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State highlights: Some hospitals aim for wealthier patients; N.C. Medicaid changes debated; Mich. panel Oks higher health care costs for workers

A selection of health policy stories from North Carolina, California, Michigan and Missouri.

17 Jan 2014

Wyden's Medicare proposal portends new powerful post

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the likely next Senate Finance Committee chairman, is flexing his political muscles by proposing a change to how Medicare treats and pays for care for chronically ill patients. Wyden is in line to take over chairmanship of the committee when Sen. Max Baucus is confirmed as U.S. ambassador to China.

16 Jan 2014

FDA-regulated study investigates use of child's stem cells for acquired sensorineural hearing loss

Cord Blood Registry, the world's largest and most experienced newborn stem cell company, announces the start of a U.S. Food and Drug-regulated study being conducted at Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando to investigate the use of a child's stem cells from their own stored umbilical cord blood as a treatment for acquired sensorineural hearing loss.

16 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 16, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that a federal judge on Wednesday rejected a legal challenge related to the health law's insurance subsidies.

16 Jan 2014

State legislators contemplate flaws in New York's online insurance marketplace

Testimony during a New York State Senate hearing Monday explored problems that have emerged during the rollout of New York State of Health. News outlets also reported the latest related developments from Maryland and California.

15 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: 'Celebrating' enrollment numbers; Maryland's website 'debacle;' abortion battle moves again to high court

Today the federal government released the most comprehensive data yet about who signed up for Obamacare through Dec. 28. There's reason to cheer for both the law's supporters and its detractors. ... Today's numbers don't settle the question of whether the administration will hit its goals for enrollment in the exchanges, measured either in raw numbers or demographic breakdown. But they show that those goals are within reach (Christopher Flavelle, 1/13).

15 Jan 2014

More GOP governors give Medicaid expansion another look

Politico reports that while Republican governors in Texas and Louisiana remain firmly in the no camp, others in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana and Oklahoma are giving the program a second look. News outlets also offer updates from Florida, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Georgia.

13 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: Health law debate on contraceptive coverage; Cuccinelli: No investigators for Medicaid fraud; 50 years after the famed report on smoking

The Little Sisters of the Poor, an organization of Roman Catholic nuns that runs nursing homes around the country, is testing the contraceptive coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Last week, we're sorry to say, the nuns won a temporary reprieve from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Under the law, most employers are required to provide their employees with health insurance that covers birth control. But the Obama administration agreed to a compromise for nonprofit religious groups that object to contraception, exempting them from paying for such coverage. Instead, insurers agreed to absorb the cost. All the religious organization has to do is fill out a simple form attesting to its situation. Unfortunately, even that was too much for the Little Sisters of the Poor (1/7).

9 Jan 2014

Texas hospital officials criticize proposal to limit Obamacare navigators

Texas hospital officials and Democrats complained about proposed state legislation to impose greater training requirements and fees on navigators, while a Florida group gets a grant for outreach to Hispanics.

7 Jan 2014

Implanting tubes in ears is less likely to improve long-term cognitive and functional development

Watchful waiting or ear tube surgery? It is a decision faced by millions of families of children with recurrent or chronic otitis media with effusion (non-infected fluid in the middle ear) each year.

6 Jan 2014

Second Obama administration official resigns after troubled healthcare.gov rollout

Michelle Snyder oversaw technology experts who helped build healthcare.gov and is the second administration official to leave after problems with the website where Americans can buy health insurance.

3 Jan 2014

First Edition: Jan. 2, 2014

The early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about what to expect of the health law in 2014.

2 Jan 2014

'Deluge' of signups reported by some state exchanges

A handful of states with relatively smoothly operating insurance websites have seen enrollment increases of 30 percent to 40 percent this week. But others, including Massachusetts, Maryland and Colorado, continue to experience political as well as technical challenges.

20 Dec 2013

State highlights: Va. governor-elect will keep Republican's health secretary; Ill. gov. shifts Medicaid contract to state employees

Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe will keep Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's health secretary on as his own, a choice that could help the new governor sell Medicaid expansion to wary Republicans but that also infuriates some abortion-rights activists. McAuliffe (D) will announce Wednesday that he will reappoint Dr. William A. Hazel Jr., an orthopaedic surgeon from Northern Virginia who served as secretary of health and human resources under McDonnell (R), two people familiar with the decision said (Vozzella, 12/17).

19 Dec 2013

Oticon Medical obtains FDA clearance to market Ponto Plus bone anchored sound processors

Oticon Medical has obtained 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market Ponto Plus, the company's newest family of bone anchored sound processors. New Ponto Plus is available in regular and power versions and is designed for use with Oticon Medical's proprietary OptiFit/OptiGrip implant design concepts that have also been cleared by the FDA for use in tissue-preserving surgery.

18 Dec 2013

Texas navigators in the hot seat during congressional 'field hearing'

After allegations of wrongdoing, a congressional hearing held Monday in Richardson, Texas, focused on the required training, and the lack of background checks and fingerprinting for those who were on the job.

17 Dec 2013

Report: Health law regs were delayed ahead of Obama's reelection

These rules, along with others related to the environment and worker safety, were delayed to avoid introducing contentious issues into the 2012 campaign, The Washington Post reports.

17 Dec 2013

U-M researchers report novel approach for treating tinnitus in humans

For tens of millions of Americans, there's no such thing as the sound of silence. Instead, even in a quiet room, they hear a constant ringing, buzzing, hissing, humming or other noise in their ears that isn't real. Called tinnitus, it can be debilitating and life-altering.

17 Dec 2013

Standardized research approaches needed for developing new treatments for neurofibromatosis

As potentially effective new treatments for neurofibromatosis (NF) are developed, standardized research approaches—including outcome measures specific to NF—are needed. The first report from the Response Evaluation in Neurofibromatosis and Schwannomatosis (REiNS) International Collaboration has been published as a supplement to Neurology, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

13 Dec 2013

Sebelius: Enrollment numbers going up and website getting better, but a review will be launched over healthcare.gov launch problems

Just as the November enrollment figures were released, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified Wednesday before the health subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee where she was again grilled on the difficulties that have plagued the website's launch and other related issues.

13 Dec 2013

Hearing News and Research

State highlights: Some hospitals aim for wealthier patients; N.C. Medicaid changes debated; Mich. panel Oks higher health care costs for workers

Wyden's Medicare proposal portends new powerful post

FDA-regulated study investigates use of child's stem cells for acquired sensorineural hearing loss

First Edition: January 16, 2013

State legislators contemplate flaws in New York's online insurance marketplace

Viewpoints: 'Celebrating' enrollment numbers; Maryland's website 'debacle;' abortion battle moves again to high court

More GOP governors give Medicaid expansion another look

Viewpoints: Health law debate on contraceptive coverage; Cuccinelli: No investigators for Medicaid fraud; 50 years after the famed report on smoking

Texas hospital officials criticize proposal to limit Obamacare navigators

Implanting tubes in ears is less likely to improve long-term cognitive and functional development

Second Obama administration official resigns after troubled healthcare.gov rollout

First Edition: Jan. 2, 2014

'Deluge' of signups reported by some state exchanges

State highlights: Va. governor-elect will keep Republican's health secretary; Ill. gov. shifts Medicaid contract to state employees

Oticon Medical obtains FDA clearance to market Ponto Plus bone anchored sound processors

Texas navigators in the hot seat during congressional 'field hearing'

Report: Health law regs were delayed ahead of Obama's reelection

U-M researchers report novel approach for treating tinnitus in humans

Standardized research approaches needed for developing new treatments for neurofibromatosis

Sebelius: Enrollment numbers going up and website getting better, but a review will be launched over healthcare.gov launch problems

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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