Latest KFF Health News Stories
Denver Hospital Sale Completed; Iowa Hospitals’ Tax Exemption Probed
Colorado activists had objected to the sale of the nonprofit hospitals to a for-profit system. Meanwhile, the Des Moines Register analyzes hospitals spending on charity.
Rural Women Need Same Access To Resources As Men To Help Increase Food Production, Ban Says
“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the international community to give rural women the same access to productive resources as men, noting the huge benefits that would ensue, from increased food production to a drop of 150 million in the number of the world’s hungry people,” the U.N. News Centre reports (10/14).
Speedy Reinstatements Undermine Medicare Anti-Fraud Efforts
An AP review shows that regulators frequently suspend Medicare providers but then quickly reinstate them – which often leads to a missed chance to stop the flow of dollars to “bogus” companies.
Beyond 9-9-9: Herman Cain On Health Policy
As GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain’s polling numbers surge, the Wall Street Journal examines his positions on health policy. Meanwhile, in other news from the Republican primary race, the Des Moines Register reports that Michele Bachmann is warning that the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to undo the health law, while the Texas Tribune takes a look at Rick Perry and Planned Parenthood.
State Flexibility Key Issue In Health Law Implementation
The Washington Post reports on how some states want to move past the 2010 measure in advancing their own health reforms. Meanwhile, as states build their health insurance exchanges, a key variable will be the degree of competition within their own insurance marketplaces.
Roundup: Texas Planned Parenthood Clinic Struggles
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Viewpoints: CLASS Act’s Effect On Health Law; New Prescriptions For Medicare; Food Marketing To Kids
A selection of today’s editorials and opinions from around the country.
First Edition: October 17, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on the super committee’s deliberations, the demise of the CLASS program and Herman Cain’s health policy positions.
Cantor Predicts Super Committee Deal; Lawmakers, Advocacy Groups Warn About Cuts
Major news outlets are examining what the deficit-cutting committee might be discussing and what the possible fallout would be.
Sebelius On The CLASS Act: ‘I Do Not See A Viable Path Forward’
KHN tracked the news coverage regarding Friday’s CLASS Act news.
IRIN reports on one community’s efforts to increase access to contraceptives and help provide information on family planning in Madagascar. The news service highlights efforts by women in Antalaha, Madagascar, who formed an association called Femmes Interessee au Development de Antalaha (FIDA). The association uses World Bank funding to run a center that provides information and support to teenage girls, with a focus on preventing early pregnancy; broadcasts “a radio program aimed at educating women about their reproductive health and legal rights; … disseminates information on how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs)”; and works with husbands to change “negative attitudes towards family planning, [which] were preventing even those women who could get contraceptives from their local clinic from using them,” according to IRIN.
Health Groups Urge Secretary Of U.S. Army To Sustain Funding For Military HIV Research Program
“Speaking out against a potential $16 million cut in the Army’s base research and development budget for HIV, leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) sent a letter (.pdf) Thursday to the Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, making the case for sustaining the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP),” according to the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog. In the letter, IDSA President James Hughes and HIVMA Board Chair Kathleen Squires “urged the secretary … to continue the modest investment in the MHRP, which also sustains more than 100,000 HIV-infected people in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Mozambique and Thailand on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy through the [PEPFAR] program,” the blog writes (10/13).
WHO To Offer New Guidelines For Food Aid, Recommends ‘Tighter Nutritional Standards’
The WHO said Thursday that “it plans to recommend tighter nutritional standards in food aid for young children, a move activists say is necessary to improve donations from countries such as the United States,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. “The new guidelines are likely to make food aid more expensive in the short term, but the improved formulas will be more effective at reducing moderate malnutrition in children under the age of five,” the news service writes (10/13).
“Developing countries are making efforts to improve the health of women and children but more needs to be done, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said” at an awards ceremony in New York, United Press International reports. “‘As of today, more than 60 countries have committed to step up efforts to improve women and children’s health,’ Ban said,” the news agency writes (10/14).
Forum Focuses On Challenges Facing Women, Girls Affected By HIV In Eastern Europe, Central Asia
“Women, girls and HIV were the focus of a panel discussion on the final day of the International Forum on [Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6] in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” UNAIDS reports. “In Russia, HIV prevalence among young women aged 15-24 is two times higher than among men of the same age, according to government figures,” UNAIDS notes, adding women’s health advocates in Russia say, “Stigma and discrimination
Preparing For Future Disasters ‘Saves Lives, Property And Money’
In this post in USAID’s “IMPACTblog,” Kasey Channell, the acting director of the Disaster Response Team for USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, reports on the importance of preparing for future disasters as the world observed International Day for Disaster Reduction on Thursday, writing “Before the next disaster hits, now is the time to recommit to making smart investments that save lives, property, and money. Whether at home or abroad, measures to improve response, increase disaster management capacity, and plan and prepare, can have dramatic dividends.”
Limited Research On Sexual Violence Against Men In The DRC Suggests Issue Is ‘Largely Ignored’
IRIN reports on the issue of sexual violence against men as a in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), writing, “Sexual violence against men, including rape, is under-reported, poorly addressed and has a severe impact on both men and their families, according to a presentation at the annual Sexual Violence and Research Initiative (SVRI), held in Cape Town, South Africa.” The news service writes, “The eastern DRC makes up most of the available research on sexual violence during conflict, according to Claudia Moreno, coordinator of the World Health Organization’s Department of Gender and Women.”
Health, Medicine Used By Israel As ‘Instrument Of Control’ Over Palestinian People
In this Lancet opinion piece, Ruchama Marton, president and founder of Physicians for Human Rights
CDC Report Lays Out ‘Lessons Learned’ From Haiti’s Cholera Outbreak
“Cholera cases have risen in Haiti, but the number dying from the disease is down, according to researchers from the [CDC],” CNN’s health blog “The Chart” reports. Robert Tauxe, researcher and deputy director at CDC said, “The number of deaths was initially way too high. But within a few weeks of the outbreak, we trained teams to treat the disease and increased access to supplies,” according to the blog. The new CDC report “lay[s] out the lessons learned since cholera emerged in Haiti and what needs to be done to sustain the progress that has been made to treat the disease and prevent deaths,” the blog notes, adding, “The most beneficial lessons may seem quite simple” and include training more health workers, educating citizens and improving sanitation systems (Dellorto, 10/13).
Relationship Between Women And Men Must Change To Eradicate Gender-Based Violence
In this post in the Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog, women’s issues author and speaker Tabby Biddle writes, “There are over 150 million instances each year of sexual violence against girls. … One major factor that perpetuates this cycle of violence is that the girls who have been raped can’t speak up for themselves (because they are babies or very young children) and those who are old enough to speak up, are afraid to — for many good reasons.”
