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Administration delays 2015 individual plan rate requirements

The change is designed to give insurers more time to compute the costs of individuals who come in late during the plan's first year -- which might avoid higher premiums and steer clear of the 2014 elections.

23 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration will push back 2015 Obamacare enrollment by a month, starting Nov. 15, 2014, instead of Oct. 15, 2014.

22 Nov 2013

HealthCare.gov: It's getting better all the time -- but system flaws, failures persist

Some states and insurers are contemplating alternatives if the website isn't ready by a critical December deadline. Meanwhile, just as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was talking up the website in Florida, it crashed before her eyes.

22 Nov 2013

State highlights: N.Y. hospitals scramble to sign uninsured up for care; N.C. lawmakers debate Medicaid; Ore. data questions immigrant 'burden' on Medicaid

Many of [New York City's] financially strapped hospitals are scrambling to sign up people for health coverage through New York state's exchange or through Medicaid as they brace for federal cuts to providers of so-called charity care for the uninsured. At Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, the staff is posting insurance information on social-networking websites and giving presentations at churches and mosques. At Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, officials have met with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to ensure small businesses know their insurance options. Some hospitals are recruiting patients for coverage plans in emergency-room lobbies (Dawsey, 11/20).

22 Nov 2013

New Medicaid 'doughnut hole' creating some pressure on states, federal officials

Health law advocates are concerned about low-income residents who are left out of health overhaul in states that are not expanding Medicaid. Meanwhile, in other states, the new enrollment in the joint federal-state program is strong.

22 Nov 2013

CKD children with lower socio-economic status less likely to grow to normal height ranges

Even with more prescriptions for growth hormone, children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease were less likely to grow to normal height ranges if they came from lower-income families, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Study are published in the December issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and online today at http://www.ajkd.org.

22 Nov 2013

Obama seeks to redirect some of the blame for health law difficulties toward republicans

Speaking Tuesday to the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council, President Barack Obama talked about the challenges his administration has faced recently -- and still faces in the future -- regarding the roll-out of the health overhaul. Meanwhile, another poll indicated the president's approval ratings are sinking.

21 Nov 2013

Maine to pay $1M to 'conservative' consultant to study Medicaid expansion

Maine's health department will pay a firm led by Gary Alexander, a controversial former welfare chief, to review the state's program and the potential costs of expanding it, according to several media reports. Meanwhile, Indiana, Missouri and South Carolina continue to debate whether to opt in to the health law's broadened Medicaid eligibility.

21 Nov 2013

Customers of full-service restaurants use nutritional labeling on menus to make healthier food choices

An evaluation team led by the Drexel University School of Public Health has published a new study demonstrating that customers of full-service restaurants use nutritional labeling on menus to make healthier food choices.

20 Nov 2013

Report issued early warnings about HealthCare.gov risks

An analysis done in late March by McKinsey & Co. called attention to a number of trouble spots. Meanwhile, Politico details a "Red Team" report done by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that also sounded alarms.

20 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 19, 2013

Today's headlines include news that Obama administration officials were warned about the possibility of website difficulties months ago by an outside consulting firm.

19 Nov 2013

State highlights: Tenn. gov. hesitates on Medicaid expansion; Calif. primed for big 2014 health care ballot; abortion law fight in Texas rages on

Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee describes it as "trying to thread a needle from 80 yards." Mr. Haslam is only the latest Republican tailor trying to figure out whether to expand the state's Medicaid rolls as prescribed by President Obama's Affordable Care Act. In his case, it involves trying -- so far unsuccessfully -- to balance some sharply conflicting concerns: struggling hospitals, local business groups, dwindling state resources and fierce conservative opposition to the new health care law. And it has left him hanging out there, with no resolution in sight (Lyman, 11/16).

19 Nov 2013

Patients who undergo gastric bypass less likely to have risk of heart attack and stroke

New research from the Cleveland Clinic shows most patients with diabetes and obesity who undergo gastric bypass not only experience remission of their diabetes and lose significant weight, but they also reduce their risk of having a heart attack by 40 percent and their risk for suffering a stroke by 42 percent, over a 10-year time horizon.

16 Nov 2013

Research: Bariatric surgery significantly safer when performed at accredited center

Bariatric surgery is significantly safer when performed at an accredited center, according to new research* presented here at the 30th Annual Meeting for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) during ObesityWeek 2013, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity.

16 Nov 2013

Study: Surgical weight loss may be able to reverse the effects of aging

Stanford University researchers say surgical weight loss may turn back the effects of aging at a genetic level, in the first study* of its kind presented here during ObesityWeek 2013, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity.

16 Nov 2013

HHS health insurance enrollment figures far below targets

Only about a fourth of the enrollees signed up through the federal health exchange. The low initial sign up could set up a steep challenge for the health law.

15 Nov 2013

California beating all other states in health law exchange enrollment

California is the bright spot in enrolling people in the health law's insurance exchanges -- beating even the federal Healthcare.gov in how many have signed up. Still, California's enrollment figures -- representing about a third of all signups around the nation -- mean less than 1 percent of uninsured Californians have signed up for plans.

15 Nov 2013

Both sides in the health law battle spin insurance sign-up figures

Health law advocates offered positive messages about the enrollment numbers released Wednesday by the Obama administration while the measure's critics pounced on the low figures and renewed calls for action.

14 Nov 2013

Medical device to reduce frequency of seizures in epilepsy patients gets FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a device to help reduce the frequency of seizures in epilepsy patients who have not responded well to medications.

14 Nov 2013

Stanford bariatric program experiences lower hospital readmission rates

The bariatric program at Stanford University saw hospital readmission rates drop by 75 percent and surgical-site infections decline by 60 percent after changes in patient education, discharge planning and pre-operative procedures, according to a new study* presented here at the 30th Annual Meeting for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery during ObesityWeek 2013, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity. The event is hosted by the ASMBS and The Obesity Society.

14 Nov 2013

Health and Human Services News and Research

Administration delays 2015 individual plan rate requirements

First Edition: November 22, 2013

HealthCare.gov: It's getting better all the time -- but system flaws, failures persist

State highlights: N.Y. hospitals scramble to sign uninsured up for care; N.C. lawmakers debate Medicaid; Ore. data questions immigrant 'burden' on Medicaid

New Medicaid 'doughnut hole' creating some pressure on states, federal officials

CKD children with lower socio-economic status less likely to grow to normal height ranges

Obama seeks to redirect some of the blame for health law difficulties toward republicans

Maine to pay $1M to 'conservative' consultant to study Medicaid expansion

Customers of full-service restaurants use nutritional labeling on menus to make healthier food choices

Report issued early warnings about HealthCare.gov risks

First Edition: November 19, 2013

State highlights: Tenn. gov. hesitates on Medicaid expansion; Calif. primed for big 2014 health care ballot; abortion law fight in Texas rages on

Patients who undergo gastric bypass less likely to have risk of heart attack and stroke

Research: Bariatric surgery significantly safer when performed at accredited center

Study: Surgical weight loss may be able to reverse the effects of aging

HHS health insurance enrollment figures far below targets

California beating all other states in health law exchange enrollment

Both sides in the health law battle spin insurance sign-up figures

Medical device to reduce frequency of seizures in epilepsy patients gets FDA approval

Stanford bariatric program experiences lower hospital readmission rates

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