Latest KFF Health News Stories
GOP Playbook Highlights Senate Procedural Tactics
A memo circulated by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., spells out the arsenal of parliamentary maneuvers available to Republicans as they seek to stall the Senate’s health debate.
CBO Report Shows Hundreds Of Millions Spent On Direct Marketing Of Drugs To Consumers
A Congressional Budget Office report detailed how advertising dollars are spent for the most popular classes of of pharmaceutical drugs.
New Health IT Grants To Be ‘Models’ For The Nation
The federal government will offer $235 million in grants for communities to upgrade and improve their existing health information technology capacity.
First Edition: December 3, 2009
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on the potential for the Senate to finally begin voting on pending health bill amendments.
Senate Debate Moving Slowly, Reid Could Extend Session
As Democrats pledge to work up until Christmas to pass the Senate’s health bill, leadership aides say Majority Leader Reid would consider calling the chamber back into session for the week before New Year’s — if the reform measure is not completed.
Orszag: Current Health Bills Only A First Step To Controlling Health Costs
The White House budget director also hinted that the independent Medicare commission proposed in the Senate health bill might not be tough enough.
Leaders Respond To World AIDS Day; South Africa To Expand HIV Treatment Program
Marking World AIDS Day on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon “warned … that new infections are outpacing the gains from treating people with the HIV virus” and that discrimination against HIV-positive people remains “widespread,” the Associated Press reports.
U.S. H1N1 Cases Decreasing, CDC Says; HHS To Review Approach To Health-Threat Preparedness
The number of H1N1 (swine flu) cases in the U.S. appears to be decreasing, the CDC said Tuesday, CQ HealthBeat reports. “Flu was widespread in 32 states by the end of the week of Nov. 21, a decrease from 43 states in the prior week and 46 states earlier this fall, according to the CDC,” the news service writes.
USAID Administrator Hearing Begins
Ahead of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday, Rajiv Shah, President Barack Obama’s nominee for USAID administrator, submitted “a long list of detailed answers to questions” and “weighed in on a number of substantive issues while deferring to the ongoing reviews at both State and the NSC when it came to matters related to the structure of USAID and its relationship with the State Department,” Foreign Policy’s blog “The Cable” reports.
The Hill Examines Push To Get More U.S. Funding For Malaria Medicines
The Hill examines Medicines for Malaria Venture’s (MMV) efforts to get more U.S. funding for its work. According to the newspaper, the group is “asking USAID and Congress to redirect more money beginning next year to drug research and development from a pot of funds used to cover the range of efforts to treat and prevent malaria, such as providing mosquito nets.”
Senators Consider Women’s Insurance Amendment, Medicare Funding Issues, With Votes Likely Today
Among amendments debated Tuesday was one designed to appeal to a key Democratic voting bloc — women.
Today’s Opinions And Editorials
A sampling of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Officials To Review U.S. Health-Threat Response Systems
HHS Secretary kathleen Sebelius ordered an evalution of health defenses after the H1N1 vaccine shortage highlighted systemic difficulties.
Partisan Sniping Dominates Senate Health Debate
Senators’ tempers surfaced as debate — and health reform politics — continued.
Democrats Push For Extension As COBRA Subsidies Expire
Subsidies to help people pay for COBRA benefits
World AIDS Day Observed, Activists Decry Budget Cuts
A new study on HIV anti-retroviral regimens was released Dec. 1 amid various celebrations to mark World AIDS Day. Meanwhile, advocates in New York and California expressed concern about budget cuts and tight funding for AIDS programs.
MedPAC Examines Regional Differences In Use Of Medical Care
A panel finds regional differences vary greatly in medical care but are less than expected.
Legal Immigrants Still Lack Care In Massachusetts; Ohio Hospitals Brace For New Fees
News outlets report on legal immigrants and the cost of health reform in Massachusetts, new hospital fees in Ohio, coverage shortfalls in Tennessee and registered nurse practitioners in Florida.
Reactions To CBO Report On Senate Health Bill Are Mixed
News organizations continue to report on reactions to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the Senate health bill.
Behind-The-Scenes Players Daschle, Carper, Orszag Help Guide Health Debate
Though he has no official government position, Tom Daschle, a former Senate leader and one-time nominee for health secretary, is still attending key health-reform meetings.
