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White House will delay W-2 insurance reporting requirement, other health reform news

CongressDaily reports that the Obama administration announced Tuesday it will delay for one year a provision of the health law that requires employers to report the value of an employee's health plan on tax forms. The White House says the extra time is necessary to give employers time to prepare to comply with the requirement. "Under the overhaul law, all employers who provide health insurance are required to include the information on workers' tax forms after 2010.

14 Oct 2010

Planned Parenthood launches campaign for free contraceptives as part of health law

NPR's Shots blog reports that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is joining Planned Parenthood on a campaign to allow free prescription contraceptives as part of the health reform law.

14 Oct 2010

Health care workforce faces strains, shifts

Kaiser Health News / NPR "Last year, half of new doctors were hired by hospitals, according to the Medical Group Management Association, a professional organization for physician practices. According to a 2009 report by the American Medical Association, one in six doctors works for a hospital, and the number is quickly growing.

14 Oct 2010

Anger, seniors and Ad campaigns: Health reform politics

A poll released Tuesday shows most seniors in Medicare's prescription drug benefit program don't know that the health law "closes Part D's coverage gap," The Hill's Healthwatch blog reports.

14 Oct 2010

Today's Opeds: Individual mandate in court, on ballot and in campaigns

The first federal court decision on the constitutionality of the new health care reform law upheld its validity and dealt a well-deserved setback to opponents who are trying to overturn it.

14 Oct 2010

NHS bonuses under scanner

The NHS bonus scheme is being criticized. The scheme originated in 1948 when the NHS was created. They are available to consultants and are designed to reward excellence in research, teaching and, of course, clinical care.

13 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 13, 2010

Today's early morning highlights from major news organizations looks at the number of people denied health coverage by major insurers, arguments before the Supreme Court on the right to sue vaccine makers, concerns about the FDA's plans on reviewing medical devices and doctors moving from private practice to hospital work.

13 Oct 2010

KHN column: Changes wrought by health reform? Well, maybe not.

In his latest KHN column, Jonathan Cohn writes: "So far, the big McDonald's controversy is turning out to be a big nothingburger. ... But that hasn't stopped the McDonald's story from becoming propaganda in the campaign to discredit and, eventually, repeal health care reform" (10/13).

13 Oct 2010

IOM report recommends sweeping changes for improving the nursing profession

Still hampered by workforce shortages and barriers that impede their ranks from delivering health care to the full extent of their education and training, nurses may have gotten the much-needed shot in the arm they need to transform their profession with the release of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report recommending sweeping changes for improving their profession.

13 Oct 2010

Some states snub health reform; in others, election will decide fate of law's implementation

Politico reports that races at the state level could affect the health law more than congressional races. Governors who oppose the legislation can refuse to set up pieces of the law, such as the state-based insurance exchanges where most Americans will purchase coverage beginning in 2014.

13 Oct 2010

Health care politics: Republican messages examined, how state propositions evolved

PolitiFact/St. Petersburg Times evaluated Republican claims in campaign ads about Medicare and the new health law that are "targeting older voters who may be worried their Medicare benefits will be harmed." Such ads are airing in Florida, Pennsylvania and California. "PolitiFact found each of those attacks to be Barely True. In these attacks and many others, PolitiFact found the ads have taken a small amount of truth — the Democratic incumbent's vote in favor of the health care law — and exaggerated the impact.

13 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 12, 2010

Today's early morning highlights from major news organizations look at a probe of a California hospital chain, the effect that the governors' races around the country will have on the federal health law and a review of prescription purchases that shows more Americans are foregoing their medicines.

12 Oct 2010

AMGA launches Workshop and Retreat Service

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) today unveiled the AMGA Workshop and Retreat Service, which harnesses the expertise of leaders in AMGA's member group to help medical groups and organized systems of care accelerate their learning curve in key strategic areas.

12 Oct 2010

HHS awards $727 million to community health centers as part of new law

The Obama administration late last week announced it is awarding $727 million to community health centers around the nation to help them build new clinics and improve the safety net, The Washington Post reports.

12 Oct 2010

Health overhaul rhetoric intensifies on campaign trail

In a debate Friday, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., "accused Republican challenger Ron Johnson of wanting to replace the program with a system that puts insurance companies in control," The Associated Press reports. "Johnson, who calls the health care law an assault on personal freedoms, countered that the nation's health care system was already the finest in the world, and needed only minor tweaks to become even better.

12 Oct 2010

Pelosi issues statement on HHS announcement of $727 million in grants

Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement today after Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced $727 million in grants to community health centers across the nation, including more than $4 million to San Francisco's South of Market Health Center and $91.5 million for California, as part of the Affordable Care Act.

11 Oct 2010

Charges and counter-charges on health law infiltrate political debates

CNN: "The two candidates vying for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat sat side-by-side and calmly accused each other of lying and other improprieties in a televised debate Sunday," on NBC's Meet the Press (Cohen, 10/10).

11 Oct 2010

Federal judge in Michigan rules health law constitutional

His decision rejected the "argument that Congress lacked the power to create the legislation's 'individual mandate,' which requires virtually all Americans to purchase health insurance," The Washington Post reports. "Other federal courts have already dismissed some challenges to the law on technical grounds — ruling, for instance, that the plaintiffs lacked standing.

11 Oct 2010

Research roundup: Examining comparative effectiveness research and changes in Medicare Part D

Health Affairs: The Potential Impact Of Comparative Effectiveness Research On The Health Of Minority Populations -- This is part of a collection of reports this month on comparative effectiveness research. Studies that compare how different treatments work is a focus of the new health law because advocates believe it could help hold down costs.

11 Oct 2010

Democrats still wonder: Run on health reform or against it?

The Fiscal Times reports that some Democrats are trying to decide whether they should run for re-election on health reform or against it. "A new poll suggests it's not so clear-cut, and some Democrats seem to agree.

11 Oct 2010