Latest KFF Health News Stories
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CQ Politics reports that “the Health and Human Services Department Monday rescinded three controversial Bush administration regulations governing Medicaid and said it would postpone and possibly change or rescind a fourth.”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.
Nebraska Health Officials Promote Weeklong HIV Testing, Awareness Effort
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday began promoting HIV Testing Week, which runs through July 4, to encourage more residents to get tested.
The Los Angeles Times examines several stories of patients too poor to pay their hospital bills in Kenya that were held in a “makeshift patients’ prison,” until they escape or settle their debt.
New York Times Examines One American’s Efforts To Help Pakistanis With Health Care
The New York Times profiles the Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services (CDRS) hospital in Chikar, Pakistan, which was started by American Todd Shea after the 2005 earthquake in that country.
U.S.-Backed Program Trains Iraqi Women To Be Nursing Aids
Fox News examines a U.S.-supported program in Iraq that is equipping women with the skills they need to become nursing aids.
U.S. Vaccine Advisory Committee Considers Response To H1N1 Spread
The CDC convened a national vaccine advisory committee Friday to discuss the best response to the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) with an estimated 6,000 new cases in the U.S. last week alone, Reuters reports.
Studies Examine Cigarette Smuggling In Poor Countries, Deaths Due to Alcohol Abuse in Russia
A new report finds that “a growing global trade in black market cigarettes is killing tens of thousands of people a year, causing massive health problems and costing governments billions of pounds,” the Guardian reports.
White House Remains Open To Taxing Health Benefits, Obama Plans Town Hall Meeting
The White House remains open to taxing some health benefits to help pay for health care reform despite campaigning against the move last year, The Washington Post reports.
Reform Questions Continue To Loom
A bipartisan deal on health reform is far from certain as Senators drive the price tag down, but lack both Republican support and support from some of the more tepid members of their own party, Reuters reports.
