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Viewpoints: 'Mixed signals' on employee benefits; Michigan debates Medicaid expansion; malpractice awards drive safety

It is hard to know whether to rejoice or lament two striking if somewhat conflicting messages last week about the costs of employer-sponsored health insurance. An authoritative survey found that premiums for family and individual coverage at work - including both the company's and the worker's share - have gone up only moderately for the second year in a row.

27 Aug 2013

State highlights: Iowa asks for federal waiver for state health coverage plan

Gov. Terry Branstad filed a waiver request with federal officials on Friday, seeking expedited approval for a statewide program to expand access to health care for thousands of lower-income Iowans.

27 Aug 2013

Sorting out end-of-life, long-term care issues as America ages

As America ages, end-of-life and long-term care issues increase. One doctor is helping families cope with end-of-life care while a looming shortage of caregivers worries some.

27 Aug 2013

Weight-management intervention effective for weight gain prevention among black women

An intervention not focused on weight loss was effective for weight gain prevention among socioeconomically disadvantaged black women, according to a report published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

27 Aug 2013

Medicare: Docs not leaving program; Sen. Baldwin pushes to protect rural hospital funds

In Medicare news, doctors may not be leaving the Medicare program in droves as some think. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is pushing back against Medicare cuts to rural hospital reimbursement, and some hospitals are making follow-up care changes to lower readmission rates.

27 Aug 2013

States scramble as countdown continues to the launch of health exchanges

The Washington Post reports that concerns are emerging that the tight deadline schedule has caused some states to take "shortcuts" regarding systems testing and contingency plans. But CNBC notes that the biggest threat to the success of these online insurance marketplaces may be consumers' lack of awareness.

27 Aug 2013

Hospital readmissions rates for children are not meaningful measures of quality of their care

Readmission rates of adult patients to the same hospital within 30 days are an area of national focus and a potential indicator of clinical failure and unnecessary expenditures.

27 Aug 2013

Engineers create biodegradable needles that penetrate skin and precisely deliver tuberculosis test

Each year, millions of people in the United States get a tuberculosis skin test to see if they have the infection that still affects one third of the world's population. But the standard diagnostic test is difficult to give, because a hypodermic needle must be inserted at a precise angle and depth in the arm to successfully check for tuberculosis.

27 Aug 2013

Examining cost: Why are health care services so expensive?

The New York Times looks at the cost of care and asks why it's so difficult for consumers to find out what a service costs. In the meantime, new research shows ending copays and making medication easier to use drives lower rates of hypertension.

27 Aug 2013

VA health system scrutiny draws headlines

Howard and Jean Somers have been meeting with VA officials and congressional staffers to tell their son's story. "If your system is so difficult to get into," Howard Somers asked, "how the hell are you going to prevent suicides?" ... (Daniel's) service in Iraq, including multiple combat missions as a turret gunner, left him with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

27 Aug 2013

GOP push to defund health law spurs Capitol Hill debate

During the weekend talk shows, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, acknowledged that he does not have the votes to be successful and that he will need the help of significant grassroots pressure to win the battle.

27 Aug 2013

Medicaid expansion still unsettled in some states

State legislators in Michigan could vote as early as Tuesday on a bill to expand the health insurance program for the poor. In Wyoming, lawmakers consider an alternative approach developed by Arkansas. And in Arizona, a group trying to block the expansion faces a deadline to put the matter on the ballot.

27 Aug 2013

Lobbying efforts to alter Obamacare take on urgency

Reuters reports how businesses, unions and advocacy groups continue to seek changes in the law, but lobbyists face uphill battles. Kaiser Health News reports on how bare-bones health plans are expected to survive the law, albeit in modified form, and also looks at the government's efforts to inform seniors they shouldn't seek coverage from new online insurance marketplaces.

27 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 26, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the ongoing battles between those who support the implementation of the health law, and those who oppose it.

26 Aug 2013

Health professionals need to be alert for fabricated illness in child, says researcher

While it's rare for a parent to fabricate an illness in their child, a McMaster University researcher says physicians and other health professionals need to be on the alert for this form of child abuse.

26 Aug 2013

USPSTF recommends clinicians provide interventions to prevent tobacco use in children

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that primary care clinicians provide interventions, including education or brief counseling, to prevent initiation of tobacco use in school-aged children and adolescents.

26 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Health law guarantees and UPS; 'delay coalition' offers GOP new playbook; Mayor Bloomberg urges Obama not to 'cave' on tobacco

It's not entirely clear why United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is blaming the Affordable Care Act for its decision to drop 15,000 of its workers' spouses from the company's health-insurance plan. ... It's possible, of course, that UPS is using the health-care law as a smokescreen for cutting costs it wanted to cut anyway. And at one point its internal memo takes an abnormal interest in other people's business.

26 Aug 2013

Utah's Medicaid expansion decision on hold

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday he will not make a decision until next year about whether to expand Medicaid to cover more of the state's uninsured. ... "I assure you, I am not going to be rushed in this," Herbert said at his monthly news conference at KUED.

26 Aug 2013

State laws could upend elements of the health law enrollment effort

Twelve states have passed measures that could undermine funding for "navigators." Also, news outlets report on the latest on health exchanges from California, Wisconsin and Florida.

26 Aug 2013

Research roundup: Moving kids onto Medicaid; competitive markets

Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

26 Aug 2013

Health Care News and Research

Viewpoints: 'Mixed signals' on employee benefits; Michigan debates Medicaid expansion; malpractice awards drive safety

State highlights: Iowa asks for federal waiver for state health coverage plan

Sorting out end-of-life, long-term care issues as America ages

Weight-management intervention effective for weight gain prevention among black women

Medicare: Docs not leaving program; Sen. Baldwin pushes to protect rural hospital funds

States scramble as countdown continues to the launch of health exchanges

Hospital readmissions rates for children are not meaningful measures of quality of their care

Engineers create biodegradable needles that penetrate skin and precisely deliver tuberculosis test

Examining cost: Why are health care services so expensive?

VA health system scrutiny draws headlines

GOP push to defund health law spurs Capitol Hill debate

Medicaid expansion still unsettled in some states

Lobbying efforts to alter Obamacare take on urgency

First Edition: August 26, 2013

Health professionals need to be alert for fabricated illness in child, says researcher

USPSTF recommends clinicians provide interventions to prevent tobacco use in children

Viewpoints: Health law guarantees and UPS; 'delay coalition' offers GOP new playbook; Mayor Bloomberg urges Obama not to 'cave' on tobacco

Utah's Medicaid expansion decision on hold

State laws could upend elements of the health law enrollment effort

Research roundup: Moving kids onto Medicaid; competitive markets

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®

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