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Obama seeks to calm 'jittery Democrats' on health law rollout

Meanwhile, senior GOP leaders plan more votes to chip away at Obamacare, in part to dissuade their rank and file from demanding a government shutdown this fall unless the health law is defunded.

2 Aug 2013

SGR repeal measure moves to full House consideration

Some medical societies, which support repealing Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate formula, are expressing concern that a bill won't be signed into law before a scheduled 25 percent reduction in Medicare physician payment takes effect. Meanwhile, members of the Senate Finance Committee are working on their own plan.

2 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 1, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader about if the health law requires employer-sponsored insurance to cover maternity benefits for an employee's dependents (8/1).

1 Aug 2013

Georgia seeks 'emergency delay' for approving health exchanges' proposed rates

The state insurance commissioner cited "massive rate increases" in the proposals from seven insurers seeking to do business on these online insurance marketplaces.

1 Aug 2013

Uninsured people in rural areas could benefit big under the health law

MedPage Today reports on how rural residents could gain as a result of the overhaul, while other news outlets offer reports from a variety of states regarding the health law's implementation.

31 Jul 2013

Hope for treatment of childhood infections may come straight from the gut: Therapeutic poop

Call it therapeutic poop, if you will, but the best hope yet for an effective treatment of childhood infections with the drug-resistant bacterium C. difficile may come straight from the gut, according to recent research.

30 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 29, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the White House's strategy for building support for the health law.

29 Jul 2013

Crunch time in the countdown to health exchanges' opening day

News reports also offer insights to how these online marketplaces are taking shape in Oregon and Connecticut.

26 Jul 2013

Artificial pancreas for type 1 diabetes patients: an interview with John Pritchard, Cambridge Consultants

Essentially, what an artificial pancreas would be doing is taking the blood glucose results from a continuous monitor and taking the data that the patient puts in about the amount she/he is eating, and then adjusting the amount of insulin being delivered by the pump based on a mathematical formula that would be very personalized to that patient.

25 Jul 2013

Infants develop fear of heights as a result of their experiences, says study

Infants develop a fear of heights as a result of their experiences moving around their environments, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

25 Jul 2013

Mayo Clinic welcomes Trinity Health as newest member of its Network

In a move designed to strengthen the delivery and quality of health care in northwest North Dakota, Mayo Clinic today welcomes Trinity Health as the newest member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. As a member of the network, Trinity Health's physicians and other providers will have direct access to Mayo Clinic experts and clinical resources.

25 Jul 2013

LUHS pediatrician shares tips for getting the most out of doctor visits

It's nearing the end of summer and trying to squeeze in that school physical can be difficult. Everyone is strapped for time, especially busy moms and dads. From sporting events to music rehearsals or just acting as a chauffer, it's hard to get everything in. The juggling act becomes even more stressful when a child gets sick. Still, kids' health is a priority.

24 Jul 2013

3-D hydrogel approach to study aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer

Human glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most common, aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer, is notoriously difficult to study. Scientists have traditionally studied cancer cells in petri dishes, which have none of the properties of the brain tissues in which these cancers grow, or in expensive animal models.

24 Jul 2013

Obama seeks to mobilize grass roots to help advance health law

Presdient Barack Obama spoke to the group Organizing for Action and said the role of these volunteers in terms of putting the new health care plan in place and advancing other second-term initiatives is critical -- especially as the August congressional recess approaches.

24 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 23, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the White House is enlisting celebrities to aid efforts to enroll young people in the health insurance plans that will kick in this fall as a result of the health law.

23 Jul 2013

p53 and cancer research: an interview with Professor Sir David Lane, Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

P53 is a tumor suppressor gene. The gene encodes for a protein that monitors the state of the cell. If something goes wrong, it stops the cell from dividing or causes the cell to commit suicide. I call it the “guardian of the genome” as it is the molecule that seems to keep cells normal. It is one of our big defenses against cancer.

22 Jul 2013

Obama's Thursday speech to tout health law benefits

The president's chief spokesman said the speech will focus on how the overhaul is helping keep health-insurance rates low and resulting in rebates to some Americans.

19 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Running out of money in old age; GOP favors the Pentagon over Americans' health care; Texas Senator's support on abortion stand doesn't reflect American attitudes

Nearly half of all Americans will outlive their assets, dying with practically no money at all. Even more worrisome, that's true even among households that met the traditional standards for secure retirement income. ... The results can be measured in more than merely dollars and cents. [MIT Economist James] Poterba's paper found that this group is "disproportionately in poor health," in part because they have no resources to cover medical expenses outside Medicare. Most shocking, many of these households were considered to have entered retirement in good financial shape; they didn't count on outliving their plans (Michael Hiltzik, 7/16).

18 Jul 2013

State highlights: Minn. health plans stockpile nearly $2B in cash; Calif. law to offer health care to immigrants in U.S. illegally

After four straight years of profitable growth, Minnesota's health plans have stockpiled a substantial surplus of cash reserves. The health insurance companies, which get nearly three-quarters of their business from state and federal programs, now have more than $1.9 billion in reserves -- $1.3 billion more than required by state law, according to a review by Twin Cities health care analyst Allan Baumgarten (Crosby, 7/15).

17 Jul 2013

Recent advances put melanoma at the forefront of cancer research

A decade ago there was little doctors could do to help a patient with advanced-stage melanoma. Now it seems each week yields important new discoveries about the deadly skin cancer.

17 Jul 2013