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State highlights: States' troubled health law websites fall hardest on poor; Va. Sen. Deeds introduces mental health bills after son's death; state abortion battle strategies

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, Florida, Texas, Georgia and California.

8 Jan 2014

Study debunks concern that people would move across state lines to get Medicaid

This concern has been a part of the debate over the health law's Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, in Kansas, a new push is underway.

7 Jan 2014

HHS to release slow-growth health spending numbers as Obama readies for big push for law

News outlets covered administration efforts to build public confidence in the Affordable Care Act.

7 Jan 2014

How Obamacare coverage is shaking out

Even with the health law's insurance options, consumers struggling with chronic diseases may still face such high out-of-pocket costs on some plans that they could have trouble staying out of debt, reports the Associated Press. Meanwhile, several major drugstore chains are offering to fill prescriptions for those who enrolled in new health plans but don't have ID numbers yet.

6 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: Michael Moore finds health law affordability 'a cruel joke'; can more marketing help sell insurance?

Now that the individual mandate is officially here, let me begin with an admission: Obamacare is awful. That is the dirty little secret many liberals have avoided saying out loud for fear of aiding the president's enemies, at a time when the ideal of universal health care needed all the support it could get. ... For many people, the "affordable" part of the Affordable Care Act risks being a cruel joke. ... And yet -- I would be remiss if I didn't say this -- Obamacare is a godsend (Michael Moore, 12/31/13).

3 Jan 2014

In state-run exchanges, last minute rush to enroll in coverage

States who run their own health insurance exchanges are trying to cope with people attempting to enroll before the deadline to get coverage that would begin Jan. 1.

24 Dec 2013

Big Bend Hospice chooses Allscripts Homecare software solution to improve patient outcomes

Big Bend Hospice, Inc., a leading hospice agency located in Tallahassee, Fla., has chosen Allscripts Homecare software solution to improve the delivery of critical clinical information in the home, enabling the agency to focus on patient needs and better patient outcomes.

24 Dec 2013

Administration extends enrollment one day after crush of website customers

More than a million people signed onto the federal health website Monday as consumers rushed to sign up for coverage to begin Jan. 1.

24 Dec 2013

Research roundup: ACA 'can survive' low enrollment; rural/urban differences in O.B. Care; teaching residents cost consciousness

The Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS) was launched in 2013 as a mechanism to obtain timely information on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ... HRMS data from summer 2013 show that more than 60 percent of those targeted by the health insurance exchanges struggle with understanding key health insurance concepts.

23 Dec 2013

Manchin says health law could be heading toward 'meltdown'

President Barack Obama's healthcare law could have a "meltdown" and make it difficult for his Democratic Party to keep control of the U.S. Senate next year if ongoing problems with the program are not resolved, a Democratic senator said on Sunday.

23 Dec 2013

People with canceled plans exempted from insurance mandate

In addition, the administration said Thursday that those with canceled plans will be able to buy bare-bones catastrophic plans, regardless of their age, under a hardship exemption.

22 Dec 2013

'Deluge' of signups reported by some state exchanges

A handful of states with relatively smoothly operating insurance websites have seen enrollment increases of 30 percent to 40 percent this week. But others, including Massachusetts, Maryland and Colorado, continue to experience political as well as technical challenges.

20 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: New healthcare.gov czar knows something about computer bugs; fears about inadequate drug coverage

Seriously, one has to hope the new guy -- Kurt DelBene, former head of the Microsoft Office Division -- brings only a portion of Microsoft's heritage along with him. Aside from the XBox, the software giant isn't known for great consumer experiences. Its products have been maddeningly complex and notoriously buggy, at least in their early versions. Kind of like HealthCare.gov! (Jon Healey, 12/17).

19 Dec 2013

Workers and some employers wary of incentives to improve health

The health law allows job-based health plans boosts the rewards for workers who adopt healthier habits.

19 Dec 2013

Immigrants, minority populations, small business employees -- Does the health law help them?

News outlets examine the various groups that might be falling through the health law's coverage gaps, or that might face higher costs, as well as some of the efforts underway to reach them.

18 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: All eyes on insurers; an employer's perspective on health law; budget peace may not last long

When will the insurers revolt? It's a question that's popping up more and more. On the surface, the question answers itself. We're talking about pinstriped insurance company executives, not Hell's Angels. One doesn't want to paint with too broad a brush, but if you were going to guess which vocations lend themselves least to revolutionary zeal, the actuary sciences rank slightly behind embalmers (Jonah Goldberg, 12/17).

18 Dec 2013

Affordable Care Act may help strengthen trauma systems

Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for people under the age of 45 and the fourth-leading cause of death for people of all ages. Much progress has been made over the last 50 years in developing statewide regionalized trauma systems to care for these injuries, but authors of a review appearing in the December issue of Health Affairs, believe more work is needed to ensure the right patient gets to the right place at the right time, and that the Affordable Care Act may offer opportunities to strengthen trauma systems.

17 Dec 2013

States race to fix insurance exchange glitches

In Maryland, Vermont and Oregon, state officials are still hammering out technological issues preventing consumers from signing up for coverage. In California, in contrast, the pace of enrollment in December has been nearly three times that of a month earlier as the deadline approaches to sign up for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

17 Dec 2013

Americans see health law as to blame for rising costs, eroding coverage

Meanwhile, in the background, President Barack Obama's acknowledgement that his promise that people could keep there coverage was inaccurate continues to make news.

16 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: States need to expand Medicaid to benefit all; lies about immigrants and doctors; antibiotics and animals

Expanding Medicaid costs states a pittance compared with the financial and social benefits they'll receive. Denying your constituents a chance to get health insurance out of political pique comes perilously close to governmental malpractice.

16 Dec 2013

Health Reform News and Research

State highlights: States' troubled health law websites fall hardest on poor; Va. Sen. Deeds introduces mental health bills after son's death; state abortion battle strategies

Study debunks concern that people would move across state lines to get Medicaid

HHS to release slow-growth health spending numbers as Obama readies for big push for law

How Obamacare coverage is shaking out

Viewpoints: Michael Moore finds health law affordability 'a cruel joke'; can more marketing help sell insurance?

In state-run exchanges, last minute rush to enroll in coverage

Big Bend Hospice chooses Allscripts Homecare software solution to improve patient outcomes

Administration extends enrollment one day after crush of website customers

Research roundup: ACA 'can survive' low enrollment; rural/urban differences in O.B. Care; teaching residents cost consciousness

Manchin says health law could be heading toward 'meltdown'

People with canceled plans exempted from insurance mandate

'Deluge' of signups reported by some state exchanges

Viewpoints: New healthcare.gov czar knows something about computer bugs; fears about inadequate drug coverage

Workers and some employers wary of incentives to improve health

Immigrants, minority populations, small business employees -- Does the health law help them?

Viewpoints: All eyes on insurers; an employer's perspective on health law; budget peace may not last long

Affordable Care Act may help strengthen trauma systems

States race to fix insurance exchange glitches

Americans see health law as to blame for rising costs, eroding coverage

Viewpoints: States need to expand Medicaid to benefit all; lies about immigrants and doctors; antibiotics and animals

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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