Latest KFF Health News Stories
Democrats Hold On To Medicare Message Despite Special Election Losses
The Washington Post reports that Dems plan to maintain their focus on House GOP plans to change Medicare, despite this week’s difficulties at the polls.
Bachmann, Perry Embroiled In HPV Fracas
Since Monday night’s GOP primary debate, the two presidential hopefuls continue to be the targets of discussion and coverage regarding both the style and substance of the HPV vaccine issue.
Costs Of Maryland Hospital Stays Increase
Maryland report finds the average stay in a hospital in 2010 was up about 2 percent, less than the 3 percent national increase.
Reading Between The Lines: As Poor Get Poorer, Their Health Is At Greater Risk
In the wake of this week’s Census Bureau report, news outlets report that the dire data about the percentage of Americans living in poverty could feed the current deficit-reduction discussions in Congress.
Viewpoints: NY Times On Uninsured; Wilensky’s ‘Sobering Reflection’; Caring For Aging Parents
A diverse selection of opinions and editorials.
Coalition Launches Effort To Enroll People Without Insurance
Enroll America, which is a group of health care organizations and companies, is making a health coverage push to boost the new health law.
Appeals Court To Take Up Ariz. Medicaid Challenge
The state appellate court will hear arguments next month on whether the governor can reduce enrollment in Medicaid.
Calif., Texas Face Challenges, Take Different Reform Approaches
The LA Times reports that California, because of its budget issues and need to slash the state safety net programs, could become a trouble spot for the health law.
Health CEOs Urge Deficit Panel To Raise Medicare’s Eligibility Age
But Blue Dog Democrats said Wednesday that no one is going to cut benefits for seniors or people near the current eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security.
Hospitals In Minn., Wis. Make Changes To Serve Overweight Patients
The Michigan program will track children’s body mass index through an anonymous health registry.
Obama Deficit-Reduction Plan Details Emerging
As President Barack Obama prepares to present to Congress his detailed plan to rein in the nation’s debt, changes to Social Security appear unlikely, but the outlook for Medicare is less certain.
PEPFAR Shows How Working Across ‘Political Spectrum’ Can Prove Successful
“Thirty years since the first case of AIDS was diagnosed in the United States, the world finds itself at a tipping point in the fight against this deadly disease,” U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby and George W. Bush Inaugural Global Health Fellow Ambassador Mark Dybul, who served as global AIDS coordinator from 2006 to 2009, write in a Huffington Post opinion piece. With the creation of PEPFAR, “President Bush and Congress responded with an effort that reflected … the compassion and generosity of the American people, [with an] insistence on impact,” they write, adding, “Since taking office, the Obama Administration has made building on the success of PEPFAR a priority.”
Experimental Malaria Vaccine Shows Positive Results Among Children In Small Burkina Faso Study
“An experimental malaria vaccine tested on children in Burkina Faso has shown ‘a high level of efficacy’ in protecting against the disease, a study published in” Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine said, according to Agence France-Presse. The research, which “was initially planned to study the safety and immune response of the vaccine, known by the name MSP3 … was led by scientists from the National Center for Research and Training on Malaria in Burkina Faso, the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Paris-based Pasteur Institute,” the news agency writes.
India Sees Increase In Malaria Deaths Despite Global Decline Reported By WHO
While the number of malaria deaths has fallen by one-fifth over the past decade globally, according to a report released by Roll Back Malaria on Monday, “India is still recording high numbers of deaths, which some experts say are underestimated,” Agence France-Presse reports. The WHO “says about 5,000 children and 10,000 adults die each year from malaria in India,” AFP reports, adding, “However a study published last year by the Lancet said there are more than 200,000 malaria deaths each year and that WHO’s reporting is flawed.”
Global Child Mortality Rate Is Shrinking, But Not Enough To Reach MDG, UNICEF/WHO Report Says
“The annual number of children who die before they reach age five is shrinking, falling to 7.6 million global deaths in 2010 from more than 12 million in 1990, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday” in their annual report (.pdf) on child mortality, Reuters reports. “Overall, 12,000 fewer children under age five die each day than a decade ago,” according to the report, the news agency notes. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a statement that “many factors are contributing to reductions in child mortality, including better access to health care for newborns, prevention and treatment of childhood diseases, access to vaccines, clean water and better nutrition,” the news agency writes (Steenhuysen, 9/14).
Number Of Breast, Cervical Cancer Cases Rose Significantly Over Past 30 Years, Global Study Says
“The number of cases and deaths from breast and cervical cancer is rising in most countries across the world, especially in poorer nations where more women are dying at younger ages, according to a global study of the diseases” by researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Reuters reports. Between 1980 and 2010, breast cancer cases more than doubled worldwide, rising from 641,000 cases in 1980 to 1.6 million cases in 2010, while deaths from breast cancer rose from 250,000 a year to 425,000 a year, according to the study, which was published in the Lancet on Thursday, Reuters notes. The “number of cervical cancer cases rose from 378,000 cases in 1980 to 454,000 in 2010, and deaths from cervical cancer rose at almost the same pace as cases,” the news service writes (Kelland, 9/15). The majority of new cases occurred among women under age 50 in low-income nations, BBC News writes (Briggs, 9/14).
