Latest KFF Health News Stories
Will The Health Bill Bend Costs?
One cause for health reform anxiety is that no one is sure whether the legislation would achieve one of its most critical goals: lowering health care costs.
Abortion Rights Groups Unite In Fight Against Coverage Restrictions
Abortion-rights groups are calling out Democratic lawmakers who supported an amendment restricting abortions in the House health care overhaul bill, and are fighting to keep that provision out of a final reform bill.
Humana CEO: No Regrets About Sending Warning Letters To Medicare Beneficiaries
Humana’s CEO says he does not regret sending Medicare customers a letter warning that health care reform could hurt their benefits.
AARP Leader Provides Powerful Voice For Seniors And Health Care
John Rother tries to dispel myths and quell fears that seniors may have about health care reform as a leader at the powerful lobby and senior group AARP.
Making End-Of-Life Wishes Known Is Rare; More Hospice Care Could Save Medicare Money
The Associated Press reports on hospice care.
Today’s Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
A sampling of opinions and editorials from around the country.
HUD Threatens To Block Washington D.C.’s AIDS Funding
The U.S. Department of Housing is threatening to halt federal funding for the district’s AIDS programs after a Washington Post investigation found many delivered faulty services and failed to account for their work.
Activists Worry Immigration Arguments Will Hamper Hispanic Health Care
The Washington Post reports that Hispanic lawmakers and groups are “scrambling to develop a strategy to counter what they see as efforts to shortchange immigrants in health bills on Capitol Hill.”
First Edition: October 12, 2009
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including more analysis of pending health overhaul proposals and news about the timeline for Capitol Hill action.
‘Let’s Get On With Fixing’ Foreign Aid, Editorial Says
“Poverty, famine and disease overseas lead to lawlessness, instability, revolution and terrorism that threaten American interests … That’s why our second most important means of self-defense after the military is foreign aid,” according to a Los Angeles Times editorial.
Hoyer: House Could Be In Session Until Late December
The House Majority Leader indicates that, if necessary, the House will work up until just days before the Christmas holiday to advance health care reform legislation.
Tentative Agreement Reached With Oklahoma Lawmaker Stalling Veterans’ Health Bill
A wide-ranging Senate bill focusing on caregivers of veterans injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been stalled by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., because it isn’t paid for.
Obama Nominates Senior USDA Official To Lead USAID
President Barack Obama Tuesday announced the nomination of Rajiv Shah
Updated WHO Data Finds Deaths Caused By Tainted Food Are Underestimated
New WHO data finds that unsafe food kills an estimated 1.2 million people over the age of five in Southeast Asia and Africa each year, including three times more adults than previously thought, Reuters reports. “It is a picture that we have never had before,” WHO Food Safety Director Jorgen Schlundt said. “We now have documentation of a significant burden outside the less than five group, that is major new information.”
Report Predicts Africa’s Tobacco Use Will Double Within 12 Years Without Intervention
“Africa faces a surge in cancer deaths unless action is taken in the next decade to stem rising smoking levels in a continent where anti-tobacco laws remain rare, U.S. scientists said Wednesday,” Reuters reports (Kelland, 11/11).
CVS Settles With New York Over Expired Product Sales; North Carolina Gets Grant For High-Risk Pool
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that CVS, the drug story chain, has agreed to pay $875,000 to settle charges that it sold products years after their expiration dates.
Lawmakers Call For Emergency Sick-Leave Requirement
Lawmakers are calling for new legislation that would require businesses to provide paid emergency sick leave because of the swine flu pandemic.
Health Insurance Industry Profits Examined
The characterization of the health insurance industry as high-profit is “a little mystifying” and “rather silly” given that their profit margins are thin compared to other industries, according to analysts interviewed by ABC News.
Food Prices ‘Stubbornly High’ In Developing Countries, Report Says
Food prices in developing nations continue to be “stubbornly high … despite a strong cereal harvest this year, and 31 countries need emergency aid,” the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” report released Tuesday ahead of next week’s Rome World Summit on Food Security, Agence France-Presse reports.
Disability Plan Could Be Another Roadblock To Health Reform Bill
The CLASS Act, an idea to collect premiums from American workers to allow disabled or elderly people to avoid nursing homes, is proving another stopping point for moderates and Republicans.
