Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
Groups Call For Permanent Fix For Doctor Payment Formula
National groups call for a permanent solution to the Medicare doctor payment formula and warn about a possible shortage in doctors caused by low pay.
First Edition: January 22, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on Democrats efforts to plot a new health reform path.
Eastern side of Pennsylvania has six of the 18 counties in the United States with the highest rates of thyroid cancer.
Democrats Regroup To Focus On Economy, But Divisions Remain
Democratic infighting about the way forward from Massachusetts’ upset election could impact lawmaking beyond just health care.
Republican Leaders: Dems Aren’t Reaching Out To Pass Health Reform Bill
House GOP Whip Eric Cantor told reporters he doesn’t believe Dems got the message from the Mass. Senate election.
Pelosi: Senate Health Bill Won’t Pass The House Without Changes
The Speaker of the House told reporters that Democratic leaders still were committed to approving a health bill this year.
World Bank Forecasts Global Economic Growth For 2010, Notes Toll Of Financial Crisis
After shrinking in 2009, the world economy is expected to grow in 2010 and 2011, the World Bank predicted in a report issued Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports in a piece that outlines the bank’s predictions (Smith, 1/20).
Wars Less Deadly, Most War-Related Deaths Result From Disease, Hunger, Report Says
“Wars are less deadly than they once were and national mortality rates have continued to decline even during conflicts due to smaller scale fighting and better healthcare,” according to a study released Wednesday by the Human Security Report Project, Reuters reports. “The report noted that most deaths in wars result from hunger and disease but said improved healthcare in peacetime had cut death tolls even during wartime, as had stepped up aid to people in war zones.”
