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Surgeons report safer method to replace bone removed from skull after lifesaving brain surgery

Johns Hopkins surgeons report they have devised a better, safer method to replace bone removed from the skull after lifesaving brain surgery. The new technique, they say, appears to result in fewer complications than standard restoration, which has changed little since its development in the 1890s.

4 Feb 2014

Organized labor, chamber of commerce makes clear where they stand on the health law

Labor union leaders say the Obama administration's refusal to help with health law provisions they view as unsatisfactory is undermining their support for this year's midterm elections. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is looking at ways to fix, rather than repeal, the overhaul.

4 Feb 2014

New prospective payment system contributes to improved patient choice, quality of care and costs

AcademyHealth today awarded its Health Services Research (HSR) Impact Award to work that contributed to the development of a prospective payment system that contributed to improved patient choice and quality of care, and reduced costs in the treatment of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

4 Feb 2014

Report: 5 states, including Texas, are Anti-Obamacare diehards

The report by researchers at Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms looked at which states declined to implement the law's major components. Meanwhile, conservative Kansas lawmakers push to sever their state from the law's authority and Indiana residents are slow to enroll in new insurance.

4 Feb 2014

Findings may help doctors personalize preterm birth prevention treatments

New research findings may soon help doctors personalize preterm birth prevention treatments by identifying which women at higher risk for preterm birth will be helped by progesterone injections.

4 Feb 2014

New guidelines recommend screening mammography every 2 years for women ages 50 to 74

Adoption of new guidelines recommending screening mammography every two years for women ages 50 to 74 would result in breast cancer screening that is equally effective, while saving the United States $4.3 billion a year in health care costs, according to a study led by UC San Francisco.

4 Feb 2014

Kentucky, Georgia offer insights to health law realities

The Washington Post and Kaiser Health News examine how the overhaul is working on the ground in specific locations.

4 Feb 2014

Administration looks at ways to ensure health care continuity

Meanwhile, tens of thousands are unable to appeal enrollment errors and a little-known provision of the law extends coverage to former foster kids until they turn 26.

4 Feb 2014

Innovation Center's methods under the microscope

The idea seemed transformative. The Affordable Care Act would fund a new research outfit evocatively named the Innovation Center to discover how to most effectively deliver health care, with $10 billion to spend over a decade.

4 Feb 2014

GOP candidates to campaign on state exchange glitches

Republican candidates in states that have had troubled exchange rollouts plan to campaign on those problems in gubernatorial and state legislative races later this year, reports The New York Times. Other news outlets report on developments in Kentucky, Oregon, Rhode Island, Maryland, Minnesota, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

3 Feb 2014

New book shows couples how to lose weight and stay healthy

After analyzing thousands of hours of video recordings of married couples talking with each other about their health, two UCLA psychology professors were shocked by what they saw.

3 Feb 2014

Putnam Hospital Center recognized with CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation

Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel, NY, is leading by example when it comes to promoting healthy lifestyle choices and encouraging workplace wellness. The CEO Roundtable on Cancer has accredited Putnam Hospital Center with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard recognizing the firm's efforts to reduce the risk of cancer for its employees and covered family members by establishing programs to reduce cancer risk, encouraging early detection through cancer screenings, and ensuring access to quality treatment.

3 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 3, 2014

Today's headlines include a range of stories about how the health law is working in different locations across the country.

3 Feb 2014

Mylan launches trastuzumab biosimilar for treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL), one of the world's leading generic and specialty pharmaceutical companies, today announced that its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, has launched the world's first trastuzumab biosimilar in India.

3 Feb 2014

Obama says 'main priority' on health law is improving web site

President Barack Obama faced questions Sunday on Obamacare, Benghazi and the IRS's targeting of conservative groups during a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and dismissed much of the criticism of him as ginned up by the cable news channel. ... Asked if the "biggest mistake" of his presidency was his claim that Americans who liked their health insurance plans would be able to keep that coverage, Obama nudged his interviewer.

3 Feb 2014

Cantor says House GOP will offer health law alternative

The end of the Affordable Care Act is within sight, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says, outlining Republican plans to propose health care legislation later this year. "In my opinion, Obamacare is on borrowed time," the Virginia Republican said in an interview for Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation."

3 Feb 2014

ACOs' efforts to coordinate patient care saved $380 million, Medicare officials report

In their first results of the heralded program -- which was set up in the health law -- federal officials say about half of the accountable care organizations slowed spending but few met the requirements to qualify for bonuses.

31 Jan 2014

Why employers may eye health law exchange plans

Premiums for plans sold through the online marketplaces are lower, across the board, than the average premiums for the majority of Americans with work-based coverage, according to a report by PwC's Health Research Institute. Meanwhile, California lawmakers criticize the hiring of people with criminal records to be insurance counselors and labor leaders continue to complain the law will undermine coverage for their members.

31 Jan 2014

Cleveland Browns makes University Hospitals as official health care partner

Today, the Cleveland Browns made official the partnership that makes University Hospitals in Cleveland the official health care partner of the Cleveland Browns for the next 10 years.

31 Jan 2014

Report finds that health exchange insurance purchases are a good deal; HealthCare.gov has new section

A new PricewaterhouseCoopers report finds that the average premium on an exchange is lower than the average premium of an employer-sponsored health plan. Meanwhile, the federal health online marketplace has added a new section to allow consumers who have already signed up for insurance to report life changes. Finally, news outlets provide updates on state exchanges in California, Hawaii, Connecticut, Maryland and Minnesota.

31 Jan 2014