Latest KFF Health News Stories
Proposed Cuts In Medicare Pay Increase Access-To-Care Concerns
CBS News reports on how the combined impact of various proposals to reduce Medicare spending could limit patient access to physicians and health care.
NPR: IPAB Inspires Antipathy Across Party Lines
Although most agree that slowing the growth of Medicare spending is key to solving the deficit problem, the health law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board continues to draw criticism.
If Berwick Exits, Is Quality Care ‘In Jeopardy?’
The National Journal explores this issue, noting that Donald Berwick’s term as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator will end in December.
U.N. Officials Highlight Concern About Humanitarian Situation In East Africa
“U.N. officials sounded the alarm Tuesday about a deepening crisis in East Africa, saying they are struggling to cope with the number of people on the move in the region because of the severe drought and continued fighting in Somalia,” the Associated Press reports. “World Food Program Executive Director Josette Sheeran said the drought has left millions hungry, farmers at risk of losing their livelihoods and the lives of hundreds of thousands of children at risk,” the AP writes (7/12).
Budget Talks: Partisan Divisions Become More Entrenched
Included in the negotiations are proposals that would trim more than $350 billion from the federal Medicare and Medicaid health programs. Much of that would come from Medicare, where Republicans proposed to squeeze $246 billion in savings by reductions in payments for home health care, as well as increasing co-payments for laboratory services.
Gilead Becomes First Company To License Drugs To Medicines Patent Pool
“In the first agreement between a pharmaceutical company and the new international Medicines Patent Pool, Gilead Sciences announced Tuesday that it would license four of its AIDS and hepatitis B drugs to the pool,” the New York Times reports (McNeil, 7/12).
BRICS Health Ministers Agree To Improve Access To Low-Cost Medicines
Health ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in Beijing “on Monday vowed to improve access to low-cost and high-quality medicine
Donors Should Continue To Provide AIDS Funding To China, UNAIDS Head Says
Cutting AIDS funding to China will “be a big mistake for a donor and particularly, for anyone who’s invested in China today, … for the simple reason that this funding is a catalytic fund,” UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
NIH Grants $70M Over Five Years To Help Search For HIV Cure
NIH announced on Monday it will provide $70 million over five years to three collaborations searching for an HIV/AIDS cure, making it “the largest single investment yet … into finding a way to rid the virus from the body or at least reduce levels to the point that infected people can stop taking anti-HIV drugs
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the new HHS rule on health exchanges and how its nod to state flexibility may help states move forward.
Officials Say The Exchange Rule Includes Flexibility For States
Stakeholders will have 75 days to comment, and the final regulations will be released later this year. Read KHN’s summary of today’s news coverage for more details and insights regarding the rule.
Type-3 Poliovirus Case In Pakistan Raises Concerns Disease May Spread, WHO Says
Pakistan has reported the first case of the type-3 wild poliovirus in six months, raising concerns that the disease may spread to other parts of Asia and beyond, the WHO said on Thursday, Bloomberg/San Francisco Chronicle reports. “Confirmation of continuation of WPV3 transmission in tribal areas of Pakistan has significant implications for the global effort to eradicate WPV3, particularly as Asia is on the verge of eliminating circulation of this strain,” the WHO said on its website.
Governors Oppose Medicaid Cuts In Debt-Ceiling Efforts
One approach being discussed would lower federal payments to states for Medicaid and the CHIP program – which an analysis says would lead to even more budget burdens for already cash-strapped states.
NY Times: Medical Schools Are Adjusting Their Interest In ‘People Skills’
Traditionally, medical schools haven’t done much to train future doctors to behave well – but that is changing.
Health IT Could Give Seniors Independence
In this pair of articles, news outlets report on how technology is playing a role in health care.
News Outlets Report On Health Landscape In South Sudan
Al Jazeera reports on the public health situation in South Sudan, which gained its independence on Saturday, and profiles Juba Teaching Hospital, the new country’s largest medical center. “A lack of proper primary care facilities in South Sudan means the doctors here are often overworked: Many of the doctors at the hospital come to work seven days a week,” Al Jazeera writes. “The health ministry has plans to open a network of primary care centers
Viewpoints: N.Y. Health Exchange Stalemate; Dick Cheney’s Heart; Vaccine Debate Refuses To Die
A selection of editorials and opinions from around the country.
State Roundup: Recurring SustiNet Rumors In Conn.
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
