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Viewpoints: Abortion rights buffer; coming 'freakout' on health law; repercussions of malaria prevention

A Unanimous Supreme Court: Abortion Rights Lose A Buffer Yet on Thursday the Supreme Court, in McCullen v. Coakley, struck down that law for violating the First Amendment.

28 Jun 2014

GNS automated data analytics can predict future risk of metabolic syndrome in patients

Research published today in The American Journal of Managed Care demonstrates that analysis of patient records using state-of-the-art data analytics can predict future risk of metabolic syndrome.

28 Jun 2014

Waiting on the Supreme Court's contraceptive mandate decision

The Fiscal Times examines the issues before the Supreme Court on a contraceptive mandate case. Other outlets look at how the health law marketplaces interact with private insurance sales and also at a decision by Sodexo to restore health benefits to thousands of college cafeteria workers after initially blaming the health law for dropping them.

28 Jun 2014

State highlights: N.C. lawmakers face off over Medicaid spending; heart surgery ratings in Ore.

North Carolina senators were not persuaded Thursday to accept Medicaid spending numbers for the coming year from Gov. Pat McCrory's administration after hearing a two-hour presentation led by State Budget Director Art Pope. Pope was summoned by the Senate Appropriations Committee to explain why McCrory's spending projection earmarks are much less than the Senate's to pay for unpaid claims from the year ending June 30 and additional enrollment and services for next year.

28 Jun 2014

Oregon hospital sees big drop in uninsured; $53M budget proposed for Washington exchange

The number of uninsured patients treated at Oregon Health & Science University's hospital slowed to a trickle this year, a top official said Thursday. Media outlets explore other state insurance developments related to the federal health law.

28 Jun 2014

HHS says marketplace customers can automatically renew their plans

The announcement says people getting subsidies will be allowed to renew for 2015 without filing an application or going back on healthcare.gov. But consumer advocates caution that may not be the best option for those customers.

27 Jun 2014

Research roundup: Role of primary care in reducing readmissions; air transport for wounded soldiers; hospital prices

Follow-up with a primary care provider (PCP) in addition to the surgical team is routinely recommended to patients discharged after major surgery despite no clear evidence that it improves outcomes.

27 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: ObamaCare and economic growth; involving judiciary in political disputes

Financial markets shrugged off Wednesday's punch-in-the-stomach report that first quarter GDP shrank by 2.9% on an annual basis, far more than earlier estimates and the worst quarterly decline in five years. Optimists blame the weather and point to faster growth in the current quarter, which is reasonable but still shouldn't overlook ObamaCare's role in nearly sending the economy back into recession.

27 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 27, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on an HHS announcement detailing some of the marketplace enrollment plans for next fall.

27 Jun 2014

Va. GOP lawmakers detail legal strategy on any efforts by governor to expand Medicaid

Republicans in the state House announce that they've retained former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement, who produced a report saying the governor does not have the authority in Virginia to expand Medicaid without legislative approval.

27 Jun 2014

State roundup: Troubles in Kentucky; MD. hospital under review

The team at The Upshot, a Times news and data-analysis venture, compiled six basic metrics to give a picture of the quality and longevity of life in each county of the nation: educational attainment, household income, jobless rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity rate.

27 Jun 2014

Lower health spending contributed to downturn in GDP

The revision by the Commerce Department finds that health spending was substantially below expectations for the first quarter and subtracted 0.16 of a percentage point from the nation's growth rate.

27 Jun 2014

New 3D mammography helps diagnose breast cancer quickly than ever before

Screening for and diagnosing breast cancer is quicker and more precise than ever before thanks to new three-dimensional (3D) mammography being used at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Breast Care Center at Northwest.

27 Jun 2014

Patients kept in the dark on costs of tests, treatments

The CT Mirror examines the difficulties patients face when trying to comparison shop or simply figure out how much they might have to spend on medical treatments.

27 Jun 2014

Study proposes moving open enrollment season

Researchers suggest consumers are not willing to spend money on insurance in the busy fall season as they plan for the holidays so sign-ups in the spring after tax returns are received might be better. Also, a look at consumers' reluctance to shop for insurance

27 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 26, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the effects of lower health spending on the economy.

26 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Paying for expensive drugs; Supreme Court deliberations

Pharmacy benefit managers are ramping up efforts to rein in the rising prices that drug makers are charging for some prescription medicines.

26 Jun 2014

Study predicts increase in health care spending in 2015

The report by PricewaterhouseCoopers says some of the increase is due to pent-up demand among consumers who delayed treatment during the recession.

26 Jun 2014

Exchange plans attract sicker consumers

An analysis of early medical claims shows that Americans enrolled in the health law's exchange plans have higher rates of serious health problems, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that some small employers buying coverage for their workers are struggling with costs and logistics.

26 Jun 2014

Poll: 5 percent of 2013 uninsured now have coverage

The Gallup survey pegged the uninsured rate at 13 percent. Meanwhile, in exchange news, The Denver Post notes increased sign-ups, and Oregon works to retain workers for its troubled marketplace.

26 Jun 2014