First Edition: September 29, 2010

In today's headlines, reports about the continuing politics surrounding the health overhaul, as both parties vie for the loyalty of older voters and First Lady Michelle Obama steps up efforts to promote the new law.

New 'Innovation' Chief Comes From 'Model' Health Care System
Kaiser Health News staff writers Mary Agnes Carey and Christopher Weaver report: "Dr. Richard Gilfillan, the new acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, has quite a juggling act to perform, says Gail Wilensky" (Kaiser Health News).

Parties Heighten Their Pitch To Seniors
Democrats and Republicans are waging an intense fight for the loyalties of older voters, who turn out reliably in midterm elections and whose fears have been stoked this year by the battle over health care (The Wall Street Journal).

More Options For Seniors With High Drug Costs
Seniors with high drug costs will soon have more options to help them cope with Medicare's prescription coverage gap (The Associated Press).

First Lady Promotes Health Care Law
First lady Michelle Obama helped promote her husband's health care reform policy Tuesday, participating in a conference call to highlight the benefits available to patients under the new law (Politico).

Regence To Stop Selling Child-Only Health Plans
Regence BlueShield announced Tuesday that it will stop selling new child-only individual insurance policies by the end of this week (The Associated Press).

Report: Indian Health Service Hired Criminals
The federal Indian Health Service has hired convicted criminals, failed to stop employees from stealing narcotics and allowed workers to take paid leave for more than a year while being investigated for misconduct, a federal investigation has found (The Associated Press).

Court Lets Stem-Cell Funds Flow For Now
A federal appeals court said Tuesday the Obama administration can continue to fund embryonic stem-cell research, reversing for the time being a trial judge's injunction barring the funding (The Wall Street Journal).

Court Lets Stem Cell Funding Continue
A federal appeals courts Tuesday ruled that the federal government can continue funding human embryonic stem cell research pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's new policies on the controversial field of science (The Washington Post).

Stem Cell Research Can Continue Throughout Appeal, Court Says
Government-funded research on embryonic stem cells can continue, a U.S. appellate court said Tuesday, while lawyers appeal a judge's decision that found such research illegal (Los Angeles Times).

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