Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicare Enrollment Deadline Extended – For Some
Kaiser Health News reports that federal officials are extending this Dec. 7 deadline for at least two days – but only to those seniors who contact any of several sources of assistance.
Agreement On Climate Deal Unlikely At Durban U.N. Conference, Ban Says
“Only a binding global accord on cutting greenhouse gases will spare Africa, the world’s poorest continent, more devastating floods, droughts and famine, a senior African climate change official said on Tuesday” at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, Reuters reports. “The talks, bringing together nearly 200 nations, have repeatedly struggled to get a new deal to update the Kyoto Protocol, whose crucial clause on enforcing targets on carbon cuts expires at the end of next year,” the news service writes. Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, chair of the Africa Group, “said legal force was the only way to make polluters take the necessary action and states who failed to deliver should in effect be ‘named and shamed,'” according to the news service (Lewis, 12/7).
Global Plan Of Action Needed To End AIDS
After “President Obama threw the full weight of the U.S. government behind a vision” to end the AIDS epidemic in a World AIDS Day speech, “[n]ow the question is: How will we achieve this goal? What are the priority actions to take today, tomorrow, and years from now?” Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, writes in the Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog. “First and foremost, the resource commitments need to match the strength of the scientific data,” he says, adding, “It is precisely at this moment, when the potential dividends are greatest, that the world’s modest AIDS investments should be sustained.”
Obama Administration To Promote And Protect LGBT Rights Through Foreign Aid, Diplomacy
“The Obama administration said Tuesday that it will intensify efforts to fight discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people as a major element of its foreign policy,” the Washington Post reports (DeYoung/Wilson, 12/6). “In the first U.S. government strategy to deal with human rights abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens abroad,” President Obama issued a presidential memorandum on Tuesday “instruct[ing] agencies to use foreign aid to promote such rights,” the Guardian writes.
MENA Region Among Top Two Regions With Fastest Growing HIV Epidemic, Report Shows
“A report on the HIV epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) shows that while the overall HIV prevalence in the region is still low, the rise in new infections since 2001 has put the MENA region among the top two regions in the world with the fastest growing HIV epidemic,” UNAIDS reports (12/4). The regional report was released Monday in Cairo, Egypt, under the auspices of the League of Arab States, according to the Egypt Independent (Helmy, 12/6). “The report outlines many recommendations on how to strengthen the AIDS response in the MENA region,” according to UNAIDS, including “review of laws and policies that hinder access to HIV prevention and treatments services, to invest smartly using an evidence-informed and human rights based approach, and the importance of strong political leadership” (12/4).
Horn Of Africa Food Crisis Could Last Into Summer 2012, E.U. Aid Commissioner Says
“The crisis in the Horn of Africa, which has left more than 13 million people at risk of starvation, will continue into the spring, and possibly the summer,” European Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said Tuesday, Reuters reports (Batha, 12/6). She “said investing in the Sahel now was not just the ethically and morally right thing to do, but would be less expensive than waiting for disaster to strike, as was the case in Somalia,” the Guardian writes, adding, “Seven million people are already facing shortages in Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, with major shortfalls in food production in many areas. The figures point to a massive problem of food availability next year, according to the European commission” (Tran, 12/7).
Study Raises Questions About Breast Cancer Therapy
Study of Medicare records finds that women who had a radiation treatment called brachytherapy were twice as likely to have a mastectomy in the following five years.
Health Technology’s ‘Enthusiasm Gap’
The Washington Post reports that many of the predictions for health technology’s future depend on how willing health care providers are to embrace new technology. Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News reports specifically on the important and evolving role of home care technology, and iWatch News offers a graphic status report of how the states are doing.
Federal Officials Push Greater Medical Use Of Gene Sequencing
The National Human Genome Research Institute is putting $416 million toward ending barriers hindering genetic sequencing in hospitals.
Court Considers Health Care Execs’ Liability
Reuters reports that a relatively obscure legal doctrine that holds corporate officers liable for company wrongdoing is being advanced as part of some health care cases.
Medicaid News: Ariz. Appeals Court Upholds Cuts
In the Arizona decision, a three-judge panel allows an enrollment freeze to continue. Meanwhile, a new analysis finds federal spending on Medicaid has increased 344 percent between 1990 and 2007.
On The Campaign Trail, Obama To Step Up Health Law Defense
Advisers expect that, while campaigning, President Barack Obama will talk about the law’s specific benefits. In other news, a new ad by GOP hopeful Ron Paul that will run in Iowa targets fellow candidate Newt Gingrich. Health care policy issues are among the items the ad highlights.
State Roundup: Aetna Suing Over Mich. BCBS Hospital Deals
A selection of health policy news from Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia and Florida.
Lawmakers Debate Value Of Cameras In The Courtroom
Lawmakers Debate Value Of Cameras In The Courtroom
The upcoming consideration of the health law has renewed discussion about whether cameras should be allowed in the Supreme Court.
Viewpoints: Insurance Safety Net; Orszag On Shift In Health Plans
A selection of editorials and opinions about health policy from around the country.
Consumer Advocates Urge Congress To Leave Broker Regs Alone
The organizations want Congress to maintain the medical loss ratio rule’s current classification of broker fees as administrative expenses. Also in the news, during a Tuesday hearing, House Republicans attacked the work of an economist Democrats have quoted in an argument related to the health law’s tax credits.
Senators: Express Scripts, Medco Must Show Merger’s Consumer Benefits
At a Tuesday hearing, Senators expressed concerns about the proposed merger between the nation’s two largest pharmaceutical benefit managers.
First Edition: December 7, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including status checks on the work — including the Medicare doc fix — that Congress still needs to attend to before leaving Washington for the holidays.
Home Health Advocates Push Remote Monitoring In Medicare
Some want Medicare to allow more remote monitoring of patients to identify trouble before it becomes an emergency.
