Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: November 14, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the Supreme Court’s expected health law announcement; about where things stand with the super committee and its fast-approaching deadline; and other health policy news.
Rep. Hensarling Say Super Committee May Use 2-Step Process To Increase Revenues
One of the co-chairs of the congressional panel seeking a deficit plan said if the group doesn’t reach a full accord, it could set a goal for tax reform and leave it for other committees to implement.
Federal Health Officials Recommend Cholesterol Testing For Children
NIH and the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest the testing be done between the ages of 9 and 11 and then again between 17 and 21.
Medicaid Update: Wis. Approves Big Cuts; Wash. State Lawsuit On ER Visits
Medicaid news from Wisconsin, a Washington state courtroom and Kansas.
World Pneumonia Day Has Grown From Idea To Global Movement
In this Huffington Post opinion piece, Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins University, reports on how World Pneumonia Day, inaugurated in 2009 by financier Lance Laifer, has grown from an idea into a movement, writing, “World Pneumonia Day 2010 is engaging governments, child health organizations and advocates in an effort to spotlight the leading killer of children” and “perhaps even more exciting is the way this movement has grown in just one year, engaging everyday citizens in the effort to raise awareness in creative ways.”
Kenya Launches 5-Year Strategic Plan To Fight NTDs
“The Kenyan government launched a five-year national master-plan on Thursday to address neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that have become a public health challenge in remote parts of the country,” making Kenya “the first country in Africa to launch a broad-based strategic plan on combating neglected tropical ailments that include bilharzia, trachoma, kalaazar, intestinal worms, elephantiasis and Hydatid disease,” Africa Science News reports. “Minister for Public Health and Sanitation Beth Mugo said this strategic plan dovetails with her ministry’s ‘vision of transforming Kenya into a nation free from preventable diseases and ill health,'” the news service writes (Mwaura, 11/11).
Third Annual World Pneumonia Day To Be Observed On Saturday
The third annual World Pneumonia Day will be observed on Saturday. The following is a summary of several pieces published in recognition of the day.
Rapid Expansion Of Global Vaccine Campaign Against Pneumonia ‘Unprecedented’
“A global push to bring a vaccine against the bacterial cause of pneumonia to communities that need it most is ramping up quickly, expanding to nearly 60 countries in the next five years,” PBS NewsHour’s “The Rundown” reports. “At least three million child deaths could be prevented in the next decade through the global vaccine rollout, according to a new analysis published Thursday in the journal of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene by health experts from Children’s Hospital Boston and Johns Hopkins University, among others,” the blog states, adding, “More new research released this week by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health called the rate of the rollout and its quick expansion ‘unprecedented.'”
End To AIDS Epidemic In Sight, But Political Support Needed For Success
In this Washington Post opinion piece, columnist Michael Gerson recaps advances in the science of HIV/AIDS prevention over the last 18 months and the projected benefits of using combination preventive tools. He writes, “After 30 years and 30 million funerals, the end of the global AIDS epidemic is suddenly, unexpectedly, within sight. It would be a final victory for this clever killer if America were too preoccupied and inward-looking to notice and act.”
“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.
