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State highlights: Dispute over what doctors can say at Catholic hospital

A dispute between a Colorado cardiologist and a Catholic hospital over what he says is a ban on discussing abortion with patients, even when a pregnancy threatens a woman's life, is part of today's health policy roundup from Colorado and California.

16 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Despite website woes, administration should be given more time; health law credibility 'going up in smoke'

The enrollment numbers are in, and as expected, they are well short of projections. Around 106,000 enrolled in new plans during October - with approximately 27,000 coming from states where the federal government is running the exchange (with its extensive problems), and another 79,000 coming through the state exchanges. Republicans are gleefully pointing to the numbers as proof Obamacare needs to be scrapped entirely. That confirms two things we've long known to be true: the website is a disaster, and short term enrollment figures are a serious political problem for the White House and Democrats (Greg Sargent, 11/13).

15 Nov 2013

Congressional Democrats fuming at White House handling of health law

An increasing number of these lawmakers say they favor a legislative plan offered by Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana to allow people whose insurance has been canceled because of the law to keep it.

15 Nov 2013

House oversight panel grills administration tech officials on website woes

The White House's chief technology officer, Todd Park, told the committee that teams are working aggressively to get the website functioning "for the vast majority" of consumers by the administration's Nov. 30 deadline. Meanwhile, a second panel heard testimony about website and security concerns.

15 Nov 2013

HHS: Nearly a million consumers have completed the health insurance sign up process; 106,185 have selected plans

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced enrollment numbers today for the federal and state online health insurance marketplaces that opened Oct. 1. Medicaid enrollment data were also released.

14 Nov 2013

State marketplaces still plagued by technical problems

The New York Times examines how states running their own insurance exchange websites are doing. Meanwhile, USA Today looks at how insurance choices vary across the country.

14 Nov 2013

Health law outreach efforts try new controversial ads, enrollment tactics

Health law outreach efforts take on new wrinkles -- Colorado officials launch controversial ads geared toward women and Enroll America changes how it tries to get people to sign up for health coverage. In the meantime, Republicans are releasing their own set of ads mocking the law.

13 Nov 2013

Derma Sciences third quarter 2013 net sales increase 12% to $22.1 million

Derma Sciences, Inc., a medical device and pharmaceutical company focused on advanced wound care, today reported financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013.

13 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 13, 2013

Today's headlines include not-so-positive predictions about whether healthcare.gov will be fully functional by the end of November.

13 Nov 2013

Researchers call for public and schools across the UK to sign up to online flu project

Are Northerners really more likely to get flu? Does regular exercise help you to recover faster? And what impact will the new childhood flu vaccinations have on the spread of the virus in schools? These are just some of the questions scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine want to explore as they launch the annual nationwide Flusurvey, collecting data from men, women and children of all ages around the country.

13 Nov 2013

Tech companies ready new tools to cash in on health law enrollment

Tech companies are preparing new software and apps to cash in on the million of Americans who will soon be making insurance decisions for the first time. In the meantime, how three 20-somethings were able to get healthcare.gov up and running when more than 50 contractors could not.

13 Nov 2013

Early enrollment numbers far below administration targets

The projections, which put the total number of enrollees so far at fewer than 50,000 people, is just a fraction of the tally the Obama administration initially was hoping for.

12 Nov 2013

'Crunch time' for Obama on health law; the problems with that apology; young people feeling the sting of higher prices

But today, it's Obama in the spotlight. A president famous for his unflappability, he is now struggling to square assurances that he is on top of the problems confronting his administration with assertions that he was unaware of the problems as they were developing.

12 Nov 2013

Study shows that different brain regions process different types of fear

What do bullies and sex have in common? Based on work by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, it seems that the same part of the brain reacts to both.

11 Nov 2013

Experts join forces to address the future of stem cell research in Australia

Australian stem cell experts are joining forces to address the future of stem cell research in Australia and the critical gap in taking innovative stem cell therapies to patients.

11 Nov 2013

UAB surgical team performs first surgery using VIPAAR and Google Glass

A University of Alabama at Birmingham surgical team has performed the first surgery using a virtual augmented reality technology called VIPAAR in conjunction with Google Glass, a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display. The combination of the two technologies could be an important step toward the development of useful, practical telemedicine.

11 Nov 2013

State highlights: Judge allows Medicaid contractor's lawsuit against La. to go forward; Texas pushes for more black mental health providers; Ga. health center grants

A Maryland company fired from its $200 million Medicaid contract can continue to move forward with its wrongful termination lawsuit against Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration, a Baton Rouge judge ruled Thursday. State District Judge Tim Kelley rejected a request from the attorney general's office to delay witness interviews and evidence-gathering until January in the case filed against the state by Client Network Services Inc., or CNSI (11/7).

11 Nov 2013

Sebelius says Healthcare.gov fixes coming, rejects calls for delay

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to reassure lawmakers in a Senate Finance Committee hearing Wednesday that fixes -- hundreds of them -- are being made to Healthcare.gov, but rejected calls to delay the law or shut the website down.

8 Nov 2013

Senate Dems go to White House to assess health law political fallout

The group of 16 met with President Barack Obama for about two hours, focusing on the floundering Healthcare.gov website and the possibility of backlash in next year's elections. Some lawmakers also pressed the administration to extend the health law's open enrollment period.

8 Nov 2013

Aerobic exercise may be superior to resistance exercise for obese teen girls

Obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the United States in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The growing rate of childhood obesity is a major health concern since overweight and obese youth are at increased risk of developing several diseases once considered reserved for adults. These new pediatric diseases include type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver, potentially impairing its function over time.

8 Nov 2013