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First Edition: September 26, 2013

Today's headlines include details regarding the ongoing congressional battle over the future of the health law in the context of avoiding a government shutdown, as well as the developments on the ground as the Oct. 1 launch of the health law's insurance marketplace nears.

26 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Health law premium rates reveal 'mostly good news' but renew critics arguments; 'Cruz-ing for a bruising;'

President Obama, President Clinton, and Senator Ted Cruz all spent a lot of time talking about Obamacare on Tuesday. But the real news came just as the day was ending, right at midnight, when the Department of Health and Human Services released data on insurance premiums available through the new Obamacare marketplaces. Several states had already released their data. With this report, HHS provided premium information for most of the rest. Overall, the numbers are pretty consistent with previous reports, albeit with some new and interesting wrinkles. It seems like mostly good news, though the law's critics would argue it vindicates some of their arguments, as well (Jonathan Cohn, 9/25).

26 Sep 2013

Consumer Reports launches web-based tool that offers personalized guidance on health insurance

Consumer Reports, the nonprofit consumer service organization empowering consumers for more than 75 years, today announced the launch of HealthLawHelper.org, an innovative web-based tool that offers personalized guidance to help consumers better understand how they may be affected by the Affordable Care Act.

26 Sep 2013

Federal appeals court mulls whether businesses can be exempt from birth control Mandate

The court is considering a case in which two brothers who own businesses in Ohio say the requirement to cover the cost of contraceptives to their employees would violate their Roman Catholic beliefs.

26 Sep 2013

European and Brazilian Society of Cardiology join to deliver key cardio messages

Rio de Janeiro, 28 September 2013 - As the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (BSC) team up to deliver key cardio messages at the 68th BSC Congress in Rio de Janeiro (28 September to 1 October 2013), new research underscores the essential role of cardiology specialists in Brazil.

26 Sep 2013

State highlights: N.M. officials seek less Medicaid money next year

The agency managing New Mexico's largest health care program is asking for less -- not more -- state money to operate in the upcoming budget year. It's the first time in more than a decade the Human Services Department isn't seeking an increase in state aid for Medicaid, which provides health care for a fourth of New Mexico's population (Massey, 9/24).

26 Sep 2013

Outreach efforts, especially for young adults and minorities, take center stage

The Detroit Free Press looks at the challenges in getting the message about the new insurance programs out to the uninsured, while in Florida, some officials are defying the governor's decision to curb federal outreach efforts.

26 Sep 2013

Tackling commercial sexual exploitation, sex trafficking of minors in the U.S.

Commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors are serious problems in the United States with long-term adverse consequences for children and society as a whole, and federal agencies should work with state and local partners to raise awareness of these issues and train professionals who work with youths to recognize and assist those who are victimized or at risk, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.

26 Sep 2013

Threatened shutdown may not officially slow health law's implementation but could trigger technical difficulties

Many aspects of the health law will be mostly untouched by the looming federal government shutdown. But some officials are concerned that it could jam up the exchanges' data hub.

26 Sep 2013

Michigan's Medicaid expansion could act as model for bipartisan health care reform in other states

Michigan's newly expanded Medicaid program could act as a model for other states to achieve bipartisan health care reform even in a heated national political climate, says the head of the University of Michigan's health policy institute in an article published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Sep 2013

Some consumers may not find Obamacare premiums affordable

Even as the Obama administration releases average premiums for insurance policies to be sold in each state exchange, some news outlets explore how affordable those options will be for certain groups of consumers.

26 Sep 2013

Finding innovative ways to manage total cost of care

The American Medical Group Association is convening more than 450 participants, representing the leaders of the nation's preeminent healthcare provider organizations, at the IQL 2013 Annual Conference, September 25 - 27 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona.

26 Sep 2013

Obama, Clinton make joint pitch to uninsured Americans

White House officials said the rare, hour-long appearance by the two presidents was an attempt to focus attention on next week's opening of enrollment in health insurance exchanges, which are key to the health law's expansion of coverage.

26 Sep 2013

Research by pharmacists can help improve health literacy

Limited health literacy can lead to difficulties in patients' self-care activities such as taking prescribed medications. Since a considerable amount of health information changes hands in the pharmacy setting, research by pharmacists into evaluating which tools are effective in practice can make a valuable contribution to goals set by the 2010 US National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy and lead to improvements in communications and health care, say experts in this special themed issue on "Pharmacy, Medication Use, and the National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy," published in the journal Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.

26 Sep 2013

Lawmakers weigh deal giving FDA reater clout after meningitis outbreak

House and Senate negotiators appear to be making progress towards stiffer regulations over the type of drugs that caused last year's outbreak. In other Capitol Hill news, the GOP pushes to repeal a tax on medical devices, and rural health care providers ask for more time to meet electronic health record deadlines.

26 Sep 2013

Fed, state work on Medicaid applications in the marketplaces face delays

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, the panel tasked with deciding if the state will expand its program faces an Oct. 15 deadline to provide recommendations to the legislature.

26 Sep 2013

Ten health care innovations could save lives of mothers and children

Ten health care innovations, if brought to scale immediately in low-resource countries, could have the potential to save the lives of some 1.2 million mothers and children in 2015.

26 Sep 2013

Older women living in poorest areas of Appalachia have higher incidence of later stage breast cancer

Older women living in the poorest areas of Appalachia in the U.S. fail to get regular breast cancer screening and have a higher incidence of later stage breast cancer, reports a new study in Health Services Research.

26 Sep 2013

Popular or unpopular, health law rollout fires up backers, detractors

The popularity, or unpopularity, of the health law in different parts of America remains a flashpoint issue in determining how the law rolls out, as lawmakers and health officials share their points of view with a skeptical public.

26 Sep 2013

Politics and strategies complicate GOP efforts to derail the health law

Democrats see the threat of shutting down the federal government over the health law as potentially bringing electoral gains in 2014. Meanwhile, House Republican leaders are mulling whether to attach new repeal amendments -- including one that would delay the health law's individual mandate -- to the pending bill to fund the government.

26 Sep 2013