Latest KFF Health News Stories
Test Vote On Health Bill For Ground Zero Workers Expected
Senate Democrats need one Republican vote for the bill to pass.
First Edition: December 7, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report that Senate leaders appear to be nearing a one-year fix for Medicare’s physician pay problem.
First Edition: December 6, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Experts, Mobile Service Providers Discuss Potential For Mobile Health In Africa At Summit
“Some 80 health professionals and telecom operators [met last week for the mHealth Africa Summit] in the Ghanaian capital Accra to explore ways to use mobile phones for better healthcare delivery,” IRIN reports in an article that details a variety of successful projects relaying health information through cell phones in Africa. The article describes how mobile phones are being used in Africa to educate populations about HIV/AIDS, TB and improve maternal health, as well as means to track medicines and other health supplies, including mosquito nets.
Guardian Examines Difficulty Of Delivering Polio Vaccines In War-Torn Parts Of Africa, Like DRC
UNICEF is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so that polio vaccinators can access millions of children in an effort to beat back the re-emergence of the disease in several African nations, the Guardian reports. “We are calling on all parties to the conflict to respect the vaccination days and cease fighting,” said Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF’s representative in the DRC. “All children have the same right to health,” Vu Thi said.
Campaign To Inoculate Millions Across Africa Against Meningitis Kicks Off In Burkina Faso
On Monday, a campaign started in Burkina Faso to “inoculate tens of millions of West Africans with a new vaccine in what scientists hope will be the beginning of the end of ravaging meningitis epidemics” across the continent, the New York Times reports. Burkina Faso marks the first country in a drive aimed at “bringing the disease under control and saving an estimated 150,000 lives by 2015 in a belt of 25 nations that girds the continent,” according to the newspaper (Dugger, 12/4).
In Mass., Health Insurance Program Falters; Long Term Care Costs Increase
Privacy advocates question OPM effort to set up a research database with federal employees health records while Mass. officials are disappointed that cities are not signing up for a new program to help cover workers’ insurance needs.
New Poll Reflects Views On Palin And Abortion; Abortion Clinic Protests Planned
A new poll, by Planned Parenthood, finds that most voters don’t trust Sarah Palin on abortion issues.
Today’s Op-Eds: ObamaCare and FEHBP; California Prisons; And Workhorse Medicaid
Today’s selection of opinions and editorials includes news outlets on the federal workers health care plans, health care in California’s prison system and how Medicaid is the workhorse of the health system.
Hospitals Turn To Luxury Services To Entice Patients
Around the country, hospitals are seeking more business by offering high-end services while at the same time finding ways to cut down costs associated with patients who cannot pay their bills.
Report: Baltimore Cardiologist Inserted ‘Medically Unnecessary’ Stents
A new report details how a Baltimore doctor possibly committed fraud by inserting too many heart stents as he had dealings with the manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories.
Pfizer CEO Unexpectedly Retires
After 4 1/2 years with the company, CEO Jeffrey Kindler is abruptly replaced by Ian Read, the global head of pharmaceuticals.
States confront a range of health policy issues.
GOP’s Rallying Cry On Health Reform: States’ Rights
Republicans are planning their next moves to challenge the new health law.
This week’s research roundup includes studies from Health Affairs, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, the Commonwealth Fund, the Urban Institute and the Scan Foundation.
Texas Gov. Perry Backs Away From Medicaid Dropout Threat
As a new report found that Texas would lose at least $15 billion/year, officials acknowledged that dropping Medicaid wouldn’t work. But they called for a revamping of the federal/state program.
Health insurance plans, companies and rate hikes are in the news.
Support for Debt Panel’s Plan Greater Than Expected, But Still Falls Short
News outlets report that while a bipartisan majority of the presidential debt commission announced their support today for a package that would slash the national deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade, there were not enough votes to send the plan to Congress.
