Latest KFF Health News Stories
Feds Tussle With Illinois Over State Medicaid Fraud Bill
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has blocked a state law designed to eliminate potential fraud in Illinois’ Medicaid system by requiring recipients to prove they live in the state and have low incomes.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including updates on the deficit talks, new public opinion polls and health law implementation issues.
HIV Vaccine Discovery Requires ‘Open Mind’
In response to Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson’s July 5 piece in which he highlighted several scientific “breakthroughs” in the search for an AIDS vaccine, Robert Gallo, director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, writes in a Post letter to the editor, “Although Mr. Gerson correctly noted that these discoveries are unrelated, he misperceived their relative significance.”
First U.N. Emergency Airlift Arrives In Nairobi To Provide Drought Aid
“The first U.N. emergency airlift flight arrived in” Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on Sunday, “to assist the hundreds of thousands of Somalis who have fled the drought and famine afflicting their homeland,” ABC News reports (Hasan, 7/17). The jet, which was chartered by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), delivered 100 tons of tents meant for the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, the U.N. News Centre writes. An additional four flights are scheduled to arrive in Nairobi this week (7/17).
USAID Working With International Community To Respond To Drought In East Africa
“Since October 2010, the U.S. Government has provided more than $383 million worth of assistance, including 314,000 metric tons of food,” to countries in the eastern Horn of Africa region, where “[m]ore than 4.1 million people have benefitted from this help,” Donald Steinberg, USAID deputy administrator, writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece.
USAID Must Overcome Legal Hurdle To Providing Humanitarian Aid In Somalia
Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s office said the U.S. is willing to provide humanitarian aid to Somalia, where the militant group al-Shabab controls parts of the country, but “[i]n reality, her hands are tied by paperwork,” Eliza Griswold, author and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, writes in a Daily Beast opinion piece.
Health Experts Continue To React To CIA’s Use Of Vaccine Program To Hunt Bin Laden
Health experts continue to react to the CIA’s use of a vaccine campaign to hunt Osama bin Laden:
UNAIDS’ Sidibe Calls For Increased Access To HIV Drugs At IAS Conference Opening
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe on Sunday at the opening of the 6th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome “called … for an increase in access to drugs that help treat or prevent the spread of the disease, saying it is ‘morally wrong’ to keep millions of people off lifesaving medication,” the Associated Press/Boston Globe reports (7/18).
Researchers Closer To Developing Meningitis B Vaccine
“New research may bring scientists one step closer to developing a vaccine that protects against hundreds of strains of meningococcus B, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis,” according to research published last week in Science Translational Medicine, HealthDay News reports. Researchers used methods that allowed them to identify the most effective vaccine candidate, technology that could be used to develop vaccines for malaria and AIDS, the news service notes (7/15).
Viewpoints: NYT On Medicaid’s Value; WSJ Against Exchanges; Chicago Tribune On Food Deserts
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
FBI Struggles To Uncover Health Care Scammers Who Flee For Cuba
McClatchy reports on the high number of Cuban fugitives who evade trial by leaving American shores and heading south.
Minorities Get Help Acccessing Mental Health Care
The Detroit Free Press reports on some of the specific challenges in play and the steps being taken to get past them.
NPR reports on an AARP study that finds that, although familty caregivers are doing a lot to help society, they need more help themselves.
IPAB Continues To Draw Repeal Talk
Health exchanges, accountable care organizations, high-risk pools and waivers are among health law hot topics also attracting headlines.
Swaziland’s King Mswati Urges Men To Get Circumcised To Prevent HIV Infection
Swaziland’s King Mswati III on Friday called on men in the kingdom to get circumcised to help reduce their risk of contracting HIV, Agence France-Presse reports. “Urging his nation to ‘take care of your lives
State Roundup: Strain Felt From Home Care, Adult Day Care Cuts
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Medicaid ‘Vulnerable’ In Deficit Talks
The latest GOP proposal being floated in the House exposes Medicaid to heavy cuts because of the plan’s cap on federal spending. Meanwhile, some advocates question the commitment of some Democrats to defending the program.
Capitol Hill Prepares For Politically Charged Votes On Debt Limit
With the deadline just about two weeks away, lawmakers continue to struggle to reach an agreement surrounding the effort to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.
Health Programs Among Moving Parts In Debt-Deal Negotiations
President Barack Obama has signaled that he is open to changes in Medicare and Social Security. Meanwhile, hospitals raise the ire of some lawmakers because of ads designed to protect health program spending, and drug makers are put on notice.
