Health and Human Services News and Research

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Individuals still getting errors from health website as notifications to insurers lag

The Wall Street Journal looks at some of the inaccurate assignments that many consumers find when they seek insurance on the new marketplaces. Meanwhile, the enrollment records for 15,000 people were not properly transmitted to insurance plans, according to federal officials.

17 Dec 2013

Secondary conditions can become deadly and affect how long HIV patients stay in hospital

A University of Arkansas researcher and her colleagues have found that secondary conditions and diseases that could become deadly significantly affect how long HIV patients stay in the hospital.

17 Dec 2013

Small businesses wrestle with higher insurance costs, confusion

Many small businesses are facing significant rate increases under the law and have opted instead to renew existing policies, reports The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The law's impact on the Hollywood film and television industry, which relies heavily on freelancers, and the latest extensions granted to those buying coverage in new online exchanges also get coverage.

16 Dec 2013

HHS-Issa tension over HealthCare.gov security continues

In an escalating war over the House's investigation into Obamacare's website failures, Rep. Darrell Issa accused the Department of Health and Human Services of illegally pressuring contractors not to comply with congressional subpoenas, even as those companies turned over the documents in question on Friday. ... the administration had instructed the companies not to give Issa documents that government officials fear could be used to help hackers disrupt the website if they are leaked to reporters or otherwise put in the public domain (Allen and Millman, 12/14).

16 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 16, 2013

Today's headlines include findings from an Associated Press poll probing Americans thoughts about the health law.

16 Dec 2013

Research roundup: Long-term care use varies dramatically by state; health spending slowdown explained

In 2012, about 58,500 paid, regulated long-term care services providers served about 8 million people in the United States. Long-term care services were provided by 4,800 adult day services centers, 12,200 home health agencies, 3,700 hospices, 15,700 nursing homes, and 22,200 assisted living and similar residential care communities. Each day in 2012, there were 273,200 participants enrolled in adult day services centers, 1,383,700 residents in nursing homes, and 713,300 residents in residential care communities; in 2011, about 4,742,500 patients received services from home health agencies, and 1,244,500 patients received services from hospices. Provider sectors differed in ownership, and average size and supply varied by region (Harris-Kojetin et al., 12/12).

16 Dec 2013

When will the first premium payment be due?

Although the new rules announced on Thursday finalized the administration decision to extend the enrollment deadline for Jan. 1 coverage until Dec. 23, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also asked insurers to give consumers more time to pay their premiums.

16 Dec 2013

Iowa governor, feds shake hands on Medicaid expansion

The agreement follows the administration's announcement Tuesday that it would permit the state to charge modest premiums to enrollees making more than the federal poverty level. Meanwhile, in Arizona, Republican legislators opposed to Medicaid expansion take their case to court.

16 Dec 2013

Citing security concerns, HHS says 'no' to Issa document demand

Rep. Darrell Issa has issued a subpoena to MITRE, a government contractor, to turn over documents on healthcare.gov security testing. HHS says Issa has already seen the documents he is seeking.

16 Dec 2013

Insurers, officials try to push through website data problems to enroll new customers

A healthcare.gov website data delivery glitch is keeping insurers from fully enrolling people. In the meantime, HHS is asking insurers to allow consumers to pay premiums late and to let them temporarily see doctors who may not be on their health plans.

14 Dec 2013

Feds announce steps in effort to smooth transition to health law, avoid coverage lapses

The Obama administration announced Thursday a series of actions -- including giving consumers more time to pay their premiums and an extension of a high-risk insurance program -- to help prevent lapses in insurance coverage as key parts of the health law kick in on Jan. 1.

14 Dec 2013

High-risk pool extension gives sick Americans more time to choose a health plan

The decision will give an estimated 85,000 people who were enrolled in the pre-existing condition insurance plans created by the health law, which were originally scheduled to expire on Jan. 1, an extra month to enroll in new coverage.

14 Dec 2013

Study: Brain blood vessel cells may be therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease

A study in mice shows how a breakdown of the brain's blood vessels may amplify or cause problems associated with Alzheimer's disease. The results published in Nature Communications suggest that blood vessel cells called pericytes may provide novel targets for treatments and diagnoses.

14 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 13, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a set of steps taken by the Obama administration in an effort to help consumers avoid coverage lapses as the health law takes effect.

13 Dec 2013

Health Law Op-Eds: Obama must 'fire some people'; the law's many possible futures; Obamacare 'is a disaster'

Though the site is working vastly better today than it was two months ago, the debut of HealthCare.gov was a genuine disaster. Specifically, it was a management disaster. CMS's information technology department botched its job as systems integrator for HealthCare.gov. CMS management botched the job of recognizing that CMS's IT department was botching its job.

13 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Problems with the 'doc fix;' a lame budget deal; concerns about changes in doctor training

Imagine if a provision in ObamaCare allowed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to dictate directly to doctors which services they could and could not provide their patients - what individual tests they could conduct, which treatments they could offer, and medicines they could prescribe.

13 Dec 2013

Sebelius: Enrollment numbers going up and website getting better, but a review will be launched over healthcare.gov launch problems

Just as the November enrollment figures were released, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified Wednesday before the health subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee where she was again grilled on the difficulties that have plagued the website's launch and other related issues.

13 Dec 2013

NY frustrated by long wait for Medicaid waiver

Gov. Cuomo says he wants to help struggling hospitals. In Florida, Gov. Scott wouldn't say if he still supports expanding Medicaid eligibility to poor Floridians.

13 Dec 2013

New enrollment figures give clearer view of exchange efforts in states

Officials in California, Maryland, Illinois, Kansas and Georgia give status checks on their online health insurance exchanges. In the meantime, officials in Oregon are pressuring their website contractor, Oracle, to speed up fixes to the marketplace as insurers consider extending deadlines there.

13 Dec 2013

NIH StrokeNet to revolutionize research on stroke

A network of 25 regional stroke centers working with nearby satellite facilities will span the country, have teams of researchers representing every medical specialty needed for stroke care and will address the three prongs of stroke research: prevention, treatment and recovery. The Centers were announced today by the National Institutes of Health.

13 Dec 2013

Health and Human Services News and Research

Individuals still getting errors from health website as notifications to insurers lag

Secondary conditions can become deadly and affect how long HIV patients stay in hospital

Small businesses wrestle with higher insurance costs, confusion

HHS-Issa tension over HealthCare.gov security continues

First Edition: December 16, 2013

Research roundup: Long-term care use varies dramatically by state; health spending slowdown explained

When will the first premium payment be due?

Iowa governor, feds shake hands on Medicaid expansion

Citing security concerns, HHS says 'no' to Issa document demand

Insurers, officials try to push through website data problems to enroll new customers

Feds announce steps in effort to smooth transition to health law, avoid coverage lapses

High-risk pool extension gives sick Americans more time to choose a health plan

Study: Brain blood vessel cells may be therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease

First Edition: December 13, 2013

Health Law Op-Eds: Obama must 'fire some people'; the law's many possible futures; Obamacare 'is a disaster'

Viewpoints: Problems with the 'doc fix;' a lame budget deal; concerns about changes in doctor training

Sebelius: Enrollment numbers going up and website getting better, but a review will be launched over healthcare.gov launch problems

NY frustrated by long wait for Medicaid waiver

New enrollment figures give clearer view of exchange efforts in states

NIH StrokeNet to revolutionize research on stroke

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