Latest KFF Health News Stories
“The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is distributing more than 300,000 hygiene and sanitation items to flood-affected families in Thailand, in an effort to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in the Asian country,” Bernama reports. The risk of water-borne diseases is increased in flood-affected areas, but that risk “can be reduced through safe sanitation and improved hygiene practices, such as frequent hand washing,” according to the news agency (11/11). According to a UNICEF press release, the agency “has budgeted $1.2 million to provide emergency relief and post-flood assistance … in the areas of health, child protection, water supply and sanitation, hygiene promotion and education” to an estimated three million flood-affected people (11/10).
Medicaid Directors Ask Feds For More Flexibility
Emphasizing health over the bureaucratic process would “fast-track’ state Medicaid improvements.
Senate Finance Committee Investigates Companies’ Use Of Discounts To Funnel Medical Tests Their Way
USA Today reports there are also concerns that doctors may be ordering tests that don’t need to be performed so they can receive kickbacks from insurers.
Speaking at the launch of Stanford University’s Center for Food Security and the Environment at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies on Thursday, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan “criticized world leaders … for failing to take bold action on climate change, which he said threatens to worsen the food crisis that has already left a billion people hungry,” ABC News reports. “Failing to address the problem will have repercussions on health, security and stability, he warned,” the news service writes. He “praised ‘Feed the Future,’ the U.S. initiative to reduce poverty and under-nutrition, and said he met recently with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and [USAID Administrator] Raj Shah,” ABC News writes. Annan said, “If we pool our efforts and resources we can finally break the back of this problem” (Donald, 11/11).
Greek Health System Suffers Amid Growing Economic Crisis
Reuters examines how a worsening economic crisis in Greece is affecting the country’s health system, highlighting a 36 percent decrease in health spending by Greeks this year, according to the National School of Public Health, and an increase of more than 50 percent in new cases of HIV from the first five months of 2010 to the same period this year. The news service also notes a rise in depression and suicide, writing, “Greeks are swallowing 35 percent more antidepressants than they did five years ago, according to the National School of Public Health. The health ministry says suicides are up 40 percent so far this year.”
Annual European CDC Report Says Infectious Diseases, Drug Resistance Are Concerns
“Europe’s health is suffering, with around 80,000 cases of tuberculosis infection a year and serious problems with measles, HIV and threats from ‘superbug’ infections, an annual health report” from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said Thursday, Reuters reports. The report said infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance, especially multi-drug resistance, are major concerns, according to the news service. The “report also identified several emergent diseases in Europe it said might pose a risk to public health,” including West Nile virus, malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya, Reuters notes.
High Deductible Plans, New Individual Policies Reshape Insurance Market
Local news accounts detail changes in the market. In Iowa, Wells Fargo employees are choosing between high deductible options, while in Minnesota one insurer is rolling out a new individual policy that may help buoy its position when the state health exchanges begin operation.
AARP: Iowa, Fla. GOP Voters Disagree With Candidates On Medicare Cuts
In Iowa, the AARP polled 400 past Iowa primary voters on Oct. 17-18 who said they would attend the Iowa caucuses. The Florida poll, which was similar to the one conducted in Iowa and some other states, involved 500 respondents. Florida has the largest number of retirees in the nation.
Conn. Gov.’s Orders On Home And Child Care Workers Raise Concerns
Gov. Dannel Malloy established a way for home care and child care workers to unionize. Meanwhile, in California, a legislative committee looked at the financial burden of long-term care.
Ga., Texas Expand Mental Health Services; Some Say More Is Needed
Georgia has opened new facilities for the mentally ill under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department. Meanwhile, Texas increased mental health spending by 4.3 percent in the past 3 years, but critics say that spending is not keeping pace with the growing uninsured population.
Super Committee Stalled As Nov. 23 Deadline Approaches
The panel’s top Republican said Thursday the main obstacle to a deal is Democratic insistence that tax increases be coupled with reforming health care programs.
State News: Mass. Words To Contain Costs; Ore. Boosts Coordinated Care
A selection of stories about health care from Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Oregon, California, Minnesota and Kansas.
Senate Republicans Question Role Of $10 Billion Innovation Center
Three GOP Senators have asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the effectiveness of this center, which was created by the health law, and to determine whether it is duplicating work that was already the responsibility of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health policy from around the country.
Health Law Alphabet Soup: ACOs, MLR And Other Implementation News
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the application for its shared savings program, and Health News Florida reports which of that state’s providers will likely throw their hats into the ring. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat reports that the medical-loss ratio rule is undergoing its final Office of Management and Budget review. Also, the Obama administration is defending how the health law changes Medicare.
Research Roundup: Cutting Specialty Care By Raising Co-Payments;
This week’s studies come from Health Affairs, The New England Journal of Medicine, Health Services Research, the Government Accountablity Office, The Kaiser Family Foundation, The Urban Institute, and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Supreme Court Quiet About Health Law Appeals
Although the justices met Thursday behind closed doors, no word emerged about whether the high court will hear appeals over the health law. But a decision about these cases could come Monday.
Including Evangelical Christians In U.S. Foreign Aid Discussion
“Washington is in an era of budget-cutting, so we frequently hear calls to shrink or eliminate U.S. foreign-assistance programs,” which is why “several religious groups … are highlighting how these programs reduce global poverty and hunger, saving millions of lives,” Richard Stearns, president of World Vision USA, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. However, he says “evangelical Christians [are] largely absent from this religious coalition” and notes that “a Pew survey earlier this year found that 56 percent of evangelicals think ‘aid to the world’s poor’ should be the first thing cut from the federal budget.”
