Latest KFF Health News Stories
Trial For Lawsuit Against Anthem Blue Cross Begins In California
At issue is a coverage decision regarding a liver transplant.
Jobs Bill Missing Medicaid Money For States, Governors Call For Change
The $15 billion jobs bill that passed the Senate Monday does not include additional matching funds for state Medicaid programs, and that has governors and state lawmakers scrambling to try to find other funds to make up the entitlement program shortfall.
House Antitrust Bill Will Keep Exemption For Med-Mal Insurers
A House bill would revoke the antitrust exemption from health insurers but keep the exemption for medical malpractice insurers.
Government, With Billions In Loans, Bets Electronic Medical Records Can Improve Care
Electronic health records are creating potential for major improvements in health outcomes for patients as the federal government puts a renewed emphasis on implementing and digitizing patient back stories.
Study Says Lower-Cost Hospitals Don’t Have Lower Quality Care For Certain Illnesses
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine reported Monday that “it may be possible to lower costs in the U.S. system without hurting patients” after the study found little difference in outcomes between hospitals with longer patient stays versus shorter ones.
Officials Crack Down On Medicare Fraud In Miami And Los Angeles
Government efforts to root out Medicare scams in Miami are proving successful, according to prosecutor. Doctor sentenced in Los Angeles for scheme to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal.
AMA Calls For Fix To Medicare’s Doctor Payments
Cut of more than 21 percent in payments is scheduled to take effect in a week. Congress in the past has intervened to stop such reductions but recent attempts to do so have failed.
Clout of Drug Industry Seen In MD Residency Programs And In Health Reform
News outlets report on the drug industry’s involvement in doctor training programs and its role in shaping the health care overhauls pending in Congress.
First Edition: February 23, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including details of President Obama’s revamped health reform proposal and how Democrats, Republicans and the insurers are reacting to it.
White House Unveils Revamped Reform Plan, GOP And Industry React
President Obama’s new health overhaul proposal drew criticism from same Republican congressional leaders he has invited to attend Thursday’s White House health summit.
GOP Plans To Attend Health Summit As Obama Calls For Compromise
President Obama warned this weekend that both Republicans and Democrats should be careful not to turn this week’s health care summit into “political theater” but to work to find common ground on the issues.
News Outlets Examine ART, Microbicide Development Research Presented At Conference
News outlets continued to report on the science discussed as the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which ended Friday in San Francisco.
Haitian President Says Up To 300,000 People Could Have Died In Quake
The major earthquake in January in Haiti could have killed as many as 300,000 people, an estimate that includes bodies buried in the rubble, Haitian President Rene Preval said on Sunday at a meeting of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in Mexico, Reuters reports.
Global Rules Barring TB Patients From Flying Are Too Stringent, Study Says
A “controversial” study, released on Sunday, “suggests international rules that bar potentially infectious tuberculosis patients from flying are too stringent and airline passengers are really at little risk from catching TB from a fellow traveler,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. The paper is being published in the March edition of Lancet Infectious Diseases (Stobbe, 2/21).
AAAS Meeting Examines Test-And-Treat Model’s Potential For Fighting HIV Spread, TB Co-Infection
Researchers speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting on Saturday discussed how a strategy to promote universal voluntary HIV tests and early antiretroviral treatment for patients living in high-risk areas might “derail the spread of [HIV/]AIDS, a battle where a successful vaccine remains elusive,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. “Called ‘test-and-treat,’ the goal is to catch new [HIV] cases early and administer therapy to reduce the amount of virus in patients’ systems in an effort to prevent them from spreading the illness,” the news service writes.
‘Religion And Ethics’ Examines U.S. Foreign Aid
PBS’ “Religion & Ethics” looks at the U.S. government’s “long history of trying to help poor countries get out of poverty. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has given or loaned 150 countries more than a trillion dollars worth of aid, not counting military assistance or the work of private charities and nongovernmental organizations, many of them faith-based. We wondered what the lessons are in all this experience for, as they say, ‘fixing Haiti.'”
Today’s Opinions And Editorials
Kaiser Health News presents a sampling Of Monday’s opinions and editorials from around the United States.
News outlets report on some of the major figures in the health care overhaul debate, including Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
News outlets report on nursing workforce issues, including a push for an expanded role for nurse practitioners, supervision of nurse anesthetists and a trend toward delayed retirement.
