Latest KFF Health News Stories
Higher Medicaid Reimbursement Rates Could Increase Childhood Vaccinations
Researchers’ findings suggest that more physicians would offer childhood immunizations to Medicaid beneficiaries if the program upped its reimbursement rates.
CMS Could Save Billions By Changing Payment, Delivery Methods
News outlets address various Medicare and Mediciad issues including ways to save money for CMS and Medicare open enrollment season.
Hospital Costs Rise In California, But Quality Doesn’t Follow
News outlets report on rising hospital prices in California and the difficult financial situation of hospitals in New York and Massachusetts.
Long-Term Care News: Insurance Costs Jump; Nurses’ Training Pays Off
Beneficiaries with long-term care policies are experiencing dramatic rate hikes, but state policies may grant them temporary reprieve from soaring premiums.
First Edition: October 18, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including continuing coverage of the run-up to the mid-term elections and how health reform is playing in the discourse.
Politics And Health Law: Dems’ Divergent Strategies; Mixed Polls On ‘Repeal And Replace’
Some Democratic candidates are defending their votes, or refining their message, as news outlets cover the health reform aspects of the campaigns.
In a speech at the World Food Prize conference on Thursday, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed several topics related to food security and said that discrimination against women is limiting agricultural development in Africa, the Des Moines Register reports.
Today’s Op-Eds: Critiques Of ‘Obamacare,’ Skyrocketing Brand Name Drug Prices, Pay-for-Performance
Kaiser Health News presents a variety of opinions from other news outlets.
MSF Calls For Donor Countries To Improve Food Aid Nutrition Standards On Eve Of World Food Day
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) released a statement in advance of Saturday’s World Food Day saying that the “world’s biggest donors of food aid … continued to supply and fund nutritionally ‘substandard’ food to developing countries, despite scientific evidence showing it was of little value in reducing child malnutrition,” Reuters AlertNet reports.
Three West African Countries Set To Roll Out New Meningitis Vaccine
A new vaccine for meningitis, MenAfriVac, “offers hope of an escape from one of the world’s deadliest, most disabling and infectious diseases,” BBC writes. The vaccine was developed by non-governmental organization PATH in partnership with the WHO and “created specifically for Africa.”
Importance Of Handwashing Highlighted Through Events In 80 Countries
Noting that Friday is Global Handwashing Day, the Los Angeles Times writes, “Every year, diarrhea and acute respiratory infections cause the death of more than 3.5 million children under age 5. These figures could be cut dramatically if handwashing with soap were widely practiced, experts say.”
States address a range of health policy issues.
Ahead of a European Union ministers meeting in Brussels, Belguim, on Friday to address flood-relief for Pakistan, “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested European Union leaders should follow the U.S. and withhold further flood-relief funding from Pakistan until Islamabad shows it is doing more to fight corruption and collect tax revenue from its wealthiest citizens,” the Wall Street Journal reports (Miller, 10/15).
The Washington Post reports on a new board created by the health overhaul: the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s board.
CVS Agrees To Record Fine To Settle Meth Suit
The CVS retail pharmacy chain agreed Thursday to pay a record fine to settle a civil case brought by federal prosecutors who said the company had allowed criminals to buy large amounts of methamphetamine ingredients over the counter.
Electronic Medical Records Aid Reporting Of Drug Problems, Study Finds
The Wall Street Journal reports that a recent small study finds that reporting of prescription side effects increases when doctors are using computerized patient records.
Malpractice Claims Against Hospitals Pick Up
A recent report finds that the pace of malpractice claims against hospitals has picked up.
FDA Plans To Revoke Knee Implant Approval Following Intense Political Pressure For Its Approval
The move comes after an unprecendented yearlong review found that agency officials had repeatedly warned against approving the product and that members of Congress had pushed for approval.
