Latest KFF Health News Stories
Questions Linger Over Pharmaceutical Deal Agreement To Cut Costs
“As details emerge of the pharmaceutical industry’s agreement to kick in $80 billion to help pay for health care reform, the deal is facing increasing skepticism from inside and outside the health care industry,” Politico reports.
Kenya Malaria Study Shows One-Third Of Patients Receive ACTs
Just about one-third of people seeking malaria treatment in Kenya received the recommended artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and some people are being treated with ineffective drugs like chloroquine, which was phased out almost 10 years ago, according to the recently launched 2007 Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey
Ad Update: Religious Groups Back Reform, Unions Target Senators’ Tax Plans
“Labor unions are showing their increasing displeasure over [health reform] financing proposals that target their healthcare benefits by launching attack ads against key lawmakers, causing the Senate’s leading advocate of taxing such benefits to seek an end to one especially aggressive campaign,” CongressDaily reports.
Panel Suggests 100 Priorities For Comp. Effectiveness Research
An Institute of Medicine panel released a list of 100 priorities for comparing the effectiveness of medical treatments under a $1.1 billion, stimulus-funded research program.
Wal-Mart Backs Employer Mandate On Insurance
Many news outlets covered Wal-Mart’s decision to support requiring employers to provide health insurance to workers, a key part of Democratic health overhaul plans. The move was a “break” with other business groups.
Drug Industry Increases Lobbying Efforts And Targets Democrats
The drug industry is increasing its lobbying efforts and started targeting Democrats.
VA Provides Underused Monthly Pension Benefit While Medicaid Receives Increased Attention
Medicaid receives increased attention while an underused, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance can help veterans, and spouses, with assisted living.
Wal-Mart Backs Employer Health Insurance Mandate
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, announced today in a letter to President Obama and congressional officials that it supports an employer health insurance mandate.
Condom Distribution Program In Los Angeles County Jail Might Be Expanded
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is considering expanding an eight-year-old program at Men’s Central Jail that distributes condoms in a unit for gay men.
Iowa’s Criminal HIV Transmission Law Examined
A recent court decision in Black Hawk County, Iowa where a 34-year-old HIV-positive man was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a lifetime of parole for not informing a sexual partner of his status, might lead to a national discussion on state criminal transmission laws.
HHS To Propose Removal Of HIV From List Preventing Foreigners U.S. Entry
HHS this week will issue proposed regulations that would 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.
Divisions Plague Dems As Obama Recruits New Allies, Governors
“Four divisive issues could dash President Barack Obama’s hopes of overhauling health care: cost, creating a government-run plan, taxing workers’ benefits and penalizing employers that don’t offer coverage,” the Associated Press/Boston Globe reports
Lawmakers Seek Price Tag They Can Agree On
“Lawmakers working to overhaul the U.S. health-care system face a pressure-filled July after leaving town this week without resolving the biggest questions dividing Democrats and Republicans,” Bloomberg reports.
News Examines Lawmakers’ Contributions In Health Reform Debate
Over the last 27 sessions of Congress, there has always been a Dingell universal health care bill. It was first introduced by Rep. John D. Dingell’s father during World War II, and then by his son, The Washington Times reports.
Health Centers Get $850 million For Infrastructure Improvements
First Lady Michelle Obama visited a Washington, D.C. community health center Monday afternoon to announce the release of $851 million for the expansion and rehabilitation of clinics around the country, The New York Times reports.
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.
