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Some states weighing enrollment extension

Several states that are running their own marketplaces and have experienced problems are considering allowing residents more time to sign up for insurance. Also, a number of local news outlets examine their states' enrollment totals released this week by HHS.

13 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 12, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about the Obama administration's latest tallies regarding how many Americans have signed up for Obamacare coverage and the outcome of a Florida special election that was marked by health law themes.

12 Mar 2014

HHS inspector general to examine Maryland's troubled health exchange

Rep. Andy Harris, the state's only Republican member of Congress, requested the investigation even as lawmakers from both parties -- who have used the difficulties of the online insurance marketplace in the run up to this year's gubernatorial election -- say they welcome the review.

12 Mar 2014

Legal concerns raised over making Medicaid recipients work in Missouri

Elsewhere, some business groups enlist help to get their states to expand the program. Also, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urges Georgia's governor to accept the expansion, which also makes news in New Hampshire and Utah.

11 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 11, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is stepping back from proposed changes to the Medicare drug program.

11 Mar 2014

HHS extends contract with company hosting healthcare.gov through March 31

The contract with Verizon Communications Inc.'s Terremark subsidiary, which hosts healthcare.gov, had been set to expire March 30, the day before the end of open enrollment.

11 Mar 2014

Massachusetts looks to other states for website fixes

Among possible ways to resolve the continuing issues, state officials are contemplating the possibility of buying or leasing technology from states where the online insurance marketplace is working. They also are considering scrapping the current website and starting over. News outlets also track developments in Maryland, California and Illinois.

10 Mar 2014

Majority of Latinas unaware of diabetes risk

Approximately 5.5 million Latinas suffer from elevated fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and nearly 4 million of those women were never told by a healthcare provider they were at risk for diabetes, pre-diabetes, or were borderline for diabetes.

10 Mar 2014

Survey credits health law for lowered uninsured rate

News outlets report on implementation issues including the declining rate of uninsured people, confusion created by recent administrative changes and a union's assertion that the law will increase inequality.

10 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 10, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the Virginia Assembly's impasse on Medicaid expansion is playing out.

10 Mar 2014

Longer looks: Health care in jail; preventing Medicare drug fraud; new medical codes

"Sheriff Ashe," [the waitress] began. "My daughter is in your jail." She then told me her daughter's story. "Laura," as I'll call her here, was a bright and sociable girl who, after graduating from high school, went on to community college.

10 Mar 2014

N.H. Senate, led by GOP, votes to expand Medicaid

Seven Republicans joined Democrats to pass the bill, which now goes to the Democratic-controlled House. Meanwhile, tensions are rising in Virginia on the issue as Republicans in the House hold out against the governor's offensive, and in Pennsylvania, the Republican governor amends his requirements for an expansion.

10 Mar 2014

Medicaid expansion: With Arkansas 'private' plan authorized for another year, officials now focus on possible fixes

After surviving an effort earlier this week to defund it, supporters of the state's private option are now working on alterations that will smooth its future. Meanwhile, the back-and-forth over whether to pursue the expansion continues in Virginia and Utah.

7 Mar 2014

Cataract surgery followed by use of contact lenses may be better solution for infants

For adults and children who undergo cataract surgery, implantation of an artificial lens is the standard of care. But a clinical trial suggests that for most infants, surgery followed by the use of contact lenses for several years—and an eventual lens implant—may be the better solution.

7 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about health law rule changes announced yesterday by the Obama administration.

6 Mar 2014

Four MAXIMUS centers recognized as Certified Centers of Excellence

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that four of its customer contact centers have been recognized as "Certified Centers of Excellence" by BenchmarkPortal.

6 Mar 2014

Researchers awarded $26M NIH grant to advance treatments for Ebola and Marburg

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Profectus Biosciences, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been awarded up to $26 million to advance treatments of the highly lethal hemorrhagic fever viruses Ebola and Marburg.

6 Mar 2014

$600M for health law implementation in President's proposed budget

In the meantime, the budget also proposes $5.5 billion for "risk corridors" in 2015 to pay insurers who find themselves with a higher number of sicker and older people they must insure. Some call that program a bailout.

6 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Obama's budget punts on entitlements; Medicaid debate rankles states

There is a lesson in this unexpected juxtaposition nevertheless: No nation can safely base its tax and spending plans on inflexible commitments. Political life, both domestic and international, is too unpredictable. Yet U.S. government spending is mostly on autopilot. The government is scheduled to lay out $3.8 trillion this fiscal year - 70 percent of which will go to mandatory-spending programs, chiefly Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and interest on the federal debt. Mr. Obama's plan for fiscal 2015 does not change this; it would increase overall spending slightly, paying for it with selected tax increases, while shifting money among priorities here and there. But these tweaks would take place within the same 30 percent of discretionary spending that the current budget contains (3/4).

6 Mar 2014

Scientists reveal how a genetic code variation results in devastating brain diseases

New findings reveal how a mutation, a change in the genetic code that causes neurodegeneration, alters the shape of DNA, making cells more vulnerable to stress and more likely to die.

6 Mar 2014