Latest KFF Health News Stories
Low Fertility Causes ‘Very Real Problems’ For Developed Nations’ Economies
“In recent years, nearly every demographic study has painted a dire picture of the world’s changing demographics. Yet when the U.N. issued its latest report this past May, it seemed almost sunny,” Jonathan Last, senior writer at the Weekly Standard, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. He says that “[t]he catch is that it may not be true” because “the U.N. has had to make one very big assumption: Starting tomorrow, every country in the world with fertility below the replacement rate of 2.10 will increase its fertility. And this rise will continue unabated, year after year, until every First World country has a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) near replacement.”
Deficit Deal: Next Steps And New Developments
News outlets are reporting on how the next phase called for in the deficit plan will likely follow a rocky road, which could include broken promises on entitlements, danger for the health law and leave the health sector hoping for the lesser evil.
Lobbyists, Lawmakers Stake Out Positions For Debt Deal’s Next Phase
As potential candidates for the ‘super committee’ emerge on Capitol Hill, lobbyists are trying to figure out how to influence the panel’s decisions and also are gearing up for major public relations campaigns. Health care interests are likely to be among the most active because they have a great deal at stake.
Report Says Public-Public Partnerships Can Provide Safe, Affordable Water To Poor Populations
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “triggered a political controversy last week when he implicitly declared that even human rights have a market price,” Inter Press Service reports, noting Ban “admitted it is not acceptable that poor slum-dwellers pay five or even 10 times as much for their water as wealthy residents of the same cities.”
India To Use Mothers’ Mobile Phones To Track Child Immunizations
“India’s health minister announced Tuesday a new initiative underway to boost the country’s rate of immunizing newborns by collecting mobile phone numbers of all pregnant mothers to monitor their babies’ vaccinations,” the Wall Street Journal’s “India Real Time” blog reports.
Daily Text Messages To Health Workers Improve Proper Malaria Treatment Administration, Study Shows
“Sending daily text message reminders to health workers can mean nearly 25 percent more children are properly treated for malaria, according to the results of a six-month trial conducted in Kenya” published Thursday in the Lancet, Reuters reports (Kelland, 8/3).
Washington Post Publishes Leadership Roundtable Opinion Pieces On Foreign Aid And Somalia
The Washington Post on Wednesday published a leadership roundtable on U.S. aid and Somalia, featuring the following five opinion pieces:
TrustLaw Publishes Special Report On Child Marriage
TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, on Thursday published a series of articles, infographics and videos in a special report on child marriage. According to the series homepage, “[e]very day, 25,000 girls under the age of 18 are married worldwide. For many child brides, a future of poverty, exploitation and poor health awaits” (8/4).
States Seek Medicaid Waivers, Wrestle With Funding Cuts
Oregon and Utah have waiver requests pending. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, dramatic state Medicaid cuts are leading to the sale of some hospitals. And, in Arizona, a judge will soon decide whether health coverage should be restored for some low-income state residents whose health insurance ceased as a result of budget cuts.
Viewpoints: ‘Real’ Medicare Cuts?; HIV/AIDS Prevention Push; Contraceptive Coverage
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Rates For Calif. Pre-Existing Condition Plans Drop By An Average Of 18%
The federal government approved the state’s plan to lower the rates in an effort to increase enrollment.
CDC: HIV Infection Rates Hold Steady Except Among Young Black Males
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while the overall number of people who are infected with HIV each year is relatively steady, but there was a 48 percent increase in the number of young HIV-infected African American men who have sex with men from 2006 to 2009.
State Roundup: Windfall For Mass. Hospitals
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
New Doc-Fix Plan Links Payment To Quality
Politco Pro reports that a proposal being considered by GOP staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee would address looming cuts with a pay-for-performance system.
Medicare’s Recovery Audit Contractor Program Collected $575.2 Million Since 2009
Modern Healthcare reports that between March and June of this year, the program brought in $233.4 million in overpayments.
Appeals Court Tosses Out Health Challenge Brought By New Jersey Docs
The opinion, which affirms the lower court’s finding, is also a reminder – according to CQ HealthBeat – that decisions still haven’t been announced in two other pending suits.
Speculation About Essential Benefits Package Takes Spotlight
As the Department of Health and Human Services works toward setting the specifics of an essential health benefits package – the minimum coverage that would be offered by plans participating in the exchanges – stakeholders are offering actuarial models and suggestions of what they think would be the best approach.
Longer Looks: Treating Down Syndrome?; Mentally Ill, Meds & Trials
Today’s selection includes articles from The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Economist, The Atlantic, National Review, American Medical News and Slate.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how lawmakers and lobbyists are lining up for the next phase of the deficit deal.
