Health Reform News and Research

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Obama urges Americans to sign up for coverage in State of the Union

The president extolled the health law during his State of the Union address, describing those who are benefiting and challenging Republicans for their ideas. Utah Sen. Mike Lee hit back, calling the law "an inequality Godzilla that has robbed working families of their insurance, their doctors, their wages and their jobs," while Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers cited its troubled rollout.

29 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 29, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the health law played in last night's State-of-the-Union address by President Barack Obama.

29 Jan 2014

Virginia legislators harden line against Medicaid expansion

And in Georgia, protesters who had conducted a "sit in" at Gov. Nathan Deal's office to press him to accept a letter urging expansion of the state's Medicaid program, are arrested.

29 Jan 2014

Three GOP Senators offer alternative plan to replace Obamacare

The measure, dubbed the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act, is being advanced by Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. It may provide a window into how Republicans plan to handle health reform issues in the upcoming election cycle and beyond.

28 Jan 2014

White House health care adviser to leave his post

White House coordinator for health reform Chris Jennings resigned after six months, citing personal reasons and family considerations.

25 Jan 2014

Research roundup: Patient safety measure results 'disappointing'

Patient safety poses serious challenges to the health care system in the United States. Since 2001, nationwide efforts have focused on reducing in-hospital adverse events.

25 Jan 2014

Mayors also have a stake in the Medicaid expansion's 'promise and pitfalls'

This health law topic is high on the agenda of this week's U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington. Meanwhile, Utah's Gov. Gary Herbert said he will pursue some form of the expansion. Also in the news, related developments in Montana and Missouri.

24 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 24, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that a federal district court judge in Missouri has blocked state officials from restricting groups efforts to help people sign up for coverage as part of the federal health law.

24 Jan 2014

Researchers examine effects of ACA on cancer survivors

In 2010, the total cost of cancer care in the United States reached $125 billion. Globally, the economic toll from cancer is nearly 20 percent higher than the leading cause of death, heart disease. Cancer patients are also living longer today, which is further increasing the cost of their continued care.

24 Jan 2014

State highlights: Minn. improves hospital safety

A selection of health policy news from Minnesota, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Iowa and Virginia.

24 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: High court weighs home health care workers' union rights; abortion protections becoming 'all but meaningless'

On Tuesday, the justices were presented with a golden opportunity to further increase inequality. The court heard arguments in Harris v. Quinn, a case testing whether home-care providers who work under a union contract with the state of Illinois can avoid paying dues that support the union's collective-bargaining work.

23 Jan 2014

Despite gains, Covered California lags with Latinos

California's health exchange has enrolled more than 625,000 people in private insurance plans, but the state's struggle to reach uninsured Latinos is drawing criticism.

23 Jan 2014

Trials, and a few unexpected triumphs, for insurance exchanges

A procurement document posted on a federal website gives the newest Obamacare contractor until mid-March to build the back end of healthcare.gov, predicting dire consequences if the work is not completed on time. Other media outlets report exchange developments from Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, Georgia and Minnesota.

22 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 21, 2014

Today's headlines include news on the health law's implementation at both the federal and state levels.

21 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: Is overhaul really a 'war' on the young?; war on poverty requires spending; maternity leave in America

A long-shot lawsuit that could have damaged the effectiveness of health care reform got a well-deserved brushoff from a federal district judge on Wednesday.

20 Jan 2014

Study: Outreach, education needed to help people use their coverage to seek appropriate dental care

Providing people with dental insurance does not necessarily mean that they will use it and seek dental care, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

17 Jan 2014

Lawmakers introduce $1T spending bill with health law prevention fund cuts

The $1 trillion spending bill that lawmakers introduced Monday cuts $1 billion from the health law's Prevention and Public Health Fund and holds down funding for other health law programs to 2013 levels, but leaves it otherwise untouched.

15 Jan 2014

As workers' insurance costs rise, bosses (sometimes wrongly) blame Obamacare

A new study shows how employers are cost-shifting. And Democratic politicians are pointing fingers for Obamacare's website woes.

10 Jan 2014

Longer reads: Hospice drains Medicare; false Obamacare 'horror stories;' growing up without vaccines

Hospice patients are expected to die: The treatment focuses on providing comfort to the terminally ill, not finding a cure. To enroll a patient, two doctors certify a life expectancy of six months or less. But over the past decade, the number of "hospice survivors" in the United States has risen dramatically, in part because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren't actually dying, a Washington Post investigation has found. Healthier patients are more profitable because they require fewer visits and stay enrolled longer (Peter Whoriskey and Dan Keating, 12/26).

9 Jan 2014

Researchers investigate how workplace environment in primary care settings affects NPs' ability

More than a dozen states have passed legislation expanding the role of nurse practitioners (NPs) so they can help fill the shortage of primary care providers in the U.S. But a new study from Columbia University School of Nursing, published in the Journal of Professional Nursing, suggests that the organization and culture in health care settings often impedes the full utilization of NPs so that state laws expanding scope of practice may not be sufficient to relieve the nation's primary care crisis.

9 Jan 2014