Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Various Personalities Weigh In On Health Care
A range of personalities offer their different perspectives on health care reform.
AHIP Study Finds Large Cost Variations
The insurers’ survey uses Medicare payments as the point of comparison for certain out-of-network fees in 30 states.
Obama Pushes For Reform At New Hampshire Town Hall Meeting
President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, early this afternoon to push for health care reform.
Survey Finds New Low In Support For Health Overhaul
A new report finds a low in support for health care overhaul following intense town hall meetings and amid cost concerns.
Clinton Visits Democratic Republic Of Congo
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday in the Democratic Republic of Congo said the U.S. is “very concerned about civilian casualties, both deaths and rapes, and other injuries from the military action” in the country, Reuters reports (Pleming, 8/11).
Scientists Discover How New Drug Kills Roundworms
A PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases study found how a new drug developed by scientists in China effectively kills roundworms
Drug-Resistant TB Can Spread As Easily As Drug-Sensitive TB, Study Says
New research has found that drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are just as likely to be transmitted between people as drug-sensitive TB, which could make drug-resistant forms of the disease “highly prevalent in the next few decades,” the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 8/11).
UNAIDS Report Says 50M Women In Asia At Risk Of HIV Infection From Intimate Partners
A UNAIDS report released Tuesday at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Bali, Indonesia, estimates that more than 90 percent of the 1.7 million HIV-positive women living in Asia were infected by husbands or long-term partners who engaged in “high-risk sexual behaviours,” Agence France-Presse reports.
University Of Utah Researchers Testing Gel That May Help Prevent Spread Of HIV
A “unique vaginal gel” being developed by researchers from the University of Utah could be used to help prevent the spread of HIV, according to a study published in the Journal of Advanced Functional Materials, the Deseret News reports.
U.S., Mexico, Canada Vow To Work Together Against H1N1
President Obama together with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper “vowed on Monday to fight the spread of the H1N1 swine flu,” during their summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, Reuters reports.
Drug Option For Patients Beginning HIV Treatment Studied
HIV integrase inhibitor raltegravir “is safe and effective for patients beginning treatment against HIV, according to researchers who completed a two-year, multi-site Phase III clinical trial comparing it with standard antiretroviral drugs,” the Atlanta Business Journal reports.
Obama Hopes To Retake Health Debate With Grass (And Net) Roots Activity
President Obama will visit the grassroots for a series of town hall meetings this week and the net-roots with a new fact-checking Web site. The idea is to combat “misinformation” and help the administration regain control of the debate.
Democrats, Republicans Dispute Meanings And Motivations Behind Angry Town Hall Meetings
Town hall meeting disruptions continue and Democrats are stepping up their ‘defense.’
Grassley Feels The Heat From Interest Groups, DeMint Becomes A Leading Opposition Voice
As the health care debate revs up over the August recess, certain key lawmakers are in the spotlight.
Canadian Health Care: Socialized Insurance, Not Socialized Medicine
Amid the debate about reforming heath care in the United States, it’s tough to turn on your television set without hearing ads about Canada’s health system. While those ads are “provocative,” NPR asks whether they accurately portray their subject.
North Carolina Pharmacy Agency Could Prove To Be Model
A North Carolina pharmacists’ nonprofit that helps seniors and creates savings for all could be a model for health care reform.
Marketplace Series: What Do ‘Insurance Verifiers’ Do?
A new Marketplace series called “The Cure” will examine the costs
Unlikely Partnerships Emerge In Health Overhaul Battles
Small business and other dissimilar groups are proving unlikely allies in the fight to reform America’s health care system and are teaming with Democrats to save legislation ahead of ruin.
