Latest KFF Health News Stories
States Continue To Wrestle With Public Employee Health Benefits
Reports from Connecticut and Oregon detail ongoing negotiations between the state and unionized state employees. Proposed changes to health benefits play major roles in both situations.
Health Law Provisions Draw Compliments, Complaints
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is urging young voters to support the measure during the upcoming presidential campaign, and former President Bill Clinton said Democrats should have done better defending it in the mid-term election season.
Exploring Trends In The Doctor-Patient Relationship
News outlets report on recent developments – such as patients billing physicians for the time they spend waiting and how doctors are seeking help in dealing with difficult patients.
State Exchanges Get Mixed Progress Reports, Reviews
News outlets examine states’ progress in setting up exchanges and report on some of the issues emerging as the process moves forward.
Overhaul Opponents Find Traction In Ohio
Proponents say enough signatures have been gathered to bring a ballot question before the state’s voters this fall to decide whether the state constitution should be amended so that Ohio residents are not required to buy insurance.
Viewpoints: Debt Talks ‘Opportunity’; NY Times On Cancer Drugs; Calif. Insurance Rate Regs
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Obama Defends U.S. Foreign Aid Spending During Twitter Town Hall Meeting
“President Barack Obama on Wednesday held his first-ever ‘Town Hall’ meeting using the social media network Twitter, focusing on the U.S. economy and jobs,” VOA News reports (Robinson, 6/7).
Longer Looks: Oregon Program Builds On British Model
This week’s selections include American Medical News, National Review, Salon, Hospitals & Health Networks, Columbia Journalism Review, Governing and Time.
State Roundup: Calif. Psych Workers Seek More Security
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
California Lawmakers Advance Effort To Review Premium Increases
Bill wins support of key committee. Meanwhile, Politico reports that the federal government will likely review rate increases in 10 states.
India Will Continue To Produce Generic HIV Drugs, Commerce And Industry Minister Says
“India will not compromise on drug licensing norms and [will] continue to produce generic drugs for free treatment to HIV-positive patients, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said” on Wednesday, the IANS/Times of India reports.
Federal Appeals Court Rules Government Cannot Force Health Groups To Take Anti-Prostitution Pledge
“A federal appeals court has ruled that the United States cannot force partners in its international fight against AIDS to denounce prostitution as a condition for receiving funding,” the Associated Press reports. Three health organizations sued the government in 2005, saying some groups “advocate for a reduction in penalties for prostitution to prevent interference with outreach efforts,” according to the news agency (7/6).
UNHCR Says African Drought Threatens ‘Human Tragedy Of Unimaginable Proportions’
High rates of malnutrition in the Horn of Africa, combined with violence in Somali, “are threatening ‘a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions,’ the UNHCR warned” on Wednesday, the AFP/Daily Telegraph/Vancouver Sun reports. More than 12 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Uganda have been hit by severe drought and rising food prices, forcing thousands to leave their homes and seek assistance in already-overflowing refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, the newspaper notes (Flood, 7/7).
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about signs of progress in the debt-reduction talks and details of a new study that finds Medicaid makes a big difference in people’s lives.
Antibiotic Resistance Is Not A Priority In The U.S.
Author and journalist Maryn McKenna in her “Superbug” blog on Wired.com examines U.S. spending on drug-resistant pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). She examines data presented by Eli Perencevich of the University of Iowa and colleagues at the World HAI Forum, which looked at how much of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ budget went to the problem of drug-resistant diseases versus other infectious diseases. “They found the answer to be: Not very much,” she writes.
Obama Calls GOP And Dem Leaders To White House For Deficit Talks
As negotiations continue to heat up, health interests are also gearing up to protect against deep cuts and advance their positions.
Some States Slow In Implementing Health Insurance Exchanges
The Hill reports that the delays taking place in many states could put their legislatures at risk of handing over this aspect of the health overhaul to the federal government. Meanwhile, in a pair of articles, Politico revisits key political messages of the reform debate – “repeal and replace” as well as “death panels.” Finally, other news outlets report on the role some noteworthy people could have on the measure’s future: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Donald Berwick and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
