Latest KFF Health News Stories
Blue Shield Of California, UCLA Embroiled In Contract Dispute
Rates are the key disagreement, and failure to resolve the dispute could force thousands of patients to seek care elsewhere.
Medicaid Spending Claims Increasingly Larger Share Of State Budgets
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Medicaid spending by the states has steadily gone up during the last three years, and this trend is likely to continue. Media outlets also report on Medicaid developments in Texas, Florida, New York and California.
High-Deductible Health Plans On The Rise
A new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that more than one in five Americans have this type of health plan.
Viewpoints: Berwick’s Advice; Romney’s Wager; Fighting AIDS
A selection of editorials and opinions on health policy issues from around the country.
Berwick Focuses On Need To Change Medicare And Medicaid, Improve Care Coordination
Since resigning as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Donald Berwick has made clear how he thinks the health system must change.
Senate Democrats Seek Justification For Plan B Decision
Thirteen Democrats and one independent expressed disappointment in Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to block younger teenagers from buying the emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B” without a prescription. Meanwhile, a federal judge says he will review the decision.
Report Finds 2.5 Million Young Adults Gain Health Insurance Coverage
A report to be released today by the Obama administration finds that the number of people between the ages of 19 and 25 who have gained coverage exceeds earlier estimates.
Ron Paul Takes Strong Stand On Government’s Role In Health Care
While GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul told his supporters there’s no provision in the Constitution for Medicare and Medicaid, President Barack Obama asked his backers to stay with him in the upcoming election.
First Edition: December 14, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about progress — or lack thereof — as the House and Senate work to come to terms on the year’s must-pass legislation.
House Vote Scheduled On Payroll Tax Reduction Package
The bill, which includes “must-pass” provisions such as the Medicare “doc fix,” has drawn opposition, notably from hospital groups, which have blasted the billions of dollars in hospital payment cuts it contains.
As Federal Court Action Looms, Sebelius Says Plan B ‘Not About Politics’
A federal judge in Brooklyn will hear arguments Tuesday afternoon on the constitutionality of the federal decision regarding the access teenage girls should have to morning-after contraceptive pills. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the decision about Plan B’s over-the-counter status was not a political one.
Donors Must Continue Funding R&D To Bring New Global Health Technologies To Patients
In this post in the Hill’s “Congress Blog,” Kaitlin Christenson, the coalition director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition; Jim Connolly, president and CEO of Aeras; and Mel Spigelman, president and CEO of the TB Alliance, respond to a recently released G-FINDER report that shows “overall global investment in the research and development (R&D) of [new global health technologies] has declined for the first time since 2007, when the tracking of such funding began,” writing, “This decline is especially troubling given that there are more than 100 products in [the Product Development Partnerships’ (PDPs)] pipelines.”
Nighttime Satellite Images Could Provide Clues To Disease Outbreaks, Researchers Suggest
“The intensity of light shining from cities at night could help identify hot spots where outbreaks of infectious disease are likely to take place,” PBS NewsHour’s “The Rundown” reports, adding, “A team of researchers tracked satellite images of three cities in Niger and found that fluctuations in nighttime brightness were strongly correlated to measles incidence, according to results published in this week’s Science.” According to the blog, “The same tracking of nighttime light could be used for other diseases as well, the team wrote, and could help public health officials plan for emerging epidemics and predict outbreaks.”
Kansas Finds Prison Clinics Help Control Costs
The Kansas Health Institute News offers a compilation of stories about caring for the health needs of state prisoners.
HHS Grants Texas Managed Care Waiver, Denies Family Planning Request
The Perry adminstration had asked the federal government for two waivers and was granted one.
Study: High Cancer Screening Rates Seen Among Elderly Adults
Medscape reports on new results published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Medtronic Agrees To $23.5 Million Settlement In Kickback Case
The settlement resolves allegations that the company paid kickbacks to doctors who participated in post-market studies and device registries.
Lobbying Reports Highlight Focus On Health Care Rules, Calorie-Count Laws
The Associated Press reports on third-quarter lobbying expenses for McDonald’s and Starbucks.
Calif. Revamping Mental Health Services
As the state shifts emphasis to the most serious patients in hospitals and prisons, other groups raise concerns.
