Latest KFF Health News Stories
Americans Living With No Insurance, Or Less Insurance, During Recession
Decisions about forgoing care because of the cost for the long-term uninsured have been a way of life, “but for a sizable group, being without a job and insurance is a new, deeply distressing condition,” The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
California Budget Could Force Seniors To Nursing Homes, Drive Up Costs
NPR reports that California’s $26.3 billion budget deficit is marginalizing seniors who rely on California state-provided health care and service to help them manage their lives.
Efforts To ‘Fix’ Medicare Payments At Center Of Reform
Efforts to fix Medicare and change doctors’ payments play a central role in health care overhaul.
Health Overhaul Issues Fill The Sunday Talk Shows
Health experts and politicians filled Sunday talk shows as Obama administration officials push for reform.
Governors Question Medicaid Expansion While Some States Do More With CHIP
“Despite budgets ravaged by the recession, at least 13 states have invested millions of dollars this year to cover 250,000 more children with subsidized government health insurance,” The New York Times reports.
Today’s early-morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Obama Budget Chief Declines To Say Whether Reform Would Direct Tax Dollars To Abortions
Obama’s Budget Director, Peter Orszag declined to rule out the possibility of using federal money to pay for abortions under the auspices of health reform legislation, saying “I am not prepared to say explicitly right now.”
Obama Administration Officials Defend Health Overhaul
HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius and budget director Peter Orszag both said today that health reform can happen without increasing the federal deficit.
Obama To Congress: Now Is Not The Time To “Slow Down”
In a televised statement from the White House, President Obama urged Congress to pass a health overhaul and said: ‘health reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade, and I mean it.’
Labor and Education Committee Passes Reform Bill
The Education and Labor Committee on Friday became the second of three House committees to approve broad-spanning health care overhaul legislation, after a marathon session that stretched well into Friday morning.
CDC Report Examines Sexual Health, AIDS Rates Among U.S. Teenagers, Young Adults
CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) examines the sexual health of young adults and teenagers in the U.S., Reuters reports.
Gilead Sciences, Tibotec To Develop Second Once-Daily HIV Treatment
Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead Sciences on Thursday said it has entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Tibotec Pharmaceuticals for the development and commercialization of a new once-daily fixed-dose treatment for HIV, the San Francisco Business Times.
Proposed House Amendment Would Impact Needle Exchange Programs In Washington, D.C.
A proposed amendment to Washington, D.C.’s federal appropriation for 2010 “would prohibit the city from using federal funds to distribute needles for the ‘injection of illegal drugs
HIV Status Not Grounds For Denying People Professional Licenses, Federal Officials Say
The Department of Justice on Thursday said that it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to bar people — such as barbers, masseuses, and home health care aides — from receiving professional licenses or training at occupational schools because they have HIV or AIDS, the AP/Los Angeles Times.
Randomized Controlled Trial Shows Circumcision Does Not Reduce Male-To-Female HIV Transmission
Male circumcision does not reduce the transmission of HIV from men to their female partners, according to a Lancet study conducted in Uganda, Bloomberg reports.
“In a move that caught many public health experts by surprise, the WHO quietly announced Thursday that it would stop tracking swine flu cases and deaths around the world,” the New York Times reports.
U.N. Issues Alert Over Deteriorating Health Situation In Somalia
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued an alert on Thursday “seeking donor help” to address the health situation in southern and central Somalia, “which has continued to deteriorate due to latest fighting in [the capital of] Mogadishu,” Xinhua reports.
Randomized Controlled Trial Shows Circumcision Does Not Prevent Male-To-Female HIV Transmission
Male circumcision does not prevent the transmission of HIV from men to their female partners, according to a Lancet study conducted in Uganda, Bloomberg reports.
Food Prices In Developing Countries Remain High, Despite Global Drop
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday said food prices remain high in many developing countries because of reduced harvests, civil conflict and other factors, AP/Google.com reports.
