Latest KFF Health News Stories
Boston Health Organizations Plan Merger
Partners HealthCare and Neighborhood Health Plan sign letter of intent for merger. In other hospital issues, Parkland Hospital In Dallas is in danger of losing Medicare accreditation and Conn. regulators are criticized.
First Edition: August 12, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the full roster of the ‘super committee’ and how the GOP field of presidential hopefuls is faring in Iowa.
Experts Troubled By Global Rise In C-Section Rates
Almost one-third of infants in the U.S. are delivered by caesarean section (c-section), a trend that is now growing globally, PRI’s The World/PBS NewsHour reports. “The c-section rate in Thailand has reached 34 percent, in Vietnam, it is 36 percent, and in China, nearly half of all births are by c-section,” the article states.
ICRC Campaign Addresses Humanitarian Issue Of Health Care Security In Conflict Situations
“This week the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launches a global campaign
Rise of NCDs Is ‘Growing But Under-Addressed Challenge’ In Developed And Developing Countries
“The rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)” is “a growing but under-addressed challenge in both the developed and developing world,” Jean-Luc Butel, executive vice president and group president for Medtronic’s international operations, writes in a Muskegon Chronicle opinion piece. “[S]hifting demographics, lifestyles and environmental factors in places like China and India have led to a dramatic increase in NCDs,” he writes, adding that “[e]stimates suggest NCDs will account for three out of every four deaths globally by 2030.”
GOP Deficit Panel Roster Set: What Are The Chances For A Deal?
Top Republicans have named their choices from the House and Senate to serve on the ‘super committee.’ These six lawmakers now join three Senate Democrats on the list – leaving only House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s picks unknown.
What Will The Panelists Bring To The ‘Super Committee’ Negotiations?
News outlets report on the personalities and records of the people who have been named to the deficit panel, and attempt to handicap how their politics could play into the deficit-reduction dynamics.
Spread Of Polio In Pakistan Threatening Goal Of Eradication
With 63 cases of polio diagnosed in Pakistan this year, nearly double the number recorded in the same time period 2010, the U.N. “says that these findings suggest Pakistan could be the ‘last polio reservoir worldwide’
NPR Examines How Religious Beliefs Influence Family Planning In Pakistan
NPR’s “All Things Considered” on Wednesday examined how Islam influences health and family planning decisions in Pakistan, one of Asia’s fastest-growing populations. In Pakistan, mullahs generally regard contraception as sin, a high rate of illiteracy among women undermines family planning and a lack of access to adequate health care contributes to a high maternal mortality rate, according to the piece, which profiles a mufti, a physician and two families making very different decisions about the size of their families (McCarthy, 8/10).
Rising Food Prices In East Africa Exacerbating Food Shortages, Famine, FAO Says
“The prices of grain and milk in the drought-hit Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have risen to record highs, exacerbating hardship for the estimated 12.4 million people in the region who are facing severe food shortages and famine in some parts of Somalia,” according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s August food price monitor, the U.N. News Centre reports (8/10).
State Roundup: Debt Deal And States; Ariz. Judge Appoves Medicaid Plan
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
WHO Declares End To Global Swine Flu Pandemic
“The World Health Organization is declaring an end to the global swine flu pandemic,” the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan “said Wednesday the pandemic is considered over by WHO’s emergency committee due to global factors and reports from several nations” and because “the new H1N1 virus has largely run its course,” according to the news agency.
Renewed Focus On Veterans’ Coverage Gap
McClatchy reports on how the recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has raised the attention on veterans who have suffered some form of traumatic brain injury.
GAO: What’s Behind Increase In Federal Workers’ Long-Term Care Coverage
Modern Healthcare reports on what the Government Accountability Office found in its investigation of what was behind the 2009 premium increase.
N.Y. Revoking Medicaid From One Clinic Network
The N.Y. Health Department moves against a network of clinics run by a former N.Y. state senator while federal officials threaten to cut off funds to a well-known public hospital in Texas. In other hospital news, Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital system in New Hampshire announces buy-outs as it tries to deal with a $96 million deficit, and nurses at a nonprofit hospital in Quincy, Mass., object to the proposal to sell the facility to a for-profit company.
Longer Looks: A Break For Sleep-Deprived Docs; Gruber Profile
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web.
Feeling The Budget Squeeze, Some States Reduce Kids’ Access To Care
According to the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, a majority of state-level changes to Medicaid this year reduced benefits or reimbursement rates for children’s services.
Issa Seeks Answers About HHS Waiver Process
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking information about the process used by the Department of Health and Human Services to grant health law waivers. He also is asking questions about why the waivers will be ending.
