Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicare Making Changes To Acknowlege Telemedicine’s Growing Use
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services promotes telemedicine and plans to increase Medicaid coverage for remote services.
States address a range of health policy issues.
Mergers Among Hospitals And Doctors Spur Consumer Concerns, The NY Times Reports
News outlets report on the hospital market.
Employers Scrutinize Dependents For Health Coverage
News outlets report on employer health care costs.
Seniors signing up for Medicare Part D may see fewer plans and added benefits this year.
States Mull Medicaid Cuts, Possibility Of Dropping Out Of The Program
Facing looming budget deficits, more states are considering cutting essential services from Medicaid or opting out of the program altogether.
Debt Woes Keep Harsh Guidelines Aloft, Forge Unlikely Alliances
A controversial debt panel’s advice was initially thought to be heading nowhere fast, but consensus that action must be taken to avoid a debt crisis has kept negotiators at the table and given the recommendations unexpected buoyancy, The Washington Post reports.
This week’s research roundup includes studies from the New England Journal of Medicine, the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Government Accountability Office, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Studying Health System Change.
First Edition: November 22, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including more reports on deficit reduction issues, the continuing politics swirling around the health law repeal effort and employers’ soaring health care costs.
Rush To Merge Doctors And Hospitals Is Raising Consumers’ Concerns
The health law “envisioned doctors and hospitals joining forces, coordinating care” to cut costs through entities called Accountable Care Organizations, The New York Times reports. But consumer groups are concerned that the effort could create “incentives for doctors and hospitals to stint on care.”
Mass. And Minn. Officials Struggle With Controlling Health Costs, Guaranteeing Quality
News outlets report that Massachusetts’ health reform hasn’t adequately addressed the soaring cost of health care, according to the state’s Attorney General.
Tackling Physical, Mental Health Of Prisoners Would Improve Public Health, Researchers Say
Providing the more than 10 million people incarcerated around the world “with better health care could prevent outbreaks of HIV and tuberculosis from spilling over into the general population experts say,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.
By the end of this year, an additional 64 million people will fall into extreme poverty as a result of the global economic downturn that started in 2008, the World Bank said in a study on “member banks’ response” to the situation, Reuters reports. The bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.25 per day. The report is based on the findings of a group, created “to appraise the effectiveness of its response to the global downturn,” the news service writes.
U.S. Falling Short Of Its Goals To Improve Access To Clean Water, Sanitation Worldwide, Report Says
The U.S. is falling short on its goal of improving conditions for the 2.6 billion people worldwide without access to clean water and sanitation despite the fact the Water for the Poor Act became law in 2005, according to a report (.pdf) released Thursday by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), WaterAid, CARE and 11 other organization, Food Safety News reports (11/19).
Thirty-four percent of malaria-endemic countries are complying with WHO guidelines to monitor artemisinin resistance within their borders, the agency said in a report on Thursday, CBS News reports (11/18). Reuters reports that artemisinin “is the best drug available against malaria, especially when used in artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), which combines it with other drugs that finish off the [malaria] parasite” (Nebehay, 11/18).
Political Cartoon: Mayberry R.F.D.?
Kaiser Health News provides a political cartoonist’s perspective on health policy developments with “Mayberry R.F.D.?” by Eric Allie.
Health Industry Players Offer Insights, Expectations About Overhaul’s Impact
Some players within the health industry are not enthusiastic about completely repealing the new health law. Meanwhile, other corners of the health care sector are predicting the financial results they expect for their businesses as the implementation marches forward.
No Agreement On Health Cost Containment At Bipartisan Commission
The Obama administration’s bipartisan commission studying efforts to reduce the nation’s debt remained at odds – after three days of closed door meetings – on how to deal with health care costs.
Repeal, replace and revise are the new health overhaul buzzwords as key Republican Senators sign on to an amicus brief in support of states’ legal challenge to the health law and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who will be the Speaker of the House in the upcoming Congress, pledged quick legislative action to repeal the measure. Meanwhile, Senators advance an alternative approach.
