Today's early morning highlights from major news organizations, including a number of stories detail health law implementation developments.
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Doctors and others await the dissemination of better price and quality information and details of "compliance programs" that doctors will be required to roll out.
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Joseph Ashwal, MD, knew a good deal when he saw one. … The program -- the Total Care and Cost Improvement Program -- has been a game-changer for Ashwal and his practice, Frederick Primary Care Associates, yielding more than a 20 percent increase in payments from CareFirst last summer for the group's success during 2011 in lowering spending by keeping patients out of the hospital and emergency departments.
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CNN reports that the White House and Republicans are preparing for an "epic battle" over the selling of Obamacare tied to the opening of online insurance marketplaces Oct. 1. Other news outlets describe how GOP lawmakers are increasingly calling for an independent probe of HHS Secretary Sebelius.
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The new health care law is injecting more competition into health insurance markets nationwide, drawing additional insurance companies into states long dominated by a few carriers, Obama administration officials said Thursday. Such competition offers the prospect of more choices for millions of consumers who will be shopping for insurance this fall. Companies entering the market could also put downward pressure on prices, partly offsetting factors that tend to increase premiums (Pear, 5/30).
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Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from the administration about the number of insurers that will be offering policies on the new online marketplaces.
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Meanwhile, Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown seeks to expand Medi-Cal and New Hampshire lawmakers set up a fight over the expansion.
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California lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow nurse practitioners to practice more independently amid worries over a shortage of health care providers. The bill would allow the practitioners to have stand-alone practices, among other things.
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News outlets report how Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has become a "lightning rod" for criticism as the administration's central player responsible for implementing the high-stakes law.
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The New York Times reports that partisan gridlock will likely prevent Congress from making even small adjustments. Meanwhile, a CNN poll finds that a majority of Americans continue to oppose the measure, which adds to the Obama administration's challenge of selling it to the public.
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Comprehensive Care Corporation, a leading behavioral health, substance abuse and pharmacy management provider for employers, Taft-Hartley health and welfare funds, and managed care companies, announced today that its Chairman and CEO, Clark A. Marcus , has been named to the Board of Directors of "America's Agenda: Health Care for All."
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A survey of almost 22,000 admitted patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center found patient preference to participate in decision making concerning their care was associated with a longer length of stay and higher total hospitalization costs, according to a report published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
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News outlets report that as the health law comes closer to full implementation in 2014, the political parties are far apart and likely to stay there, which could affect who gets coverage and how.
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In recognition of May as National Sleep Awareness month, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's ongoing awareness campaign to address chronic disease in the workplace is focusing on the impact of sleep disorders on worker health and productivity.
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The monthly cost for policies sold on the state-run exchange came in lower than the 30 percent rate increases some had anticipated, though some consumers will still experience sharply higher premiums. Blue Shield of California estimated that current customers would see rate increases of about 13 percent.
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The Hill reports that unnamed insurance industry sources say they feel that Enroll America, the non-profit group raising funds to support outreach to the uninsured, is "just an arm of the administration." In a separate story, The Hill notes new research concluding the trend toward part-time work and reduced health benefits began before the overhaul.
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USA Today reports this optimisitic view is offered by some industry analysts and health insurance officials. Meanwhile, Politico does a status check on the legal challenges to the health law's birth control mandate. News reports also track the latest regarding the Internal Revenue Service controversy and the overhaul.
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A poll by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found popular support for this and other health law provisions in five southern states despite the conservative political climate. Meanwhile, expansion supporters are strategizing about their next moves in states where they have not been successful.
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We have done it. We have decreased the increase in the cost of healthcare. ... Is this decline the desperately needed bend in the healthcare cost curve or just the impact of the depressed economy? ... A slower growth of healthcare cost would mean less burden on the individual family, freeing that family to invest in and live a higher quality of life.
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The members of Congress are questioning Sebelius' efforts to solicit funds for Enroll America, which is trying to help get people signed up for benefits under the federal health law.
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