Latest KFF Health News Stories
Some news outlets report that “what goes around comes around” as many House Republicans are being reminded of the last election’s raucous town hall meetings – this time, though, they are in the hot seat. Meanwhile, members of the GOP freshmen class have asked the White House to condemn liberal attacks on the Medicare proposal advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Medicaid Flexibility Bill Approved By House Subcommittee
The measure, which Medicaid advocates say would “devastate the program,” would repeal the maintenance of effort provision in the health law which prevents states from cutting eligibility rules before 2014.
Research Roundup: Medicare Costs In Nursing Homes; Health Law And Access To Care
Today’s studies come from The Commonwealth Fund, the National Academy of State Health Policy, the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Center for Studying Health Systems Change and UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research.
Quake, Tsunami Transform Japan Into Major Aid Recipient
“Until a few months ago Japan was the world’s fifth biggest aid donor, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), lending or giving away $9.5bn a year,” the Guardian reports. But the recent earthquake and tsunami have transformed the country “into a leading destination for international charity. In two months it has received what the Democratic Republic of the Congo is given in a year,” according to the article.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including details of Mitt Romney’s major health care speech as well as the latest updates on the debt limit and budget talks and the outlook for Medicare’s future.
Romney Confronts His Political Weakness: The Mass. Health Law
He offered no apologies for the Massachusetts law that was enacted while he was governor and expressed his support giving states the flexibility to create their own health care solutions.
Jamaican Organizations Will Receive PEPFAR Grants To Fight HIV/AIDS Stigma
Five Jamaican organizations on Tuesday signed agreements with the U.S. Ambassador’s HIV Program to receive PEPFAR-funded grants totaling $58,000 for projects aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, the Jamaica Observer reports.
OPINION: Three-Pronged Approach Needed To Fight Malaria
After lauding the recent successes in fighting malaria, Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC), writes in the Huffington Post, “A closer look provides a valuable reminder that sustained gains against malaria must be built upon a three-legged ‘stool’ that that includes 1) delivery of existing interventions, 2) operational research to improve delivery systems, and 3) research and development of new tools for control, prevention, and treatment” (5/10).
OPINION: Ending Female Genital Mutilation
“Is it cultural imperialism for Westerners to oppose [female] genital mutilation? Yes, perhaps, but it’s also justified. … But it is clear that the most effective efforts against genital mutilation are grass-roots initiatives by local women working for change from within a culture,” Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times column, which describes in detail “the most extreme form of genital mutilation” (5/11).
With Speech, Romney To Confront Health Reform Politics
Mitt Romney will deliver a speech today in which he will confront his biggest political vulnerability: the fact that the state health reform he signed into law as governor is often considered a prototype for the federal health law.
GOP Feels Heat Over Medicare Budget Votes, Seek To Craft New Message
GOP lawmakers hope to get back on the Medicare offensive. Ads will begin airing later this week that target a Democrat from Northern California, but some say the party needs to focus on a long-term strategy to regain its footing in this debate. Meanwhile, some House Democrats are pointing to a special congressional election in New York as proof that House Republican’s Medicare vote is backfiring.
House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) released a 2012 budget plan on Wednesday that would cut federal spending levels by $30 billion compared with current levels, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan “calls for cutting virtually every area of the federal government. The one exception would be defense spending” (Boles, 5/11).
PBS’ NewsHour Reports On Ukraine’s Efforts To Fight HIV/AIDS
PBS’ NewsHour on Wednesday featured a story on HIV/AIDS in the Ukraine, which has the region’s highest HIV/AIDS rate, increasing fears that the epidemic could spread to neighboring countries.
AP Reports On Global Fund Commitment To Transparency, Fund Responds
AP reports Global Fund is looking at scaling down transparency measures, Global Fund releases statement.
More Than 1,100 Women Raped Every Day In The Congo, Study Finds
More than 1,100 women are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a study published on Tuesday in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Agence France-Presse reports.
WHO Launches Decade Of Action For Road Safety
The WHO on Wednesday in Geneva officially launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 to raise awareness of and reduce the number of traffic-related deaths and injuries worldwide, the Washington Post reports (Brown, 5/11).
OPINION: Haiti’s Cholera Epidemic Endures
“The United Nations’ overall appeal to respond to the [Haiti cholera] epidemic, for $175 million, is 48 percent financed. Haiti’s continuing health emergency may have been overlooked in a crush of world events, but while the sick and dying are waiting for the world to respond, the disease is not,” a New York Times editorial states (5/10).
Longer Looks: Conservatives Vs. Liberals On Medicare – Who’s Winning?
This week’s selections come from Slate, The Nation, Time, The Atlantic, The New Republic and Governing.
Milliman Study Finds Health Costs Really Are Increasing
The consulting firm Milliman Inc. found that health care costs for a family of four rose again in 2011.
Census Data: The Age Gap Is Growing, Sharpening Political Divide
The age gap among regions in the U.S. has grown to its widest in decades. In some areas, the trend will increase pressure on already stretched budgets that provide services for the aging.
