Latest KFF Health News Stories
AIDS Advocates Ask White House To Send Money South
Activists met Monday with a top White House aide in Jackson, Miss., to call for more federal funds to help fight AIDS in the South.
First Edition: November 17, 2009
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including new poll results and analysis of the Senate’s health bill time crunch.
Proposed Medicare Tax Hike Splits Support On Paying For Health Reform
A proposed Medicare excise tax increase on the highest earners in America as a way to pay for health care reform has split lawmakers and the public who are all looking for the best ways to drive down health care costs.
Abortion-Rights Groups Mobilizing Against House Health Bill Restrictions
Abortions rights advocates are pressing Senate lawmakers not to include a House-passed provision in the measure headed for the Senate floor.
HELP Committee Chairman: Senate Will Work Weekends On Health Bill
Sen. Tom Harkin says the Senate will work weekends in December to try to pass a health bill.
Amid Health Bill Delays And Snags, Lawmakers Target Issues
As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid waits for the CBO score of the Senate health bill, political landmines and perhaps shifting public opinion are changing the landscape.
Both Sides Puzzle Over Abortion Amendment In House Health Bill
Newspapers continue to report on the Stupak amendment and how it will affect access to abortion.
Federal Health Overhaul Could Force State Changes
The bills pending in Congress could alter some restrictions on insurers and channel money to state health programs.
Eyes Turn To Lieberman, Reid, Snowe As Most Crucial Health Reform Players
Senators’ recent takes on health care reform are reviewed as unofficial debate on the issues continues.
Leaders Conclude Second Africa Water Week
African leaders concluded the Second Africa Water Week on Friday, with an appeal for “concrete actions to meet the water and sanitation needs in the continent,” Xinhua reports.
H1N1 Continues To Spread, Despite Leveling Off In Some Regions, WHO Reports
Despite reports that the numbers of new H1N1 (swine flu) are leveling off in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the virus continues to spread, the WHO said Friday, Reuters reports. “In an update on the H1N1 swine flu virus, the WHO said parts of the southern and southeastern United States, as well as Iceland and Ireland, seemed to have weakening levels of disease after an unusually early start of the winter flu season,” the news service writes.
World Food Summit Focuses On Aiding Agriculture In Developing Countries To Fight Hunger
Delegates at the World Summit on Food Security, which kicked off Monday, “rallied around a new strategy to fight global hunger and help poor countries feed themselves,” the Associated Press reports.
CMS Report: House Bill Will Raise Health Care Costs, Affect Seniors’ Benefits
Medicare cuts approved by the House may raise health costs over the next decade and could affect seniors’ care and access to providers, according to a new government report.
States Experience Medicaid Changes And Offer New Models For Reform
News outlets report on a variety of state health issues including the upcoming launch of a Medicaid data project in Florida, health care changes that could reduce spending in Georgia and a model for reform in Vermont.
Today’s Opinions And Editorials
A selection of today’s opinions and editorials from around the country.
2009 Report: False Medicare Claims Cost Government More Than $47 Billion
The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims.
Health Lobbying Ranges From Below The Radar To High Profile
A Charlotte, N.C., law firm is operating a secretive front group called Americans for Quality and Affordable Healthcare to attempt to shape lawmakers’ and the public’s opinions on health reform.
Electronic Health Records Not Yet Making Impact, Patients Turn To Web For Advice
As the United States launches “an ambitious program, backed by $19 billion in government incentives, to accelerate the adoption of computerized patient records in doctors’ offices and hospitals,” a new study of 3,000 hospitals “has found little difference in the cost and quality of care,” The New York Times reports.
