Latest KFF Health News Stories
New Jersey To Legalize Medical Marijuana
The New Jersey Legislature approved a measure Monday that would make the state the 14th in the nation, but one of the few on the East Coast, to legalize the use of marijuana to help patients with chronic illnesses.
Medicare Pay Irks Physicians, Leaves Some Patients Stranded
Doctors’ payments through the Medicare program are scheduled to be lowered by 21 percent in March, prompting some physicians to drop Medicare patients or refuse taking on new ones.
Today’s Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
A sample of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Budget And Cost Issues Continue To Plague States
Arizona and California facing new cuts in health programs while Connecticut approves double-digit insurances increases.
Minneapolis-St. Paul Hospitals Stopping Losses After Year Of Cost Cutting
Hospitals in the Twin Cities appear to be back in the black after cutting jobs, freezing pay and delaying new construction on hospitals around the region.
Labor Leaders Confront Obama On ‘Cadillac’ Tax Proposal
President Obama listened to concerns Monday from labor leaders worried that a tax on high-cost insurance plans in a health reform bill would harm their workers.
Health Bill Negotiators Consider Applying Medicare Tax To Investment Income, WSJ Reports
News outlets look at some unsettled and sticky policy questions
Skeptics Question Health Overhaul Savings, Cost-Controls
Top goals of the health overhaul legislation are to cut health care costs and restrain their growth over time, but some experts doubt whether Congress’ plans for either will actually work.
Denmark’s Digital Health System Could Pave Way For U.S.
Denmark is leading the world in digital health care, The New York Times reports.
Lawmakers Face Political Challenges As They Return To Health Overhaul Chores
During the holiday vacation, some Democratic lawmakers appeared to waver on health reform, faced with “tepid public support” for their proposal and “mounting electoral angst for the party.”
GAO: Some Meds Had ‘Extraordinary’ Price Hikes Over Past Eight Years
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued Monday finds that “[p]rices on a growing number of prescription medications have ballooned in recent years as consolidation in the drug industry leaves fewer companies manufacturing niche medications,” The Associated Press reports.
Study Finds Financial Ties Between Clinical Study Leaders And Pharmaceutical Companies
Study shows that “cancer researchers who design clinical trials, analyze or interpret the data, or play other key scientific roles are four times more likely to have financial ties to industry than their counterparts who have lesser roles,” Reuter reports.
White House Considers Help For States With Proposed Medicaid Expansion
Reuters reports that President Barack Obama and his White House team is considering ways to help states cover the increasing costs of health care reform legislation.
Congress Expected To Shun Mammography Recommendations In Final Health Bill
“Annual mammograms, seemingly on their way out under new federal guidelines last year, may be coming back,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Pediatric Specialists And Pharmacists May Get Boost From Health Bills
News outlets reports on how the health care bill pending in Congress might affect pediatric specialists and pharmacists.
First Edition: January 12, 2010
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about President Obama’s meeting with organized labor leaders to discuss the ‘cadillac’ tax.
Obama Administration Supports Cairo Conference Goals, Clinton Says
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday “reiterated the Obama administration’s support” for universal access to family planning and maternal health care, All Headline News reports. Clinton spoke at an event marking the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development Action Plan held in Cairo, Egypt.
Wall Street Journal Examines Polio Vaccinations In Afghanistan
In a story about polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal examines how the Taliban and international health agencies are working together to promote oral vaccination campaigns across the country. Vaccination campaign volunteers usually bring a “single-page letter requesting people to cooperate, ‘for the benefit of our next generations.’ The letter’s signatory: Mullah Mohammad Omar, the one-eyed supreme leader of the Taliban,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
ProPublica Examines USAID Efforts To Fund, Train Local Organizations In Pakistan
“As the United States prepares to drastically increase civilian aid in Pakistan, [USAID,] the agency in charge has asked for help training the local organizations that will spend that aid money, saying those organizations ‘do not meet the minimum standards for managing’ U.S. government funds,” ProPublica reports in a story that examines the challenges associated with channeling aid money for Pakistan away from American contractors and NGOs to Pakistani organizations.
