Latest KFF Health News Stories
Insurers Describe Coverage Of Abortion In States With Separate Premiums
In North Dakota, which has a system much like the one that anti-abortion advocates are seeking in the national health overhaul, large insurer says it doesn’t sell abortion polices because customers don’t seek it, The Washington Post reports.
Stimulus Funds Spur Indiana Doctors, Hospitals To Switch To Electronic Records More Quickly
The offer of federal stimulus funds is spurring Indiana health care providers to convert to electronic medical records, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports.
Program To Obtain Transplant Organs From ER Patients Creates Controversy
A pilot program to use transplant organs from ER patients sparks controversy and questions, according to The Washington Post.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on Democrats’ efforts to corral the votes necessary to pass the health reform bill.
Confident Democrats Predict House Passes Health Bill This Week
Democratic leaders of the House, as well as top aides to President Obama, said that while the party didn’t yet have the votes lined up to pass the Senate’s version of health reform, they expected to have them by next weekend.
Health Bill Update: Pelosi Counting Votes, Scott Brown Lambastes Dems
News outlets reported that Democrats seeking to pass a health bill next week got a boost from a Cabinet official, a key senator and the Catholic Health Association, while newly-elected Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., attacked the Democrats’ plans.
Pelosi: A ‘Climactic Health Care Vote’ As Early As Next Week
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled Friday that votes on a health care overhaul could come by the end of next week after President Obama postponed until March 21 an overseas trip.
Democrats’ Health Bill Plans Could Hinge On Parliamentarian’s Ruling
The Democrats’ plan for passing the health overhaul faced questions when the Senate parliamentarian said President Obama must first sign into law the Senate-passed health bill before senators could consider separate fix-it legislation as part of the reconciliation process.
More Focus On Reaching MDGs Needed, Development Officials Say
During a conference in London Thursday, development officials urged world leaders to “accelerate efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and [said] rich countries must make good on promises to boost aid to poorer nations,” Reuters AlertNet reports.
U.S. State Department Releases Annual Human Rights Review
The U.S. State Department on Thursday released its annual review on the state of human rights around the world, the Associated Press reports. The 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which includes an assessment of 194 countries, “described abuses in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe,” according to the news service (Klug, 3/11).
GAVI Alliance Reaches Agreement With Drugmakers On Reduced-Price Pneumococcal Vaccines
Several drugmakers have reached an agreement “to supply up to 200 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations,” according to GAVI Alliance, Reuters reports. A formal announcement of the deal is expected “in the next couple of weeks,” GAVI’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Helen Evans told the news service Thursday.
After announcing a revised appeal of $1.4 billion in February to finance emergency relief as well as recovery and reconstruction, the U.N. “is struggling to provide support for equake-ravaged Haiti,” according to humanitarian chief John Holmes, Reuters reports. “We did extremely well on raising funds for the initial flash appeal, but we are struggling, I’m afraid, to raise resources for the revised appeal. … We have got 49 percent of what we need for the whole year and we are appealing to donors to come forward with more resources for that relief operation,” Holmes said.
African Leaders, Donors Endorse ‘Ambitious’ Agriculture Development Plan
At a meeting this week in Nigeria to address African agriculture production, “African leaders and donor agencies have endorsed an ambitious plan to generate employment, income and food security in Africa by developing agribusiness and agro-industries,” Punch reports. The event was organized by the AU, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDP), FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), according to the newspaper (Ibrahym, 3/12).
Democrats Look For Consensus On Final Reform Package
Democrats Thursday looked for a way forward on health reform legislation as colleagues in the House questioned cost and provisions in the bill before considering their support for the measure.
Research Roundup: Evaluating Health Bills, Attitudes About Uninsured, Improving Emergency Rooms
This week’s research roundup has studies and briefs from Health Affairs, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others.
News outlets report on health policy developments in Montana, New York and Utah.
Christian Groups Combat High Health Premiums By Paying Each Other’s Bills
NPR reports that some evangelical Christian groups around America are driving down health care costs in their own way, by helping each other pay medical bills instead of paying premiums.
Insurance Fraud Booms During Recession
News reports raise alarm about fraud and caution consumers on short-term policies.
A Selection Of Today’s Opinions And Editorials
A sampling of opinions and editorials from around the country.
