Latest KFF Health News Stories
State Roundup: Conn. Home Worker Demand Soars
A collection of health policy stories from around the United States.
Viewpoints: Massachusetts’ Health Care Success; Employers Are Key To Curbing Health Costs
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
Poll: Many Think Justices’ Ideologies Will Affect High Court’s Health Law Decision
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation January tracking poll, a majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court’s health law ruling will result from the justices’ own ideology rather than legal analysis. The poll also found that the public believes the uninsured will benefit most from the overhaul.
House GOP Renews Demand For Obama’s Health Reform-Related Memos
The New Yorker on Monday published an in-depth look at previously unreleased White House documents, including some related to negotiations surrounding the development and passage of the health law. Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have been seeking such internal communications for more than two years.
Longer Looks: Obama’s Health Reform Memos; Romney’s Medicare Mistake?
Each week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reads from around the Web.
First Edition: January 26, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about House GOP plans to offer a ‘replace’ bill after the Supreme Court rules on the health law.
Congressional Negotiators Begin Talks On Payroll Tax Cut, ‘Doc Fix’
Although Demcratic and Republican lawmakers differ on how to pay for it, they seem to agree there needs to be a deal in order to prevent a deep, scheduled cut in Medicare physician payments.
In State Of The Union Speech, Health Law Gets Short Shrift
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address was light on health policy references, but he did say he would not “go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men.” News outlets also reported on Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Republican response and looked forward to what Obama is doing today to spin his speech.
PMI-Supported Study Aims To Measure Malaria Among Pregnant Women In Rwanda
This post in the Malaria Free Future blog reports on a study underway in Rwanda that aims to measure the prevalence of malaria in pregnancy (MIP). The research is supported by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and is being carried out through its Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) “so that the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) can have data to design appropriate MIP interventions as the country moves towards malaria elimination,” the blog notes. According to the blog, the study of more than 4,000 women “focuses on pregnant women during their first visit to focused antenatal care (FANC) for their current pregnancy” and is currently at the half way mark (Brieger, 1/25).
Global Fund Executive Director Kazatchkine Steps Down; Board Appoints General Manager
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine on Tuesday announced he will “step down in mid-March after leading the organization for five years,” according to a Global Fund press release (1/24). In a message to staff, Kazatchkine said he “concluded that I should not continue as executive director” following a November decision by the Global Fund Board to “appoint a general manager to oversee implementation of the Consolidated Transformation Plan who will report directly to the Board.” The statement continues, “I respect this decision and trust that it was made in the best interests of the Global Fund. … I am committed to an orderly transition, and I will do all that I can to ensure that the Global Fund emerges from it as a stronger organization” (1/24). In a statement, Board Chair Simon Bland said, “I thank Michel for his remarkable contribution and I look forward to working with him to ensure an efficient transition” (1/24).
In a speech to the European Parliament on Tuesday, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “told European lawmakers in Brussels not to cut aid to poor countries despite the economic and budgetary problems facing” European Union (E.U.) countries, Agence France-Presse reports. Gates “praised the [E.U.] whose support in health and development he said has been greater than that of the United States,” AFP notes (1/24). On Wednesday, Gates “will be at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where he plans to exhort wealthy donors — especially governments — to keep funding a range of crucial projects in the developing world, from tuberculosis drugs and antimalaria bed nets to maternal care and vaccines,” the Wall Street Journal writes. Gates “plans to make his case by showcasing ideas, backed by his foundation, that have helped cost-effectively tackle problems in global health,” according to the newspaper (Naik, 1/25).
New Super PAC Ad Attacks Romney’s Health Care Record
The advertisement charges that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney “invented government-run health care” based on his health care record while governor of Massachusetts.
State Roundup: Mass. Closing A Mental Hospital; Adult Day Care In Calif.
News outlets report on a variety of state health care issues.
States Continue To Wrestle With The Politics Of Health Exchanges
Also in the news, a New Jersey hospital has formed an ACO.
Kansas, California Medicaid Changes Ahead, Despite Objections
Activists worry about the impact of cuts.
GOP: Survey Showing Increase In Uninsured Is Proof Of Health Law’s Failure
Some House Republicans circulated this new Gallup data yesterday, before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
High Court’s Review Of Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion ‘Very Serious’ Issue
Some lawyers representing challenges to the health law see the Medicaid-related questions as going “to the heart” of the overhaul’s constitutionality.
HHS Rules On Contraception Coverage; Insurance Labels Draw Attention
The Wall Street Journal reports on the reaction by some Catholic leaders to the White House’s decision to require religious employer’s health plans to cover contraception. Meanwhile, KHN reports that consumer groups are urging the Obama administration not to weaken the health law’s provisions related to insurance labels.
Viewpoints: Health Care Is MIA In The State Of The Union; Gingrich’s Earnings For Health Views
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
USAID Plans To Assist In Creating Global Development R&D Teams At U.S. Colleges, Universities
The Washington Post’s “In the Loop” blog reports that USAID has released a draft form of a plan to create research and development (R&D) teams at colleges and universities across the country aimed at tackling problems of global development. “USAID characterized the plan … as a way of tapping into the collective wisdom of academia,” according to the blog, which notes, “They’ve suggested setting up an unnamed number of centers — some at individual colleges and universities, some comprised of several such institutions.” The blog adds, “They say no budget has been set, but an individual college might get a million or so, while a collaborative center made up of a few schools could get $4 million to $5 million” (Heil, 1/24).
