IPAB Claims A Friend Within The GOP
During a break in a Thursday House subcommittee hearing on elements of the health law, Mark McClellan offered positive views of the IPAB. Also during the hearing, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius commented on how the reform law assists entitlement reform and gave her views on the measure’s pre-existing condition program.
House Panel Takes On Medicare Payment Reform Issues
During a Thursday hearing, medical societies weighed in on efforts to fix Medicare reimbursement, and Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said a repeal of the current physician payment formula is on the “short list” of things to get done this summer.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that the GOP may be rethinking its plans to revamp Medicare — especially as a new round of debt accord talks begin between Vice President Joe Biden and congressional leaders.
TB Medication Variations In Private Markets Could Harm Treatment Efforts, Study Says
A wide variation in the dosages and forms of medicines prescribed by private physicians to patients with tuberculosis (TB) in developing countries could lead to the development of more drug-resistant strains of the bacterial infection, according to a study published online Wednesday in PLoS One, the Financial Times reports (Jack, 5/4).
Lawmakers Question U.S. Aid Program To Pakistan In Wake Of Bin Laden’s Death
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) on Wednesday “urged a halt to an aid program for flood victims in Pakistan in the wake of revelations that slain al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden lived there unperturbed for years,” Agence France-Presse reports.
New Round Of Deficit Talks Begins Amidst Debt-Ceiling Concerns
How to handle entitlement spending issues including Medicare will be central to the discourse.
Opponents Offer Dire Warnings About Medicaid Block Grant Proposal
The plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to transform this program has been the subject of much of the concern. However, another alternative, this one offered by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and based on “global cap” for federal spending, is also getting negative reviews from Medicaid advocates.
‘Confluence Of Circumstances’ Resulted In Haitian Cholera Outbreak, U.N.-Appointed Panel Says
Haiti’s cholera outbreak, which started last October, “was caused by a South Asian strain that contaminated a river where tens of thousands of people wash, bath, drink and play,” a report (.pdf) from an independent U.N.-appointed panel said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. “Although many have blamed the epidemic on U.N. peacekeepers from South Asia working in Haiti, the report issued by the panel declined to point the finger at any single group for the outbreak, saying it was the result of a ‘confluence of circumstances'” (5/4).
Savings Projected From ‘Emerging’ Generic Drugs
But the Federal Trade Commission found an “unprecedented” increase in drug industry deals to delay the availability of these cheaper drugs.
House Passes Restrictive Abortion Measure
In other House action, the chamber approved another bill related to stripping funds from the health law. This one targeted money for a program in last year’s health care law providing for construction of school-based health clinics.
The Philadelphia Inquirer details the requirements of this Medicare regulation, for which enforcement began last month.
26 States Ask Court To Uphold Decision To Overturn Health Law
The states filed a motion Wednesday with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. In the background, individual states continue action to block the law’s implementation.
Viewpoints: Gov. Daniels’ Reversal?; IPAB’s Medicare Fix; Texas Medicaid Cuts
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
