Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctors are facing hard times as more copays and health deductibles go unpaid by patients struggling in the recession.
Senate Republicans Examining Health Reform’s Effect On Medicare Advantage
Senate Republicans ask for accountants to explain reform’s effects on Medicare Advantage.
Many Health Plans Offer Only Limited Coverage – If At All – For Alternative Therapies
The limits are applied to these treatments despite their growing popularity, with an estimated $33 billion spent annually on complementary and alternative therapies.
First Edition: September 27, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports and speculation about how the new health law could be impacted by the midterm congressional elections.
Politics And Health Care: Poll Finds ‘Many’ Want More Government As Money Pours Into Some Campaigns
Less than six weeks before the midterm election, news outlets covered public opinion and politics.
College Health Plans Sidestep New Health Law Regulation
College health plans “have managed to sidestep, at least for now, the regulatory clampdown that has sent hospitals, insurers and corporations scrambling,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Americans Eating Fewer Vegetables And Getting Fatter
New CDC study finds that despite public health campaigns, only 26 percent of Americans eat vegetables three or more times a day, The New York Times reports.
Democrats Tout Health Reform Achievements, GOP Lashes Back
As a number of provisions of the new health law took effect this week, supporters and opponents geared up for the midterm elections.
Health Law Affecting Insurers, Employers And Comparative Effectiveness Research
Kaiser Health News has a list of eight changes in the new health law – and seven caveats – that take effect this week as insurers, businesses and employers sort out what the new changes mean for them.
Media Outlets Examine Reaction To Obama’s Plan For Global Development Policy
The Associated Press examines international aid and advocacy groups’s reaction to the new U.S. Global Development Policy President Barack Obama unveiled Wednesday at the U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
FDA, European Regulators, Restrict Avandia Use
In response to data tying the drug to an increased heart attack risk, FDA and European regulators restrict the use of the diabetes drug Avandia.
News Outlets Report On Food Price Concerns As Special FAO Meeting Begins
Ahead of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) special meeting on global food prices Friday, U.N. officials said they expect Russian grain company executives to attend, the Associated Press/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
Over $6B Pledged As CGI Annual Meeting Wraps Up
Donors made 291 commitments worth more than $6 billion at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, which wrapped up on Thursday, Reuters reports. “The value of [CGI] pledges for economic empowerment, education, environment, energy and health was $3 billion less than 2009, but the organization said that in previous years one or two big commitments represented a disproportionate share of the whole,” the news service writes. “Since 2005, nearly 2,000 commitments have been made valued at $63 billion” (Nichols, 9/23).
Today’s Opinions: Ever-Rising Spending And A Role For Government
Today, pundits looked at health spending, the GOP’s pledge to repeal the health overhaul, and a role for government in the health system that more may agree on.
Insurers Reaction To Kids Coverage Protections Continues To Unwind
Insurers are fleeing the market for children-only health plans because of a new requirement that force them to take on new policy holders, even if they are already sick.
CDC: One In Five Gay Men HIV-Positive
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report Thursday that found one in five gay men are HIV-positive.
The bills passed during this flurry of activity were not controversial and gained passage by voice votes.
States address a wide range of health care policy issues.
Premium Rates May Skyrocket For Many Medicare Drug Plans
Millions of seniors could see double-digit premium hikes in their Medicare drug plans, news outlets report. At the same time, coverage in the doughnut hole will improve.
Insurers Irked By Latest Draft Of Spending Requirements
The insurance industry looked on Thursday with some trepidation as state regulators released draft regulations for what the industry must do to meet new health law requirements that firms spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on patient care.
