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Viewpoints: End-of-life discussions; seniors missing their vaccinations; health law's new political calculations

There is reason to hope that a degree of sanity may be returning to the touchy issue of advance planning for medical care at the end of life.

8 Sep 2014

Research roundup: Doctors' training; expanding FEHBP; the ACA and part-time work

Growing concern about rising costs and potential harms of medical care has stimulated interest in assessing physicians' ability to minimize the provision of unnecessary care. Objective: To assess whether graduates of residency programs characterized by low-intensity practice patterns are more capable of managing patients' care conservatively ...

8 Sep 2014

State highlights: Democrats consider letting states curb health costs; obesity in America

Borrowing a Republican idea, a group including former senior Obama and Clinton advisers is unveiling a novel proposal to let states take the lead in controlling health costs.

8 Sep 2014

D.C. appeals court to rehear Obamacare subsidy challenge

In what could be good news for the Obama administration, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has agreed to rehear a lawsuit that argued the federal government lacks the authority to provide insurance subsidies in states that do not run their own exchanges. The order to hear the case technically cancels the three-judge ruling from July that would have nullified subsidies given to residents in 36 states.

7 Sep 2014

Thousands of immigrants face deadline today on Obamacare coverage

Nearly a quarter of a million newly naturalized citizens or immigrants could lose subsidized coverage under the Affordable Care Act at month's end if the government doesn't receive paperwork verifying their immigration status.

6 Sep 2014

Hacker breaches HealthCare.gov but steals no data

A hacker broke into part of the government insurance enrollment website in July and uploaded malware, federal officials say. The intrusion was discovered last week by a government security team who said that no personal information was taken and that they boosted the site's security.

6 Sep 2014

Average exchange premiums show slight decline in 2015: Report

Insurance filings in 16 major cities for benchmark "silver" plans sold on the online marketplaces show premiums will decline by less than 1 percent, the report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found.

6 Sep 2014

First Edition: September 5, 2014

Today's headlines include reports of hacker activity at the healthcare.gov health insurance website.

5 Sep 2014

Small business exchange to get soft launch in 5 states

Federal officials will give small businesses in five states an early chance to try out the delayed health insurance exchange for their employees to fix any glitches before the site goes live in other states. Meanwhile, Minn. Gov. Mark Dayton calls the MNsure rollout his "biggest disappointment," and the Covered Oregon board votes on a new course.

5 Sep 2014

New cancer drug renews debate about costs

The drug Opdivo, which went on sale in Japan this week, costs an average of $143,000 per patient, The Wall Street Journal reports.

5 Sep 2014

Health care spending projected to grow modestly

Government actuaries expect that U.S. health spending will increase over the next decade as a result of an aging population, a rebounding economy and the health law's expanded insurance coverage, but the growth rates will be lower than those seen for most of the last two decades.

5 Sep 2014

Data provides information on rising number of clinics that treat psychosomatic problems

Germany economy is a leading force in the world and a model that calls for imitation. A paper published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics provides information on the rising number of clinics that treat burn-out and job-related psychosomatic problems.

4 Sep 2014

First Edition: September 4, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about a new government report that predicts a rebound in national health spending.

4 Sep 2014

Percentage of Texans without health insurance drops after first enrollment period of ACA

The percentage of Texans without health insurance dropped after the first enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a report released today by the Episcopal Health Foundation and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

4 Sep 2014

States not expanding Medicaid paying 37% of cost in other states: report

A McClatchy newspaper analysis also finds that most of the money comes from five non-expansion states: Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. Other news outlets report on the continuing debate in a number of states.

4 Sep 2014

Opinions: Controversial view of freedom; a $20,000 CT scan

The most cynical claim made by the promoters of the Halbig lawsuit over Affordable Care Act subsidies is that they're standing up for "freedom."

4 Sep 2014

State highlights: Mass. health spending slows, but for how long?

Two years ago, Massachusetts set what was considered an ambitious goal: The state would not let that persistent monster, rising health care costs, increase faster than the economy as a whole.

4 Sep 2014

Calif. OKs tougher rules on plan networks; Mnsure taps groups to do outreach

News organizations track developments in California, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin as state online insurance marketplaces gear up for the second open enrollment season.

4 Sep 2014

Immigrants may lose coverage due to website, language issues

Immigrants who obtained subsidized insurance through the federal health law must submit proof by Friday that they are in the U.S. legally, but few appear to have responded -- in some cases due to technical glitches with the federal website as well as language difficulties.

4 Sep 2014

First Edition: September 3, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how insurers and consumers are bracing for round two as the health law's online insurance marketplaces prepare for open enrollment season.

3 Sep 2014