Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on President Obama’s push for health reform and the developments on Capitol Hill surroundng the legislation.
Democratic Leaders Must Wrangle Factions To Pass Overhaul
Here’s a look at the politics and personalities that could influence the next steps in the health debate.
Expensive Imaging Tests Blamed For Rising Health Costs
Massachusetts has seen a $214 million increase in spending on imaging tests in just two years, contributing to the rise in cost of hospital care.
Senate Passes Extension Of COBRA And Other Unemployment Benefits
The package also includes a Medicare pay fix for physicians.
Sebelius: Insurer’s Opposition To Health Measure Works Against Them
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius delivered a tough message to health insurance leaders meeting today in Washington.
Obama Makes Final Public Push For Health Reform As Democrats Consider Timeline
President Obama is delivering his “closing argument” for health care reform in St. Louis today as Democratic leaders strategize on moving the bill through the House and Senate.
Abortion Holding Up Democrats’ Endgame On Health Overhaul
Abortion remains among the obstacle to a health care reform bill as Democrats seek to assuage doubts from within their own party on treatment of the issue in the Senate bill.
Today’s OpEds: Congressional Dealmaking, Cutting ‘Honchos Pay,’ Controlling Costs
A selection of today’s opinion’s and editorials.
States’ Legislative Health Initiatives Stall
Meanwhile, Florida considers state legislation aimed at Medicaid fraud.
The Senate Finance Committee’s chair, Max Baucus (D-Mont.), and top Republican, Charles Grassley (Iowa), are working with colleagues in the House on legislation that would lower tariffs in an effort to help Haiti’s apparel industry and help the country recover from the major January earthquake, CQ Politics reports. “The bipartisan effort comes as Senate Finance leaders consider ramping up their work to broadly overhaul multiple U.S. trade preference programs, which lower or eliminate U.S. tariffs on a wide range of products from many developing countries,” according to the publication (3/9).
Non-Profit Operations Plugging Health Care Gap In Chicago
Medill Reports presents a story on community health centers in Chicago that are filling the access gaps for people too sick to get health care coverage or too poor to afford other care.
GOP Putting Strategies In Place To Thwart Dems On Reform
Republicans strategize on health care reform with GOP leaders targeting Blue Dogs.
Recent gains in the global fight against HIV/AIDS could be reversed as the “global economic downturn pinches poor countries’ budgets and donors show signs of backing away from their promise to provide universal access to AIDS treatment,” the British government together with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned Tuesday, Reuters AlertNet reports.
Pro- and Anti-Health Reform Groups Wage Last Minute Attacks
Thousands of pro-health overhaul protestors marched Tuesday to Washington’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, where insurance company executives were meeting for a policy conference.
WHO’s Updated Malaria Guidelines Include Rapid Diagnosis, New ACT
The WHO on Tuesday released new guidelines for the treatment of malaria, which recommend “parasitological testing before treatment begins” and add “a new artemisinin based combination treatment [ACT] to the list of prescribed drugs,” BMJ News reports. According to BMJ News, WHO’s guidelines are “expected to enhance earlier and accurate diagnosis, halt the emergence of drug resistance, and reduce the use of unnecessary treatment” (Zarocostas, 3/9).
GSK To Offer Flexible Drug Pricing In Middle-Income Countries
Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) “plans to bolster earnings by selling to more people in middle-income countries after cutting prices in the world’s poorest nations,” Bloomberg/BusinessWeek reports.
Lincoln, Kucinich Weigh In On Health Bill Votes
Lawmakers weigh in on the health care overhaul debate.
Pharmacy Franchises Sue Cardinal Health
Pharmacists in seven states are suing Cardinal Health over what they say are broken promises after they agreed to a new franchise agreement.
California Rescission Settlement Benefits Few Consumers
Fewer than 200 people out of the 6,000 affected were actually helped by the settlement between California state regulators and health insurers that dropped sick policyholders.
