Health Care News and Research

RSS

State highlights: Calif. lawmaker seeks to re-fund mentally ill criminal program; Texas BCBS, HCA reach contract agreement

A selection of health policy stories from California and Texas.

23 Dec 2013

President takes blame with healthcare.gov but notes 'more than a million' new insured

News outlets highlighted health care aspects of President Barack Obama's news conference. More than one million Americans signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act during the first three weeks of December, including 500,000 through the federal exchange, President Barack Obama announced Friday.

23 Dec 2013

Poll finds very mixed views on morning-after pill; black/white breast cancer disparities widen

Several stories this morning examine tricky problems in women's health care.

23 Dec 2013

Alternative Quality Contract model improves quality of care for sickest pediatric patients

Within two years of implementation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' Alternative Quality Contract (AQC) had a small but significant positive effect on the quality of pediatric care, according to a new study from Boston Children's Hospital. The results were published online Dec. 23 in Pediatrics.

23 Dec 2013

Manchin says health law could be heading toward 'meltdown'

President Barack Obama's healthcare law could have a "meltdown" and make it difficult for his Democratic Party to keep control of the U.S. Senate next year if ongoing problems with the program are not resolved, a Democratic senator said on Sunday.

23 Dec 2013

Get ready to pay more for health coverage, but it may not be just health law's fault

Although many blame the health law for all recent health care cost increases, trends that bump up the cost of care were in place before the law was enacted and are being driven up even more by routine costs, some say.

23 Dec 2013

Researchers compare prescription drug costs between the U.S. and the U.K

The 2009 costs of antibiotics covered by private insurance companies in the U.S. for children younger than 10 years old were estimated to be more than five times higher than the costs in the United Kingdom (U.K.), which are covered by a government universal health plan.

23 Dec 2013

Report: Examine high-billing docs' Medicare billing to root out fraud

A report from the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general to be released Friday will call for closer scrutiny of doctors' total billing. Elsewhere, ProPublica looks at how ineffective federal oversight is in looking for fraud in Medicare prescribing.

23 Dec 2013

Medicaid expansion plans in Pa., Wis. under scrutiny

Pennsylvania advocates challenge the penalties and premium costs in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed Medicaid expansion plan. Meanwhile, more than 70,000 low-income Wisconsin adults would keep their state BadgerCare Plus coverage for three months and a larger and poorer group would wait the same 90 days to enter the program, under a GOP plan expected to become law in Wisconsin.

22 Dec 2013

States report surges in health plan sign-ups; California at the front of the pack

The increase has ranged from 30 percent to 40 percent, reports ABC News. In California, an estimated 50,000 people picked a health plan in the first week of December. News outlets also reported on the latest developments in Maryland, Oregon and Minnesota.

22 Dec 2013

Engineered immune cells show antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers

Engineered immune cells, called CARTmeso cells, designed to direct antitumor immune responses toward tumors that carry a protein called mesothelin, showed antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers that had not responded to prior treatments, according to a study published in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

22 Dec 2013

People with canceled plans exempted from insurance mandate

In addition, the administration said Thursday that those with canceled plans will be able to buy bare-bones catastrophic plans, regardless of their age, under a hardship exemption.

22 Dec 2013

Six common diseases arise from DNA changes, finds new research

Many rare disorders are caused by gene mutation, like sickle cell anemia. Yet until now the underlying genetic cause of more common conditions - for example, rheumatoid arthritis - has evaded scientists for years.

22 Dec 2013

Obama's aides stay on despite exhaustion, health law woes

President Obama's aides are largely staying attached to his administration to help bolster the President's approval ratings amid the health law's considerable problems. In the meantime, the law's proponents are pushing new ways of selling the law.

22 Dec 2013

Despite repairs to health website, concerns remain and lagging enrollment could create problems

The Associated Press examines concerns that young people may not sign up for coverage as part of the law, while other news organizations report on a new poll, some of the problems insurers face and security issues.

21 Dec 2013

500,000 with canceled health plans still lack coverage

An estimated 500,000 people who received cancellation notices have not yet signed up for new coverage, administration officials said Thursday. That's far fewer than the millions that health law critics said would lack insurance after their old policies were terminated because they didn't meet new standards under the health law.

21 Dec 2013

New MDA Endurance Program aims to find treatments and cures for muscle disease

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today announced the formation and launch of MDA Team Momentum, a new nationwide endurance program designed to help support MDA's mission to find treatments and cures for muscle disease.

20 Dec 2013

Study reveals that pharmacy staff misleads teens on emergency contraception

Despite the fact that emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after pill, has been available since 2003, many teens still face barriers to obtaining the medication, a safe and effective way to prevent up to 74 percent of pregnancies following the failure of birth control or after unprotected sex.

20 Dec 2013

Walgreen's net earnings increase $695M to 68.3% in fiscal 2014 first quarter

Walgreen Co. today announced earnings and sales results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014 ended Nov. 30. Net earnings determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the fiscal 2014 first quarter were $695 million, a 68.3 percent increase from $413 million in the year-ago quarter.

20 Dec 2013

Observation services in hospitals result in large medical bills, says study

Hospitals are increasingly placing patients too ill to be sent home but not sick enough to be admitted into observation services.

20 Dec 2013

Health Care News and Research

State highlights: Calif. lawmaker seeks to re-fund mentally ill criminal program; Texas BCBS, HCA reach contract agreement

President takes blame with healthcare.gov but notes 'more than a million' new insured

Poll finds very mixed views on morning-after pill; black/white breast cancer disparities widen

Alternative Quality Contract model improves quality of care for sickest pediatric patients

Manchin says health law could be heading toward 'meltdown'

Get ready to pay more for health coverage, but it may not be just health law's fault

Researchers compare prescription drug costs between the U.S. and the U.K

Report: Examine high-billing docs' Medicare billing to root out fraud

Medicaid expansion plans in Pa., Wis. under scrutiny

States report surges in health plan sign-ups; California at the front of the pack

Engineered immune cells show antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers

People with canceled plans exempted from insurance mandate

Six common diseases arise from DNA changes, finds new research

Obama's aides stay on despite exhaustion, health law woes

Despite repairs to health website, concerns remain and lagging enrollment could create problems

500,000 with canceled health plans still lack coverage

New MDA Endurance Program aims to find treatments and cures for muscle disease

Study reveals that pharmacy staff misleads teens on emergency contraception

Walgreen's net earnings increase $695M to 68.3% in fiscal 2014 first quarter

Observation services in hospitals result in large medical bills, says study

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

Latest News