Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘Starvation Protocol’ Guidelines Would Help India’s Hunger Problem
In the final article of a six-part series titled “Starving in India” in the Wall Street Journal’s “India Real Time” blog, series author Ashwin Parulkar of the Centre for Equity Studies writes that the research conducted for the articles shows “that India needs a new legal framework for dealing with chronic hunger and starvation.” He notes that “[t]he draft version of the National Food Security Bill that is being considered by India’s Parliament would guarantee discounted food-grains to 50 percent of the urban population and 75 percent of the rural population.” While “[m]uch of the debate on the measure has been over its cost and scope, … my biggest problem with the bill is the way it deals with starvation,” leaving it up to state governments to identify starving individuals and provide them with two meals a day for six months, Parulkar writes.
Medicaid News: Neb.’s Prenatal Care Flap; Texas’ ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
A selection of Medicaid news from Texas, Nebraska, Missouri and Arizona.
New Deadline For Medicare EHR Bonus Appeals
Medscape reports on a deadline extension for physicians who believe they deserve a Medicare bonus for adopting electronic health records. And, in an interview, Medscape explores how medical technology is changing the practice of medicine.
Politics In Play As April Marks The End Of The Texas Women’s Health Program
Texas’ fight with the federal government over funding for its Texas Women’s Health Program, which will end this month and leave 130,000 low-income women paying for their own birth control or going without it, must include a discussion of politics — even for the judges considering the case, The Associated Press reports.
Consumers Face Difficulties In Getting Health Care Price Lists
News outlets report on how the health care system sometimes adds to consumers’ difficulties.
Viewpoints: The Missing Debate On Women; The True Cost Of Care; Fair Wages For Home Health Aides
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
HHS Report Finds Nursing Homes Not Prepared For Natural Disasters
The authors suggest that the federal government mandate better planning. At the same time, many nursing home officials are arguing that as the economy improves, states should increase their funding of Medicaid.
Health News From The Campaign Trail
News outlets offer a fact check on how some health issues are being characterized in the presidential contest, as well as a report about an attack on the health law in what The Associated Press terms “bizarre videos.”
Feds Ask Court To ‘Force’ J&J Executive To Testify In Lawsuit Alleging Kickbacks And Medicaid Fraud
Reuters reports that the Department of Justice filed papers last week noting that Johnson & Johnson’s Alex Grosky has “relevant knowledge” regarding the marketing of Risperdal.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about what the future might look like when Medicare doctors’ pay will be tied to quality and cost of care, as well as how consumer advocates are anxious about a key aspect of the health law.
Obama, Romney Advisers Trade Barbs On Priorities
GOP consultant Ed Gillesie says job creation is needed while Democrat David Axelrod says Republican budget cuts will hit safety net programs such as Medicaid.
Contraception, Medicare, Medicaid Hot-Button Topics In Stump Speeches
Political news coverage included a fact check of a Mitt Romney claim and more on the stay-at-home mom controversy.
Nursing Aides Receive New Worker Protections
Nursing aides have the nation’s second highest rate of work-related injuries or illness. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to do something to make the job safer.
Politico Pro Examines Reaction To Melinda Gates’s TEDxChange Speech On Family Planning
Politico Pro examines the reaction to a speech delivered by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at a TEDxChange conference in Berlin on April 5. “Gates’s speech was primarily focused on explaining why family planning is important in the developing world,” according to the news service. Gates said lack of access to modern contraceptives is “a life and death crisis” because with family planning, the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children could be saved annually, the news service notes. “But multiple global health experts heard her comments as an intentional effort to push back on the politicization of birth control in the United States following the Obama administration’s new contraception coverage policy, which they fear could spill over into global health policy,” the news service writes. However, “Gates Foundation spokesman Chris Williams said Gates was simply reiterating her long-standing support for family planning and that viewing these remarks in light of domestic politics would be ‘using the wrong lens,'” the article notes.
House GOP Dusts Off Old Budget Ideas To Replace Automatic Cuts
When they return to Capitol Hill next week, Republicans on key House committees are expected to take up earlier proposals as they look for ways to replace some of the automatic budget cuts scheduled to take effect in January. Members of the House Judiciary Committee will make another go at revamping medical liability laws.
Sebelius Appeals To Civil Rights Groups For Health Law Support
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asked civil rights activists to help defend the health law. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on specific aspects of the law, including how contractors have been preparing for its implementation, and the latest on accountable care organizations.
U.S. Halts North Korean Food Aid After Country Launches Long-Range Missile
“The U.S. will halt planned shipments of thousands of tons in food aid to North Korea after the reclusive Asian nation’s launch of a long-range rocket, two Obama administration officials said,” Bloomberg News reports (Talev, 4/13). “Under a recent food deal with the United States, North Korea agreed to refrain from long range missile launches and nuclear tests,” CNN’s “1600 Report” writes (Yellin, 4/12). “North Korea’s rocket launch was a failed effort that nonetheless violated international law and jeopardized regional security, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said,” according to Bloomberg (4/13).
As World’s First Polio Vaccine Turns 57, Scientists Working To Develop Better Alternatives
In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists” blog, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Oshinsky examines the development of the world’s first polio vaccine, noting that the vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk of the University of Pittsburgh, turned 57 on Thursday. “Now, with an eye on the endgame, scientists and researchers are developing even better vaccines,” Oshinsky writes, concluding, “The fight to end polio will not be easy, but it surely can be done. … We must seize this historic opportunity, fulfilling the promise we made to our children — to all children — 57 years ago today” (4/12).
Private Funding For International Humanitarian Response Continues In Face Of Recession, Report Says
“Individuals, businesses and foundations have continued to give money to humanitarian and development organizations despite harsh economic times, providing a crucial source of funding in the face of declining official aid,” according to a report on private aid funding by the monitoring group Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA), the Guardian reports. The news service writes, “According to the report, 24 percent of the international humanitarian response from 2006 to 2010” — at least $18 billion — “came from private voluntary contributions”; “[i]n 2010 alone, $5.8 billion was donated privately, mainly in response to the earthquake in Haiti and the floods in Pakistan”; and “[a]s a share of the total humanitarian response, private funding grew from 17 percent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2010.”
Coordinated Response Needed To Capitalize On Momentum Of WHO’s Adoption Of Mental Health Resolution
“We commend the 130th session of the WHO Executive Board for adopting a resolution calling for a comprehensive response to the global burden of mental illnesses,” Rebecca Hock of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Mental Health, and colleagues, write in this Lancet opinion piece. “The resolution for mental health, led by India, the U.S., and Switzerland, is the result of a crescendo of political support for addressing mental illnesses and received unanimous support from countries on the WHO Executive Board,” the authors write, noting, “The resolution urges countries to protect and promote the rights of persons with mental disorders and to combat stigma against mental illness.”
