Latest KFF Health News Stories
AFP/News24 Reports On Uptick In Dengue Outbreaks In Latin America
“An outbreak of dengue fever across much of Latin America has killed 31 people since the start of the year and is showing no sign of relenting,” Agence France-Presse/News 24 reports in a piece that notes the recent increase in dengue cases in the region over the past few years.
Pneumococcal Vaccine Officially Rolled Out In Kenya
“Kenya on Monday became the first African country to introduce a routine vaccine against pneumococcal disease, which claims the lives of more than half a million children under five each year,” Deutsche Presse Agentur/The Hindu reports. The GAVI Alliance, which is supporting the vaccine’s roll out, “is aiming to introduce the vaccine to 19 developing countries – including Nicaragua, Guyana, Yemen and Sierra Leone – within a year and hopes to reach more than 40 nations by 2015, depending on funding.”
House Republicans Release CR Proposing To Cut $100B From FY11 Budget
House Republican leaders on Friday evening released legislation “designed to fund the rest of the fiscal year, which includes $100 billion in discretionary spending cuts compared with President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget request,” National Journal reports.
President’s Budget Challenge: Show Fiscal Discipline While Funding Health Law’s Implementation
President Barack Obama’s budget plan includes a two-year Medicare “doc-fix” that uses heavy cuts in other health payments to stave-off a scheduled 25 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements. Meanwhile, news outlets also report the plan “avoids” tackling entitlement spending.
House GOP Advances Plans For Continuing Resolution, Includes About $9 Billion In HHS Spending Cuts
Some of the specific reductions in the CR, a spending bill which provides current year funding for the federal government, are aimed at the National Institutes of Health and community health centers.
A selection of editorials and opinions from around the country.
State Roundup: Calif. Adult Day Care; S.C.’s Budget Cuts; Minn. ‘Boomer Bust’
States included in today’s roundup are: California, Minnesota, Arizona and South Carolina.
Governors, Mayors Face Fiscal Challenge With Costs Of Retiree Health Benefits
According to the NY Times, this budget item has become a new target for state and local officials.
The Wall Street Journal reports on the difficulties the drug is facing in terms of its pricing within the Medicaid program.
AP: Crooks Find Medicare Part D An Easy Target
Medicare’s prescription drug program may be an easy target for health care fraud and abuse.
Some conservatives are “balking” at House GOP-backed medical malpractice reform legislation because they say it might undermine state laws. Meanwhile, anti-abortion senators are reportedly making plans to offer amendments to to limit abortion coverage and funding – following the House’s lead.
In Supreme Court, How Key Judges Would Vote On Individual Mandate Is Not A Sure Thing
The Washington Post offers analysis on how certain justices might view this challenge to the health law.
First Edition: February 14, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about what President Obama’s budget proposal does and does not include.
Two-Year Medicare ‘Doc Fix’ In President’s Budget
News outlets are reporting that $62 billion of President Obama’s 2012 budget would be trimmed rom some areas to pay for delaying cuts to physicians who treat Medicare patients.
Budget Battles: GOP’s Proposed Health Program Cuts; Obama Budget To Fix Medicare Payments To Docs
The CDC, the Administration on Aging, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Women, Infants and Children program are among the federal agencies that would lose some funding under the proposal.
“When New York City’s health department revealed last weekend that three people had contracted cholera [after traveling to the Dominican Republic], it was a reminder that the city is not just a world capital of arts, business and the like
“A growing number of livestock, such as cows and pigs, are fuelling new animal epidemics worldwide and posing more severe problems in developing countries as it threatens their food security, according to a report [.pdf] released on Friday” during an international conference in New Delhi, India, on Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition & Health, Reuters reports (Lyn, 2/11).
