Latest KFF Health News Stories
House Dems Unveil 1,000 Page Health Bill, Complete With Surtaxes On The Wealthy
With an eye toward August, House Democrats unveiled a sweeping health reform measure, and called on medical providers, businesses and the wealthiest Americans to pick up the tab for health coverage expansions. KHN’s Eric Pianin discusses the bill.
Details Emerge As House Democrats Plan To Release Health Bill
House Democrats are preparing to unveil a full draft of their sweeping health care legislation, including an income surtax on the country’s highest wage-earners.
Columnist Discusses Lifting Of Needle Exchange Funding Ban
“The heavy lifting” for garnering Congressional support for eliminating the federal ban on funding for needle exchange programs “was left to David Obey, the Democrat from Wisconsin who chairs both the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Labor, Education, Health and Human Services,” Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson writes in response to the introduction of legislation by the House Appropriations Committee last week that would lift the ban.
Needle Exchange Program In Humboldt County, Calif., Forced To End; Officials Hoping For Federal Help
Health officials in Humboldt County, Calif., “will be watching closely” the debate expected to ensue over legislation introduced last week containing “a provision that would scrap the federal funding ban on needle exchange programs that has been in place for years,” the Eureka Times-Standard reports.
Study Examines Gender Differences In Immune System’s Response To HIV
New research showing that “a receptor molecule involved in the recognition of HIV-1 responds to the virus differently in women than in men,” might “explain why HIV infection progresses faster to AIDS in women than in men with similar viral loads,” the HealthDay/Greenville Daily Reflector reports.
Montgomery County, Ala., Has Highest HIV/AIDS Rate In State
There were 839 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Alabama in 2008, and of those 122 were reported in Montgomery County, which had the highest number in the state per capita, the Montgomery Advertiser reports.
Toronto Star Columnist Examines Polio Eradication In India
According a Toronto Star column, it is an “enormous challenge” for India’s government to try to get all of its citizens immunized against polio.
Clinton Comments On Vacant USAID Administrator Post
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday she is frustrated over the failure” to name a new head of the USAID, despite it being a priority for the administration, AFP/Google.com reports.
Novartis To Partner With OneWorld Health To Develop Diarrhea Drug
“Swiss drug company Novartis AG and the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit group, will announce this week a partnership to discover drugs for a type of diarrhea that kills about 1.6 million children each year in the developing world,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Senate Finance Committee Under Pressure To Produce Health Bill
President Obama has told Sen. Max Baucus that he wants a Senate Finance Committee bill on health reform by the end of the week, The Associated Press reports.
House Democrats To Unveil Health Care Bill Details
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says ‘in order to be on schedule, we have to roll out legislation this week,’ while acknowledging the bill ‘won’t be a finished product.’
Obama Urges Lawmakers To Move Quickly On Health Bills
“After a weeklong overseas trip that pushed him to the fringes of Washington’s health care debate, Mr. Obama moved aggressively to reclaim control,” the New York Times reports.
Mentally Ill Immigrants Have Slim Chance At Getting Care When Arrested
Many mentally-ill illegal immigrants get only limited mental health care if any while they are in jail or prison, advocates for them say, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Support For Health Overhaul Slipping
A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that “most Americans say it’s important to overhaul health care this year,” but “they are less enthusiastic about some of the proposals to pay for it,” USA Today reports.
Schwarzenegger Fires Three California Nursing Board Members
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced most members of the state Board of Registered Nursing on Monday, citing the unacceptable time it takes to discipline nurses accused of egregious misconduct, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Debate Surrounds Federal System That Rates Nursing Homes
A new federal rating system to track quality gives nursing homes mixed reviews. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the Nursing Home Compare site, which rates the nation’s 15,600 homes.
Today’s Selection Of Editorials And Opinions
A selection of editorials and opinions from around the United States.
Healthcare Costs For U.S. Companies Seen Rising Nine Percent
“Healthcare costs for U.S. businesses are seen rising by 9 percent in 2010, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers PWC.UL survey, which showed that employers will expect workers to pay more of the bill,” Reuters reports.
