Latest KFF Health News Stories
Guardian Examines Former Pres. Bush’s Reflection On PEPFAR In New Memoir
The Guardian examines the reflections of former President George W. Bush on “the $15bn President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) which distributed antiretroviral drugs to keep people with HIV alive,” as the president describes in his recently released memoir, Decision Points.
Researchers Find Text Messages To HIV Patients Improve Adherence, Health Outcomes In Kenya Trial
“Using mobile-phone text messages to remind HIV patients to take their dose of life-saving medications can give a major boost to drug adherence, according to an innovative trial in Kenya unveiled on Tuesday,” Agence France-Presse reports.
GOP Lawmakers Push Health Law Investigation, Democrats Consider Revisions And Legacy
GOP lawmakers positioning to use their new posts heading House committees to take on the health overhaul. Their main focus — questions such as what’s it going to cost and how does it impact current coverage?
Sen. McConnell To File Amicus Brief In Support Of Health Law Challenge
Asking for support from other Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will file an amicus brief supporting a challenge by 20 states to the health care overhaul.
Ky. Health Plan Audit; Employee Costs In Massachusetts; State Reform Implementation Politics
News outlets examine various state health policy issues.
Medicare’s Chief MD Comments On Dialysis Investigation
A yearlong joint investigation between The Atlantic and ProPublica reveals many problems with dialysis in the U.S.
Computer Helps Doctors Make Cost-Saving Decisions
The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement will make a system that helps doctors make more informed decisions available to Minnesota doctors next year.
Opinions and editorials from around the country.
5 Questions: Should A Hospital Develop An ACO?
Becker’s Hospital Review reports on how to determine whether a hospital should develop or join an accountable care organization.
Study: Big Employers Unlikely To Drop Insurance Under Health Law
News outlets report on the employer health insurance market.
Mont. Medicaid Managed Care Plan Chills Health Industry
A plan to privatize some Medicaid services trumpeted by Montana’s Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer has received a chilly reception from the health industry, leaving no clear resolution to the state’s Medicaid funding problems.
BCBS Of Michigan Alleged To Have Crushed Pilot Physical Therapy Program It Saw As Competition
News outlets continue to report on the lawsuits against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Supported By Emerging Markets, General Electric Healthcare Raises Growth Projection To 10% Per Year
General Electric Healthcare raises its growth projection as China, other emerging markets, spend more on health equipment and system improvement.
CDC Report: 50 Million Americans Uninsured
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly 50 million Americans lack health insurance, a number that has grown by 4 million in the past two years.
First Edition: November 10, 2010
Today’s early morning hightlights from the major news organizations, including survey results regarding employers’ and the insurance coverage they provide to employees, as well as more details on health insurance open season.
Providers Pan Medicare Payments But Disagree About Alternatives
As doctors renew their long-standing calls to fix the troubled Medicare payment system, one might think they had an alternative in mind.
The mHealth Alliance on Monday at its summit in Washington, D.C. “announced a two-year $1 million aggregate donation from HP” aimed at furthering the alliance’s goal of delivering quality health care “at the furthest reaches of wireless networks and mobile devices,” mobihealthnews reports. HP now joins the U.N. Foundation, the Vodafone Foundation, PEPFAR and the GSM Association as a founding partner of the alliance (Dolan, 11/8). mHealth Alliance Executive Director David Aylward said of the donation in a press release: “HP’s financial, technical and project support to mHealth Alliance initiatives significantly expands our ability to catalyze the partnerships, solutions, and sustainable deployments of mobile technology that can enable healthier lives for all, especially in the developing world” (11/8).
Pres. Obama Emphasizes U.S.-Indian Partnerships To Track, Fight Diseases
On his final day in India as part of his 10-day Asia-Pacific tour, President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament in New Dehli, where he emphasized the importance of U.S.-Indian partnerships to tackle disease and improve education, Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times reports (11/8). “Because the wealth of a nation also depends on the health of its people, we’ll continue to support India’s effort against diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and as global partners, we’ll work to improve global health by preventing the spread of pandemic flu,” Obama said, according to a White House transcript from his address (11/8).
New York Times Examines HIV Prevention Products Undergoing Clinical Trials
The New York Times examines several products being studied in clinical trials that researchers hope will one day prevent sexual transmission of HIV. The newspaper describes the ongoing trials of a vaginal microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir which was found to reduce the risk of HIV infection in women by 39 percent, writing, “[o]ther clinical trials will report their results in 2011 and 2012 and, if all goes well, researchers hope to have a product or two ready to enter the market by 2013.”
Sec. Clinton Calls For G20 To Address Gender Issues
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday voiced her “support for the inclusion of women’s issues on the agenda of the G20 Seoul Summit slated for Thursday and Friday in a video message to a parliamentary seminar,” the Korea Times reports.
