Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctors Increasingly Perform Online Visits
“This year, 39 percent of doctors said they’d communicated with patients online, up from just 16 percent five years earlier, according to health-information firm Manhattan Research, a unit of Decision Resources Inc,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
HHS To Propose Removal Of HIV From List Preventing Foreigners U.S. Entry
HHS this week will issue proposed regulations to remove HIV from the list of “communicable diseases of public health significance,” effectively lifting the ban on HIV-positive foreign residents from entering the country, Newsday reports.
Study Says High-Cost Cancer Drugs Have Little Benefit, Strain Health System
Using data from other published studies, researchers have estimated that lung-cancer drug Erbitux extends patients’ lives by only 1.2 months, while costing $80,000 for an 18-week course of treatment.
Doctor Testifies About Botched Prostate Treatment At VA Hospital
Dr. Gary D. Kao testified Monday about a botched prostate cancer treatment he gave to patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital run by the University of Pennsylvania.
Orszag Talks About Personal Choice, MedPAC And CBO Scores
Obama budget chief Peter Orszag sat with Slate.com to talk about health reform, in his answers, Orszag talked about personal choices affecting health care costs, the role of MedPAC and the Congressional Budget Office.
Denmark Patient First To Develop Resistance To Tamiflu
A spokesperson from the vaccine manufacturer Roche confirmed reports Monday that a Denmark patient with H1N1 (swine flu) developed resistance to the antiviral Tamiflu, a drug known to decrease the spread and severity of the virus, Reuters reports.
British Medical Journal Examines Recent Progress In Treating Neglected Diseases
The British Medical Journal examines the outcome of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, last week.
Group Wants Legislators’ Pledge To Read Entire Health Care Bill
A conservative group wants every lawmaker to pledge to read the entire bill for comprehensive health reform before voting.
Opinion: Boston Globe Columnist Examines Arguments Against DDT Use In Uganda
Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson examines why some Ugandans do not support indoor spraying of DDT to prevent malaria.
The Grameen Foundation on Tuesday launched the first application of its Application Laboratory (AppLab) project, which aims to use “the proliferation of mobile phones in Africa as a way to get information and services to poor communities in Uganda without Internet access,” the Seattle Times’ blog, the “Business of Giving,” reports.
Prevention Does Not Necessarily Provide Expected Cost Savings
Senate Democrats and Obama administration officials hoping that preventive care would create federal savings have been disappointed to learn that it does not create expected cost savings.
Today’s Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Editorial and opinion writers take on topics ranging from pharmacist reimbursement to Health IT, among other things.
In Poll, Massachusetts Voters Critical Of Health Reform
“Only 26 percent of likely voters in Massachusetts believe health care reform has been a success and just 21 percent believe reform has made health care more affordable, according to newly released poll results,” The State House News Service/Boston Herald reports.
Reich: Obama Must Increase Pressure To Reform Health Care
NPR interviewed Robert Reich, professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, on the steps President Obama needs to take to successfully reform health care.
New Labor Ads Focus on Health Benefits Tax
“Much of the TV advertising on health care so far has focused on the controversial public, or government-run insurance program that Democrats say would compete with private insurers and Republicans say would drive them out of business,” but the Laborers’ International Union of North America” will begin airing ads in two states Tuesday that deal with an equally explosive issue: Taxing health benefits,” USA Today reports.
HHS Rescinds Controversial Medicaid Regulations
CQ Politics reports that “the Health and Human Services Department Monday rescinded three controversial Bush administration regulations governing Medicaid and said it would postpone and possibly change or rescind a fourth.”
President Obama Releases Statement, Video Urging U.S. Residents To Get Tested For HIV
President Obama on Saturday released a statement marking National HIV Testing Day that urged U.S. residents to get tested for HIV and work toward reducing the spread of the virus.
HIV Testing Can Save Thousands Of Lives, CDC Official Says
“Although HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious threat to the nation’s health, HIV testing is a powerful weapon against the disease,” Kevin Fenton, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, writes in a CNN.com opinion piece.
HIV Rates Increasing In Salt Lake County, Utah
HIV rates have been steadily increasing over the last three years in Salt Lake County, which includes Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, according to the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.
