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Oregon Gov. pursues lawsuit against Oracle

Gov. John Kitzhaber asks the state attorney general to start legal proceedings against the company that was paid $130 million to build the state's online exchange, which never functioned properly.

31 May 2014

CMS says it won't review billings despite IG report that it overpays doctors

The move comes even as a report points at $6.7 billion in overspending in Medicare. The HHS inspector general also says that the program paid $457 million in 2012 to detect drugs after a sharp increase in prescription drug abuse.

31 May 2014

Va. Senate Republican offers proposal on Medicaid impasse

State Sen. Emmett Hanger seeks a compromise on the issue that threatens to shut down the state government because it has deadlocked negotiations on the budget.

31 May 2014

Medtronic settles whistleblower case for $9.9 million

Suit accused the medical device maker of giving doctors gifts in return for using its products. Elsewhere, a federal judge denied dismissal of a lawsuit against Novartis alleging a kickback campaign to boost its drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

31 May 2014

Researchers make headway in fabricating blood vessels using 3D bioprinting technique

The tangled highway of blood vessels that twists and turns inside our bodies, delivering essential nutrients and disposing of hazardous waste to keep our organs working properly has been a conundrum for scientists trying to make artificial vessels from scratch.

31 May 2014

VA scandal becomes issue in Congressional campaigns

As probes of Veterans Affairs hospitals continue, Democratic and Republican candidates are pointing fingers and attempting to find political advantage in the controversy.

31 May 2014

Discontinuing statins in patients with advanced illnesses improves quality of life

People in the late stages of cancer and other terminal illnesses are not only unharmed by discontinuing statins for cholesterol management, they may benefit, according to a study presented Friday by researchers at Duke Medicine representing a national research network.

31 May 2014

Sticker shock marks newly insured's health law coverage

Also, federal regulators ponder if e-cigarettes are considered tobacco use -- allowing insurers to charge more in premiums to their users. And one Texas family's Obamacare opt-out story.

31 May 2014

Most Americans say health law has not affected them

Among those who report being impacted, Republicans are much more likely to say they know someone who has been hurt by the law, while Democrats are more likely to say their families have been helped, according to The Kaiser Family Foundation's monthly tracking poll.

31 May 2014

Wait times of 115 days, hidden patient lists detailed in independent report on VA hospitals

The inspector general's preliminary findings reveal that 1,700 patients at the veterans center in Phoenix were not on the official waiting list and that the average wait for new patients who did get appointments was nearly four months.

30 May 2014

First Edition: May 30, 2014

Today's headlines include the latest reports about the problems with the VA health system. Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Rovner reports: "It's not just veterans who are having trouble with health care.

30 May 2014

State highlights: Complaint says Fla. plans tried to keep out AIDS patients; Ill. restores some Medicaid services; Fla. Gov. to sue feds

Four Florida insurance companies offering Affordable Care Act policies are discriminating against people with HIV or AIDS, according to two health-rights organizations that plan to file a formal complaint with the federal government Thursday.

30 May 2014

Viewpoints: Michelle Obama and school lunches; more about the VA health system 'scandal'; context and caution on Medicare's physician data release

When we began our Let's Move! initiative four years ago, we set one simple but ambitious goal: to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation so that kids born today will grow up healthy.

30 May 2014

Dentists’ awareness can improve oral health of scleroderma patients

A survey of dentists in Massachusetts suggests that their confidence in treating patients with scleroderma may be related to their familiarity with the autoimmune disease.

30 May 2014

California shootings revive debate over involuntary commitment

A bill in the House, which would make it easier for family members and authorities to force people to be treated, is giving some lawmakers pause, while NPR reports how counties in California have been slow to adopt a 2002 state law that gives authorities the ability to mandate outpatient mental health care for people who have been refusing it.

30 May 2014