Latest KFF Health News Stories
Obama Administration Takes On Attacks, Rallies Senate Democrats
President Obama and his Administration Tuesday attacked attacking insurers and other conservative naysayers on health reform before rallying Senate Democrats working on a bipartisan agreement on reform to take up the message, Politico reports.
Insurers Say Democratic ‘Villain’ Comments Hurtful To Process
Karen Ignagni, the health industry’s chief lobbyist, said insurers were being vilified for their role in health care reform when they are the ones trying to reform the system.
Lawmakers Face Angry Constituents In Town Hall Meetings
Home in their districts for the August recess, lawmakers are facing constituents at town hall meetings on health care.
CNN Poll Finds Americans’ Opinons Are Divided Regarding The President’s Health Reform Push
Fifty percent of those questioned say they support the President’s effort.
Interest Groups Crowd Airwaves, Pursue Lawmakers
“The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks,” the Washington Post reports.
Plans To Control Doctors’ Pay Big Issue In Massachusetts
Massachusetts officials are proud of their low rate of uninsured people, but the state also hosts the highest health care costs in the country, a problem that jeopardizes their achievement in expanding coverage.
In Health Care Debate, Small Businesses Are Key
“As they work to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, President Obama and his congressional allies have pledged to help small-business owners such as Rhonda Ealy and Kelli Glasser,” The Los Angeles Times reports.
Today’s Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Today’s Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Medicare Proposes Cap On Home Health Care Agency Payments
Medicare officials are proposing a nationwide cut in payments to home healthcare agencies in the midst of rampant fraud, especially in South Florida.
Health Bills Create Tension Over Abortion Coverage
A government insurance plan would cover abortions in health care reform, a provision that makes many Catholics uneasy.
Seniors Defend Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage, which allows seniors to buy Medicare coverage through private insurance companies, could provide one of the largest spending cuts for Congress to pay for an overhaul of the health care system.
Bike Paths, Other ‘Healthy’ Infrastructure Projects Proving Controversial
Attempts to set billions aside for infrastructure projects like bike paths face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill. GOP legislators see no health savings in parks and similar projects, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
White House Officials Make Case For Health Overhaul
President Obama’s top advisers and leading health care officials are weighing in on the overhaul effort as the August recess begins.
Health Care CEOs See Decline In Compensation
“For the first time in its seven years, Modern Healthcare’s annual survey of corporate CEO pay has failed to turn up a healthcare CEO who raked in more than $15 million in compensation last year.”
President Obama To Senate Democrats: Let’s Do Lunch
With the Senate quickly approaching its August recess, the Senate Democratic Caucus was invited to a working lunch at the White House.
Shreveport, La., Center Continues To Provide HIV/AIDS Services After 20 Years
The Shreveport Times profiled the 20-year-old Shreveport, La.-based Philadelphia Center, an agency that provides HIV/AIDS services to “an average of nearly 600 people each year in northwest Louisiana” and provides “about 1,400 free HIV tests each year.”
Boston Launches Safer-Sex Campaign Targeting Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites, Other Outlets
The Boston Public Health Commission has allocated $100,000 to a new campaign that uses social networking sites and other media outlets to raise sexual health awareness among teenagers, the Boston Globe reports.
Only Drop-In Needle Exchange Center In Minnesota Closes Due To Lack Of Funding
Minnesota’s only storefront needle exchange drop-in center, called Access Works!, “fell victim to economic hard times and federal anti-drug policies” and ended its program last week after 13 years, the Minnesota Independent reports.
East Texas Health Organization Sees Increase In HIV Cases
Officials at an East Texas health care organization, Health Horizons, which provides HIV testing and other services to people in 12 Texas counties, “has seen more East Texans test positive for [HIV] so far this year than it did for all of 2008,” the Lufkin Daily News reports.
