Latest KFF Health News Stories
For Doctors In Congress, Little Harmony On Health Care
“In the struggle to overhaul the nation’s health care system, 16 physicians ended up in ringside seats – as members of the House and Senate. But they have taken different lessons from their experiences in medicine, and they do not agree on what a bill should look like,” the New York Times reports.
Slumping Economy Hurts Health System, But Stimulus Provides Some Relief
The receding economy has dragged down Michigan’s health care system, “offering a preview of how a lingering recession could corrode Americans’ hospitals, savings and health,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Officials Hope Health Reform Reaches Rural America
Rural Americans are hopeful that health reform includes funding for clinics and health care services in their communities, where the cost of care is often high, CNN reports.
Physician-owned Hospitals Under Fire In Reform Bills, While One M.D. Moves Into Franchising
In its dealings with hospitals, pharmaceutical makers and physician groups, President Obama’s administration has favored compromise, but that’s not the case when it comes to physician-owned specialty hospitals.
Health IT Guidlines Anticipated
“The Obama administration this week will outline what the nation’s doctors and hospitals must do to qualify for billions of dollars in government support to adopt electronic patient records,” the New York Times technology blog, Bits, reports.
FDA Approves Expanded Use Of HIV Drug
Merck announced on Thursday that the FDA has approved expanded use of its HIV drug, Isentress, Reuters reports.
Increased ‘Dialogue’ Needed In Black Community About HIV/AIDS, Opinion Piece Says
“HIV/AIDS has literally become a state of emergency in the Black community and our leaders, organizations and institutions can no longer afford to remain silent,” Lisa Fager Bediako, project coordinator for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s ACT! Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, writes in the Florida Courier.
WHO Approves Second HPV Vaccine
The WHO announced Thursday it had approved a second cervical cancer vaccine, opening “U.N. agencies and partners [to] now officially buy millions of doses of the vaccine for poor countries worldwide,” where an estimated 80 percent of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur each year, the AP/Google.com reports.
G8 Leaders Launch $20B Initiative To Help Farmers In Developing Countries
The Washington Post reports: “Leaders of the world’s major economies pledged Friday to raise $20 billion over the next three years for food and agricultural aid to the world’s most impoverished countries.”
U.S. Moves Forward With Preparations For H1N1 Vaccination Campaign
The Obama administration on Thursday said a nationwide vaccination program could begin as early as mid-October to protect Americans from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and pledged $350 million to help prepare communities across the country for this effort, the Washington Times reports.
HIV/AIDS Groups Demonstrate At Capitol Rotunda, Call For Action On Domestic, Global Epidemics
Twenty-six people representing a coalition of five HIV/AIDS groups from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York were arrested on Thursday for unlawfully demonstrating in the Capitol rotunda, the AP/Washington Post reports.
HIV/AIDS Groups Demonstrate At Capitol Rotunda, Call For Action On Domestic, Global Epidemics
Twenty-six people representing a coalition of five HIV/AIDS groups from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York were arrested on Thursday for unlawfully demonstrating in the Capitol rotunda, the AP/Washington Post reports.
President Obama Says Health Care Doable But ‘Hard’
President Barack Obama said Friday as he left an international summit in L’Aquila, Italy, that he believes a health-care bill will pass Congress this year, but that special interests are “scaring people.”
Administration Faces Challenges From Democrats On Health Proposals
President Obama has asked Congress to deliver a bill by October that would “cut healthcare costs and provide medical coverage to most of the 46 million uninsured Americans,” a goal that may no longer be realistic as members of the president’s own party move to stall efforts.
Blue Dogs Delay House Health Bill Unveiling
Fiscally conservative Democrats in the House are delaying a health care reform bill by withholding their support before changes are made to contain the cost of the bills, the Associated Press reports.
Tales Of Health Insurance Plights Highlight Overhaul Efforts
Analysts say many in America take jobs they otherwise wouldn’t simply for the health insurance coverage, Reuters reports.
Senate Weighs New Taxes To Fund Reform
“Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) presented his members Thursday with more than a dozen ways to pay for health care legislation, ranging from new fees on industry to an income-tax hike on couples making more than $1 million a year,” Politico reports.
New Medicare Data Compare Hospitals Based On Readmissions
“The new data come amid a national debate over how to reduce the rate of hospital readmissions, which cost the federal government billions of dollars a year in Medicare reimbursements,” the New York Times reports.
Health, Business Groups Continue Staking Out Reform Positions
Trade groups such as the drug and hospital lobbies are hoping that by offering cost savings now to the White House, they will have a chance to influence final reform legislation, The Associated Press reports.
