Latest KFF Health News Stories
California Providers Sue Over Medicaid Rates; Texas Weighs Steep Cuts For Medicaid Rehab
Medicaid news from California and Texas.
Crackdown At Social Security Disability Program Upsets Doctors
The Wall Street Journal examines how doctors have reacted to an effort to end the backlog at a Baltimore facility.
Nigeria has reported 43 cases of polio so far this year, up from 11 cases in 2010, and the disease has spread to Niger, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire, according to a WHO official, BBC News reports. “Polio was affecting eight northern Nigerian states — two more than a few months ago, the head of Nigeria’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad, told the BBC.”
In Colo. and Mass., Worries About Health Care Impact Of Super Committee’s Failure
In Colorado and Massachusetts, some health care professionals are worrying about what the super committee failure will mean for their states.
U.N. Says AIDS Deaths Decline For Third Successive Year
A new report also finds that globally nearly 50 percent of people infected with the virus get treatment.
A selection of health policy stories from California, Maryland, Florida, Georgia and Oregon.
IPS Examines HIV In The Caribbean, Highlights Challenges In Addressing At-Risk Populations
Inter Press Service examines HIV in the Caribbean, where “the HIV burden varies considerably among and within countries” in the region. “‘I think the prevention programs in many countries are not reaching the right people,’ Michel de Groulards, regional program adviser of the UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team, told IPS,” the news service writes, adding, “One factor, de Groulards believed, may be that after 25 years of providing treatment, some countries have reached a plateau. In other cases, people considered at risk, including [men who have sex with men], are not targeted.” IPS writes that “even as Caribbean politicians, scientists, researchers, academics and other stakeholders continue to examine ways of dealing with the virus, 30 years after the first case was recorded in the region, there is growing recognition that cuts in overseas funding could seriously hamper future success” (Richards, 11/21).
Super Committee Failure: Let The Blame Game Begin
In today’s opinion pages, lawmakers Jeb Hensarling, John Boehner, Harry Reid and others offer their explanations as to why the deficit panel was unsuccessful. Other editorials express views about what the committee’s experience might foreshadow for future negotiations and even elections.
‘Fistula Hotline’ In Sierra Leone Helps Identify Women For Treatment
IRIN profiles the establishment of a “‘fistula hotline,’ a free phone number for women who suffer from this debilitating condition that is seldom spoken about,” at the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, a clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone. “The fistula hotline, which is run by the center, is the result of a public-private partnership between the Gloag Foundation, USAID, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and telecommunications company Airtel,” IRIN notes.
Defending Washington’s Basic Health Plan; Questioning Wisconsin’s Proposed Health Care Cuts
Opinions from Washington state, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Georgia explore issues in the health care marketplace. Meanwhile, the individual mandate and recent Avastin decision also raise questions.
Health Spending Still In Jeopardy Despite End Of Super Committee
Although Medicare and Medicaid were largely protected when the panel broke up, budget cutters will continue to eye them, and other health programs will likely have funding reduced.
Super Committee Ends Work Without A Deal; Automatic Cuts Take Effect In 2013
The divide between Republicans and Democrats proved too deep for the committee to find compromise.
Insurers Fear Consequences Of Individual Mandate Being Struck Down
The Hill writes that letting the 2010 health law stand without the individual mandate is the worst possible outcome for insurers. Meanwhile, CQ looks into the Medicaid expansion issue and demands for Kagan and Thomas to recuse themselves.
Obama Administration Calls On Pa. Insurer To Lower Rate Hike
The Obama administration on Monday called on a Pennsylvania insurer to lower its proposed 12 percent rate increase for a small business health insurance plan. It’s the first time the administration has used such new powers given it in the health reform law.
First Edition: November 22, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news and analysis about the collapse of the super committee talks Monday.
Super Committee Ends Talks, Cuts For Health Programs May Result
Late Monday afternoon, the co-chairmen of the congressional super committee announced that their talks had ended in stalemate.
Significant Drops Seen In AIDS-Related Deaths, New HIV Infections, UNAIDS Report Shows
UNAIDS on Monday released its World AIDS Day Report 2011 (.pdf), “which shows more people than ever living with HIV, but deaths and new infections steadily dropping,” the Guardian reports (Boseley, 11/21). The number of AIDS-related deaths in 2010 was 21 percent lower than its peak in 2005, and the number of new HIV infections in 2010 also was down 21 percent from its peak in 1997, according to the report, BBC News notes (11/21). The report credits more widespread treatment, behavior change and male circumcision for significant drops in the number of new cases, according to the Guardian (11/21). “Of the 14.2 million people eligible for treatment in low- and middle-income countries, around 6.6 million, or 47 percent, are now receiving it, UNAIDS said, and 11 poor- and mid-income countries now have universal access to HIV treatment, with coverage of 80 percent or more,” Reuters notes, adding, “This compares with 36 percent of the 15 million people needing treatment in 2009 who got AIDS drugs” (Kelland, 11/21).
After two months of deliberation and debate to try to find ways to cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years, the deficit panel is expected to announce today that it was unable to come to terms on an agreement.
If There’s No Deficit Reduction Deal, What Happens Next?
Both parties are jockeying for position, trying to spin the super committee’s expected announcement of failure into political victory. Meanwhile, some news outlets are examining what happens next for the automatic cuts, which will be triggered in 2013 if the deficit panel indeed does not offer a plan.
Medicare Will Still Cover Avastin For Breast Cancer, Despite Revocation Of FDA Approval
The FDA announced that Avastin, while still approved for other cancers, is more harmful than helpful to breast cancer patients.
