Latest KFF Health News Stories
VA Checklists Save Lives, Study Says
A new study shows that reviewing “surgery checklists” before, during and after an operation can help surgical teams reduce the number of deaths due to human error.
States address a range of health policy issues.
Employers Not Dropping Coverage As Mental Health Parity Law Is Enacted
American Medical News reports that the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act hasn’t made employers drop coverage as some feared.
Business Groups Seek Health Care Payment Reforms
In Memphis, businesses are searching for ways to control costs and reward quality.
Study: Flu Vaccine Is Money Loser For Doctors Paid By Medicaid
More poor children would get the flu vaccine if Medicaid increased the reimbursement to doctors for giving the shot, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Cost Of Health Plans Rise, But Health Law Only One Reason
News outlets report on rising health insurance premiums and how to reduce personal medical spending.
Candidates Discuss Medicare, Medicaid Spending
News outlets report on the role of Medicare and Medicaid spending in this year’s elections.
Hormone Therapy Increases Breast Cancer Mortality Risk, Study Finds
Post-menopausal hormone treatment may increase a patient’s likelihood of developing advanced and deadly breast cancer, according to a federal study of more than 12,000 women conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative and published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
CMS Head Berwick Praises New Center For Medicare And Medicaid Innovation
Donald Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, praised the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, established by the federal health care law.
HHS Did Not Violate Federal Law For Medicare Ads, GAO Says
In response to Republicans’ inquiry, GAO says the HHS advertising on federal health law and contract with an MIT economist were legal.
UnitedHealth Says It Will Test Lump Sum Payments For Some Cancer Care
Health insurer UnitedHealth said that it will try paying doctors a lump sum payment for providing cancer care during an entire course of care for the disease instead of how it’s done now – with a fee for each service provided.
Report Finds Shortage Of Mass. Physicians Is Getting Worse
A new report from the Massachusetts Medical Sociey finds that the need for primary care physicians is “critical.”
Seven Million People In Pakistan Still Without Shelter Since Flooding, U.N. Says
Nearly three months after major floods hit large portions of Pakistan, at least seven million people are still without shelter, Stacey Winston, a U.N. spokesperson, said at a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.
SciDev.Net Examines Plans For India-S. Africa HIV Vaccine Research Project
SciDev.Net reports on an HIV vaccine research collaboration between researchers from India and South Africa to launch by the end of 2010.
West, Central African Floods Kill 377; Situation In Benin Especially Worrying, U.N. Says
Floods in west and central Africa have killed 377 people and affected almost 1.5 million people since the start of the rainy season in June, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.
First Edition: October 20, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that insurers are testing a new way to pay for cancer treatment.
AU Launches African Women’s Decade Project To Improve Health, Development
Delegates from around the world attended the launch of the African Women’s Decade, 2010-2020, (AWD) at an event in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation reports (10/15).
Campaign Claims Examined As Some Democrats Embrace Health Law In Re-Election Bids
Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post analyze campaign myths and facts as lawmakers seek election to Congress.
