Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctors Accepting Medicare Patients Decline In Rural Arizona
The number of doctors accepting Medicare patients declines in rural Arizona while Mississippi looks to Iran for low-cost, rural health solutions.
First Edition: January 25, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including early reports on how President Obama might address health issues in his upcoming State of the Union address.
GOP Lawmakers Cheer Anti-Abortion Activists’ Role In Derailing Health Bill
News outlets report on abortion opponents’ role in derailing a health care overhaul.
Democrats Float Ideas On Future Of Health Reform
News outlets are reporting that Democrats are spending the weekend mulling what to do about health care legislation.
Updated: Poll Finds Health Care Was Most Important Issue For Mass. Voters
Post-election survey found voters were dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
Obama: Not Going To Walk Away From Health Reform
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are in the midst of a reform “re-evaluation.”
Aid Flow To Haiti Improves As Seaport Opens, Airport Volume Dramatically Increases
Nine days after a major earthquake struck, “deeply needed aid streamed into Haiti’s ravaged capital in quantities that relief agencies said is a clear sign of progress,” the Miami Herald reports. Roads have been cleared, additional food and water distribution points are available and some new medical clinics are open.
Scientists Map Origin Of MRSA, Technology Could Help Understanding Of Other Diseases
“Scientists have found a way to track minutely-differing strains of the ‘superbug’ MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] as they spread between people and across the globe, a finding that could aid efforts to control the deadly bacteria,” Reuters/ABC News reports (Kelland, 1/21).
Searching For Consensus, Dems Consider Potential Of Paring Back Health Reform
With a changed landscape, Democrats are mulling the idea that a smaller health reform bill could have a better chance at passing.
States Worry About Medicaid Stimulus Money Drying Up Under Scaled-Back Health Bill
News outlets report on health care funding gaps in state budgets, including Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia and Wisconsin, and the possible impact of a scaled-back federal health bill.
Democrats Struggle To Revamp Health Reform Strategy
Certain consumer groups, patient advocates and doctors on are urging Democrats not to abandon the comprehensive health overhaul they’ve worked so long to pass.
Workers Combat Hospital Infections
Hospital infections kill 99,000 people a year and add $28 billion to the nation’s health care bill, but new programs are showing some effect in reducing the problem.
A Selection Of Today’s Opinions And Editorials
A sampling of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Health IT Roundup: Provider-Vendor Relationships An Issue, Group Uses Racial Info To Customize Care
News reports explore recent developments in health information technology.
GOP To Dems: Slow Down, Start Over
Massachusetts senator elect Scott Brown says Democrats “should scrap” the current health care legislation while Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, says she was frustrated by Democrats partisanship on the bill.
California Revives Bill To Create Single-Payer Health Care System
In other California news, the state’s supreme court on Thursday rejected limits on medical marijuana imposed by state lawmakers.
Health Policy Research: Covering Young Adults, ACOs, Wellness Programs
Today’s roundup of research and analysis explores studies on state programs to expand health coverage to dependents in their mid-twenties, the effectiveness of accountable care organizations (ACOs), the savings found in workplace wellness programs, the costs of diabetes on the economy and whether CBO underestimates savings from reform.
