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Health Care REIT participates in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2013 Global Real Estate Conference

Health Care REIT, Inc. announced today that the company will participate in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2013 Global Real Estate Conference at the Westin Times Square in New York, New York. Corporate materials will be available on the Investor Relations section of Health Care REIT's website (www.hcreit.com) on Tuesday, September 10, 2013.

7 Sep 2013

State highlights: N.M. high court rules malpractice law covers doc businesses

A selection of health policy stories from Texas, New Mexico, California, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Minnesota and Massachusetts.

7 Sep 2013

For health exchanges, will soft launches lead to hard landings?

CQ HealthBeat examines whether the new online insurance marketplaces will be ready to go on Oct. 1, and what possible delays might emerge and how those delays could impact the exchanges' effectiveness. Also in the headlines, reports from Delaware, Kentucky, Washington, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.

7 Sep 2013

Research roundup: The financial burden of hospital acquired infections

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) account for a large proportion of the harms caused by health care and are associated with high costs. ... [Using a simulation, the researchers found that the] total annual costs for the 5 major infections were $9.8 billion (95% CI, $8.3-$11.5 billion), with surgical site infections contributing the most to overall costs (33.7% of the total), followed by ventilator-associated pneumonia (31.6%), central line–associated bloodstream infections (18.9%), C difficile infections (15.4%), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (<1%). ... recent analyses indicate that at least 50% are preventable. ...

7 Sep 2013

Mutual of Omaha announces new Critical Illness insurance product

Mutual of Omaha, a leading provider of group benefits, has announced a new Critical Illness product that allows employers to enhance their benefits coverage, while providing employees and their loved ones with added protection if a critical illness occurs.

7 Sep 2013

Effort to fix doc's Medicare pay formula gains momentum

A bill now pending in the House that has cleared the Energy and Commerce Committee would repeal the sustainable growth rate -- SGR -- formula and replace it with a more quality-based system.

7 Sep 2013

IRS proposes rules for health law's employer mandate

On Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service published proposed rules for how companies with more than 50 employees must report health coverage for their workers. That provision was delayed a year until 2015.

7 Sep 2013

In states resistant to the health law, poorest residents unlikely to get aid

USA Today reports on how, in states that opted not to pursue the health law's Medicaid expansion, many of the poorest residents may fall through the cracks. Meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News looks at some of the states that have been the most resistant to implementing the health law.

7 Sep 2013

Newly joined nursing students receive $2,500 grant from Capella University

As part of its ongoing effort to make higher education more affordable, Capella University, a regionally accredited online university* that has built its reputation by providing high quality online degree programs for working adults, is offering a $2,500 grant opportunity for new nursing students who enroll in eligible Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN), or Doctorate of Nursing (DNP) programs.

7 Sep 2013

'Flurry' of new reports show wide variations on insurance rate costs

News outlets continue to follow recent studies released by several health policy groups about the expected premiums for plans offered on the new online insurance marketplaces.

7 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 6, 2013

Today's headlines include a report on the White House's proposal about how to gather information that would allow the government to enforce the employer mandate, which requires companies with 50 or more workers to provide affordable health insurance to their full-time employees.

6 Sep 2013

Who's winning? Investors, lawyers, consultants are among those getting early boosts from the health law

Also in the news, Bloomberg reports that some employers may change their minds about offering employees insurance when tax advantages go up next year.

6 Sep 2013

State highlights: Texas abortion clinics prepare to shutter; wide disparity in hospital prices; Calif. bill to expand abortion providers passes

A selection of health policy news from Texas, California, North Carolina, Missouri, Oregon and Colorado.

6 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Texas and Florida should concentrate on uninsured; health law's costs to young adults being overlooked; obscure case could impact abortion issues

A new Census Bureau report documents the alarming percentages of people in Texas and Florida without health insurance. Leaders of both states should hang their heads in shame because they have been among the most resistant in the nation to providing coverage for the uninsured under the Affordable Care Act, the law that Republicans deride as "Obamacare" (9/4).

6 Sep 2013

Capsules: Washington state panel OKs 7 insurers for exchange

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, the Seattle Times' Amy Snow Landa, working in partnership with KHN, reports: "In the end, it was a calm affair. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board met in a special session Wednesday afternoon to vote on the certification of health plans for the state's new online health insurance marketplace in 2014" (Land, 9/5).

6 Sep 2013

Catholic bishops urge that marketplace insurance benefits for congress not include abortion

Members of Congress and their staffs will switch from the federal health system to the health law's new exchanges next year and the bishops are demanding that the current prohibitions on abortion funding continue.

6 Sep 2013

TPMG receives AMGA Acclaim Award for transforming health care through leadership, technology

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) today announced that the recipient of the 2013 AMGA Acclaim Award is The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) for "Transforming Health Care through Leadership and Technology," an innovative initiative that achieves superior performance through physician leadership, advanced information technology, and a mission-driven culture of collaboration.

6 Sep 2013

New studies find health law's insurance premium costs won't be cheap, but consumers will have many options

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation offered estimates of how much government tax credits would lower the price of the "silver" benchmark policy. A second study, this one by Avalere Health, examined sticker prices at a variety of levels.

6 Sep 2013

Ohio group takes steps to advance Medicaid expansion as ballot initiative

The coalition, which is made up of health care providers, unions, businesses, religious organizations and others, views this effort as its back up plan if state legislators block Gov. John Kasich's push to expand the low income health insurance program.

6 Sep 2013

Bill Clinton delivers speech to dispel health law confusion, urge enrollment

The former president -- dubbed the "explainer in chief" -- spoke from his presidential library in Arkansas to drum up support for the overhaul and scold Republicans for their efforts to repeal it.

6 Sep 2013