Latest KFF Health News Stories
Providers, Patients Worry About Debt Deal
Though the initial phase of the debt deal doesn’t include immediate provider cuts, analysts say the next phase – the work of the’super committee’ – could make significant reductions in spending for entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid. Even some elements of the health law and scientific research could be on the chopping block.
Research Roundup: Hospitalists & Health Costs; Treating Substance Abuse
This week’s studies come from Health Affairs, The Journal Of General Internal Medicine, The Journal Of Cancer Survivorship and The Annals Of Internal Medicine.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that the cost of premiums for Medicare’s prescription drug program won’t rise in 2012.
Famine Declared In Three More Regions Of Somalia
“The famine gripping parts of southern Somalia has spread to three new areas of the country, with the entire south likely to be declared a famine zone within the next six weeks, the United Nations said on Wednesday,” Reuters reports (Mohamed, 8/3).
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.
