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Viewpoints: Obamacare dilemma -- some people dislike the law but embrace its provisions; are health costs falling?

Polls have consistently shown that even though the public opposes Obamacare, people like some of its most significant provisions. That's particularly true of the requirement that insurers ignore preexisting conditions when signing up customers for coverage.

16 Apr 2014

Wal-Mart exec who led health care expansion steps down

News emerged Monday in an internal staff memo that John Agwunobi would leave his post running the retailer's health and wellness division.

16 Apr 2014

CBO shrinks estimate of health law spending based on lower subsidy costs

Expanding health coverage under the health law will also slow premium growth, helping lower the total cost of the law, the nonpartisan office said.

16 Apr 2014

Researchers examine relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment

Vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment are common in older adults, but there isn't a lot of conclusive research into whether there's a relationship between the two.

16 Apr 2014

Fallout continues around Medicare Advantage payment rates

The Obama administration's decision to reverse a proposed Medicare Advantage payment cut has been panned by insurance analysts and governors, among others.

16 Apr 2014

Disparity in Medicare provider payments in Oregon, data show

Information gleaned from the federal government's Medicare data dump shows that Oregon providers and provider groups were paid $508 million in 2012. However, some providers made more than others. Meanwhile the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that arising from the data, Wisconsin Congressional members want physicians rated on quality of care.

16 Apr 2014

Johnson & Johnson's sales increase 3.5% to $18.1 billion in first quarter 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $18.1 billion for the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 3.5% as compared to the first quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 5.3% and the negative impact of currency was 1.8%. Domestic sales increased 2.2%. International sales increased 4.5%, reflecting operational growth of 7.9% and a negative currency impact of 3.4%.

15 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 15, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Congressional Budget Office's latest estimate of the costs for expanding health insurance.

15 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: Sebelius withstood attacks, but wasn't 'warrior' for law; Burwell offers GOP chance to focus on law's problems

Kathleen Sebelius was known for her patience and cool under savage attack by Republicans, who treated her as a stand-in for the health law. She sat through hearings calmly reciting talking points while they fumed and fulminated for their audience. But that turned out to be one of her biggest liabilities ... What the health law needed in its first years was a cheerful, populist warrior who could laugh at the truly ridiculous distortions and lies Republicans invented about it, and roar back with the truth. Instead, she came across as a mild technocrat. She never emerged from the defensive crouch she assumed after the law's calamitous debut (David Firestone, 4/11).

15 Apr 2014

Conservatives continue health law attack barrage

Leading Republicans readying for a White House run in 2016 also unofficially kicked off their campaigns in New Hampshire Saturday by hammering the health law.

15 Apr 2014

Medicare doctor payment data reveals much about health system

The trove of data has the potential to reveal faults in drug pricing, potential fraud and could help regulators and consumers track medical spending -- but could take years to sort out.

15 Apr 2014

GOP intends to focus on health law issues during Burwell's confirmation hearings

Senate hearings for Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Barack Obama's pick to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, are likely to focus more on the health law than on the nominee. Many expect the proceedings to set the scene for a heated political debate on the law that will likely be part of the midterm campaign.

15 Apr 2014

Cognitive impairment common among seniors living in nursing homes and community

More than 70% of elderly Medicare beneficiaries experience cognitive impairment or severe dementia near the end-of-life and may need surrogate decision makers for healthcare decisions. Advance care planning for older adults with dementia may be particularly important for individuals who do not reside in a nursing home or a long-term care facility, according to an article published in the April issue of Health Affairs.

11 Apr 2014

Study examines effect of community on hospital readmission rates

Nearly 60 percent of the variation in hospital readmission rates appears to be associated with where the hospital is located rather than on the hospital's performance, finds a new study in Health Services Research.

11 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: Medicare's 'doctor payment problem'; a 'wasted advantage'; 'puzzling' Rand numbers

The news that a small percentage of the country's physicians collected billions of dollars from Medicare in a single year may or may not be a testament to individual greed; some of the top recipients are under investigation for allegedly bilking the system, while others work long hours delivering costly care.

11 Apr 2014

Details -- and limits -- of Medicare billing data emerge

News outlets begin to analyze the wealth of information now available as a result of Wednesday's release by the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services of a trove of payment records. They also note the limits.

11 Apr 2014

Study explores benefits of medication therapy management in Medicare patients

Low-risk Medicare patients entering home health care who received medication therapy management by phone were three times less likely to be hospitalized within the next two months, while those at greater risk saw no benefit, according to a study led by Purdue University.

11 Apr 2014

Analysis of Medicare pay shows variations in drugs used and earnings by specialists

The Washington Post examines how drugs administered by doctors is different in various regions of the country. Other outlets look at other issues, including how eye doctors are among the highest paid specialty.

11 Apr 2014

New Dartmouth study offers roadmap for better risk adjustment in Medicare

The methodology Medicare uses to adjust the billions of dollars it pays health plans and hospitals to account for how sick their patients are is flawed and should be replaced, according to a new study by Dartmouth investigators published in the journal BMJ that weighed the performance of Medicare's methodology against alternatives.

11 Apr 2014

Taking a close-to-home look at the Medicare billing data

Other news outlets offer localized takes on the Medicare data, including the Miami Herald's coverage of a physician who emerged as the federal program's top-paid doctor, the Philadelphia Inquirer's look at an ambulance business' billing patterns and the Seattle Times' examination of ophthalmologists.

11 Apr 2014