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Medicare advantage cuts pose political threat

The cuts to Medicare Advantage, expected to be included in planned 2015 payments to be unveiled Monday, end what proponents call a windfall to insurers. But they have drawn protests not just from insurers but from Democrats who fear the GOP will use them as political fodder in the midterm elections.

8 Apr 2014

Republicans secure health law coverage change

The change involves improving coverage choices for small business. In the meantime, Senate Democratic leadership is trying to secure victories for their at-risk colleagues and Republicans look to pass a budget.

8 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 7, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about the next round of health law challenges the Obama administration faces as well as the new Medicare Advantage rates scheduled to be announced today.

7 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: Debate rolls on about enrollment numbers; Ryan's plan 'squeezes seniors'

You can forgive a little football-spiking, even if Obamacare is far from the end zone. The White House this week announced that the number of people who enrolled in new individual health-care insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act topped 7 million and could still rise.

7 Apr 2014

Buying health insurance no longer a year-round option

The Associated Press reports that those who purchase coverage directly from insurers must do it within open enrollment periods, unless they experience a life-changing event such as a move or a job change.

7 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: 'Pent-up demand' for health care; too early for that White House victory lap; the fight over Medicare advantage

More than seven million people have signed up for insurance on the new federal and state health exchanges, President Obama said this week. Millions more could be added to that total once insurers tally up the people who bought policies directly from them and when those who tried to apply on balky websites are able to complete the process.

4 Apr 2014

Obama administration point to official end -- April 15 -- for enrollment extension

The Wall Street Journal reports that this cut-off will apply to the hundreds of thousands of people who started signing up for insurance on the federal health exchange but got held up during their last-minute shopping. Also in the news, the latest from California and Georgia in terms of deadlines and enrollment efforts.

4 Apr 2014

With eyes on upcoming congressional elections, Democrats see glimmer of hope in enrollment numbers

For months, Republicans have viewed the health law as a powerful weapon against Democratic opponents, but the better-than-expected enrollment figures offered Democrats a positive counter-argument.

4 Apr 2014

Ryan budget plan stirs opposition on both sides of the aisle

The proposal from House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., would cut $5 trillion over the next decade by repealing the Affordable Care Act and making sharp cuts to health care programs for the middle class and the poor. Democrats are incorporating the proposal into their midterm campaign strategy, while some Republicans, angered by the House leadership's handling of the 'doc fix' vote, are also expressing doubts.

4 Apr 2014

Confident from enrollment numbers, Obama turns focus to GOP health care and budget plans

President Barack Obama continued to tout the success of the health care law, using the momentum to attack the House GOP's new budget proposal, as well as providing a blueprint for the defense of the law for Democrats in upcoming elections.

4 Apr 2014

Medicare will release billing data from doctors

The information will include data on what services doctors used, the average amount they charged Medicare and what they were paid. Doctors have fought such disclosures in the past.

4 Apr 2014

Roundup: Battles fought over Lyme disease, autism and abortion

In Texas, abortion providers file suit to block a state rule that could shut down many of the state's remaining clinics, while lawmakers in Vermont and N.Y. seek to immunize doctors who prescribe long-term antibiotics for patients with lasting symptoms attributed to Lyme disease.

3 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 3, 2014

Today's headlines include reports on how Paul Ryan's budget is playing on Capitol Hill as well as news that the Obama administration is releasing a trove of data on physician services and payments.

3 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: GOP can no longer wait for Obamacare 'to implode;' Ryan's version of 'trickle-down economics'

Now that Obamacare has finished with an amazing surge in signups, apparently passing the 7 million mark for the exchanges, there have been two main responses. Republicans are in full-on denial - the books are cooked! Nobody has paid! It's only because people have been forced to do it! Benghazi! Vince Foster! Meanwhile, progressives are full of caution.

3 Apr 2014

Ryan plan would repeal health law, offer private option Medicare

The budget proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, House Budget chairman and a possible Republican contender for the White House in 2016, would repeal the health law but maintain its savings and taxes. Beginning with those who turn 65 in 2024, it would offer seniors a fixed amount to purchase a private plan or traditional fee for service Medicare.

3 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 2, 2014

Today's headlines include news and analysis about the 7 million insurance enrollment tally. Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in partnership with NPR, Eric Whitney writes: "The names of the big health insurance companies are familiar – Blue Cross, Aetna, United Healthcare. But what about CoOportunity Health, or Health Republic Insurance of New York? These are among 23 new health insurance companies that started under the Affordable Care Act.

2 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: 'Thrice-buried' Obamacare 'looks very much alive;' Ted Cruz 'gets an earful'

Back when rate shock, website problems and lagging enrollment were threatening to unravel the new health care law before it fully took effect, I concluded a column on Obamacare's repeated near-death experiences with the following warning to conservatives: ... What isn't killed outright grows stronger the longer it's embedded in the federal apparatus, gaining constituents and interest-group support just by virtue of its existence even if it doesn't work out the way it was designed. ... the serious right-of-center alternatives to Obamacare have always included policies to expand coverage, and with a coverage expansion accomplished, Republicans may find themselves effectively forced in a more serious direction. ... wherever they go and whatever they do, they will have to deal with the reality that Obamacare, thrice-buried, looks very much alive (Ross Douthat, 3/31).

2 Apr 2014

Medicare News and Research

Medicare advantage cuts pose political threat

Republicans secure health law coverage change

First Edition: April 7, 2014

Viewpoints: Debate rolls on about enrollment numbers; Ryan's plan 'squeezes seniors'

Buying health insurance no longer a year-round option

Viewpoints: 'Pent-up demand' for health care; too early for that White House victory lap; the fight over Medicare advantage

Obama administration point to official end -- April 15 -- for enrollment extension

With eyes on upcoming congressional elections, Democrats see glimmer of hope in enrollment numbers

Ryan budget plan stirs opposition on both sides of the aisle

Confident from enrollment numbers, Obama turns focus to GOP health care and budget plans

Medicare will release billing data from doctors

Roundup: Battles fought over Lyme disease, autism and abortion

First Edition: April 3, 2014

Viewpoints: GOP can no longer wait for Obamacare 'to implode;' Ryan's version of 'trickle-down economics'

Ryan plan would repeal health law, offer private option Medicare

First Edition: April 2, 2014

Viewpoints: 'Thrice-buried' Obamacare 'looks very much alive;' Ted Cruz 'gets an earful'

Concord Coalition expresses doubts on policy details of Ryan’s budget proposal

Expensive hepatitis drug draws huge sales

Michigan Rep. Dave Camp won't seek re-election

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