Latest KFF Health News Stories
Even With New Medical Schools Opening, Shortages Mar Workforce
Nearly two dozen medical school have recently opened or may open across America, “the most at any time since the 1960s and ’70s,” The New York Times reports.
Today’s Opinions And Editorials
A sampling opinions and editorials from around the country.
U.S. Decreases Troop Presence In Haiti
A decreased need for troops has led the U.S. military to reduce its troops from a high of about 20,000 after the earthquake to 13,000, General Douglas Fraser said on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports. Fraser also said the Haitian government was resuming control of the Port-au-Prince airport during daylight, according to the AFP.
Senators Durbin, Brown Travel To Africa To Focus On Health, Other Issues
U.S. senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) departed Friday “for a trip to Africa,” the Associated Press/Chicago Tribune reports. The Senators “planned to visit Tanzania, Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan. They were expected to return to the United States on Feb. 19” (2/13).
In Naming Islamic Conference Envoy, Obama Highlights Global Health, Food Security Efforts
During a video address to the 7th U.S.-Islamic World Forum meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, President Barack Obama appointed Rashad Hussain, deputy associate White House counsel, to serve as Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Associated Press reports.
IRS Helping Thousands Pay For Health Insurance
The IRS is helping more than 40,000 residents of Michigan buy health insurance “after they lost their jobs to foreign competition or had their pension plans terminated,” The Detroit News reports.
Advice On Decoding And Correcting Medical Bills
The Los Angeles Times offers advice to consumers on how to understand and correct medical bills.
Obama Administration Announces $1 Billion In New Health IT Grants
The Obama administration announced $1 billion in new funding for health information technology Friday.
Investigation: Dangerous Caregivers Missing From Federal Database Of Disciplinary Records
News outlets report on health care fraud and legal issues, including missing disciplinary records in a federal database of dangerous caregivers and a new federal bill that would target fake Medicare claims for prescriptions and equipment.
AP Examines Male Circumcision Efforts In Africa, Including Adult Circumcision Devices
The Associated Press examines efforts to prevent the spread of HIV by circumcising “about 50 million men across Africa
Budgets Cuts Hit Health Care Services In Minnesota, Oklahoma And California
States struggle with strapped budgets and Medicaid cuts.
Amid Stalled Health Reform Efforts, Advocates Emerge For The State-By-State Approach
Proponents of state-based health reform are saying that the federal stall over a health overhaul is giving states a perfect opportunity to showcase what they can do to solve the health care cost and coverage crisis, The Washington Post reports.
States Struggle With Insurance Cost And Coverage In Ohio, Rhode Island And Nebraska
States tackle several health care policy issues including the creation of a health-insurance coop in Ohio and cuts in mental health funding in Virginia.
Medical Journal Finds Divide Between Doctors And Patients On New Mammogram Recommendations
The Annals of Internal Medicine finds “that a divide has emerged between doctors and patients – with the doctors more inclined to accept the new recommendations and the patients wanting to stick to early and annual screening,” the New York Times reports.
First Edition: February 16, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including how health savings could be used to reduce the deficit and how tort reform is fitting into the current health reform negotiations.
Podesta Says Obama White House ‘Lost The Narrative’ On Health Bill
In an interview with the Financial Times, former chief of state to Bill Clinton says voters are discouraged by seeing “no spirit in which people were having a reasonable conversation” about health care and by the Senate deals to secure votes.
Biden: ‘Ready To Listen’ To GOP Health Care Ideas, Republicans Not Convinced
Vice president says the White House “is ready and willing to listen” to Republican health care ideas, but in Sens. Graham and Kyl are not hopeful for spirit of bipartisanship.
Dems, GOP See Benefit Of Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines, But They Disagree On How
The New York Times looks at one issue that may provide “common ground in the health care debate.” The Washington Post explores debate over state vs. national health reform.
The President’s Health Summit Invite To Lawmakers: ‘Bring Comprehensive Legislation’
The White House issued formal invitations to the president’s health care summit Feb. 25, and included major Congressional players on health care from both parties.
