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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

State highlights: Mass. can't ban painkiller, judge rules; Kan. and health care compact bill

A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts, Kansas, Florida, Michigan, Connecticut, Maryland, Arizona, Hawaii, Missouri and Georgia.

17 Apr 2014

Study quantifies adherence to recommended surveillance colonoscopy in average-risk patients

According to a new study, endoscopists' recommendations for timing of surveillance colonoscopy in average-risk patients with one to two small polyps are consistent with guideline recommendations in about 90 percent of cases. T

17 Apr 2014

Uninsured rate drops more in states that expanded Medicaid, run own exchanges

News outlets also provide updates on Medicaid expansion efforts and debates in Colorado, Virginia, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina and Indiana.

17 Apr 2014

Vulnerable Democrats fight health law stigma

In tight races around the nation, Democrats are hoping that stories about the health law's rocky rollout are behind them, while Republicans try to make the races a referendum on the law.

17 Apr 2014

Enrollment extensions wind down but health law politics getting complicated

People wanting coverage on the federal and some state websites needed to sign up by Tuesday, and federal officials say they won't again extend the deadline. In addition, news outlets examine why it will take time to determine whether the overhaul is a success and how Republicans are treading carefully as they call for overturning a law that has provided benefits to millions of Americans.

16 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 16, 2014

Today's headlines include a report detailing how changes in the Census Bureau's annual survey could mask the health law's impact.

16 Apr 2014

Highlights: N.Y.'s $8B Medicaid waiver; Conn. Medicaid application delays settlement; managed care overpayment in Washington state

New York and federal officials report final agreement allowing the state to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings to support hospital overhauls and expand primary medical care over the next five years. The goal of the Medicaid waiver is to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent while helping financially struggling hospitals shift to more primary and outpatient care (4/14).

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

Survey: Signing up for Obamacare no walk in the park

California enrollees said they had trouble getting through to call centers, calculating their income and gathering the required documentation, among other difficulties, according to a survey by the California HealthCare Foundation. Meanwhile, media outlets note that Tuesday is the last chance to sign up in California, while April 22 is the deadline in Minnesota.

16 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

CBO projects health law subsidies will cost less than previously expected

The new CBO projections find that the health law's expansion of health coverage will, from 2015–2024, cost $104 billion less than previously projected.

15 Apr 2014

Va. GOP not backing down in Medicaid stalemate

Despite appeals from traditional allies such as local hospitals, chambers of commerce and business leaders, Republicans in Virginia's House of Delegates remain firm in their stand against expansion. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's request to set up a modified expansion is moving into a negotiation phase with federal officials, and union members take the fight to voters in Florida.

15 Apr 2014

Study shows 25 percent of Colorado foster kids on psychotropic drugs

The rate is 12 times greater than for other children on government insurance, a new study in Colorado finds.

15 Apr 2014

High cost of potent hepatitis drug presents challenges across the U.S.

Sovaldi, the hepatitis C treatment drug, is considered a breakthrough for patients with the disease. However, since, it won federal approval in December, lawmakers, insurers and patient advocates have begun an all-out revolt over it's high price point of $1,000 a daily pill or $84,000 over 12 weeks of treatment.

15 Apr 2014

New split over abortions in cases of rape

A rift between U.S. anti-abortion activists has spotlighted divisions about whether to exempt abortions in the case of rape or incest from anti-abortion policies. In other news, the New York Times reports on a surge in prescriptions for opioid painkillers among pregnant women.

15 Apr 2014