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Community health centers face tough competition for newly insured

A center in the District of Columbia is challenged by a regional hospital system when trying to attract low-income patients who are now insured under the health law. Other media outlets report on a study showing that the chances of getting a doctor's appointment vary depending on what type of insurance a consumer has, and other implementation issues.

9 Apr 2014

HHS reverses plan to cut Medicare advantage rates

Administration officials announce that they will slightly boost rates paid to insurers offering the private Medicare plans. In February they had suggested cuts to the funding, but Republican and Democratic lawmakers had opposed the suggestion.

9 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 8, 2014

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock reports: "Under intense, bipartisan political pressure, the Obama administration backed down for the second year in a row on proposed payment cuts for insurance companies that offer private plans to Medicare members.

8 Apr 2014

Support grows in Missouri for 'mini' Medicaid expansion

Some Missouri Republicans have remained adamantly opposed to expanding Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of adults by tapping into billions of federal dollars available under President Barack Obama's health-care law. Yet support has been quietly growing among some of those same Republicans for a mini Medicaid expansion (Lieb, 4/7).

8 Apr 2014

New analysis shows signs of emerging middle way toward reducing ranks of uninsured

With the political divide over health care reform still strong going into this year's elections, a new analysis of state-level decisions shows signs of an emerging middle way toward reducing the ranks of the uninsured.

8 Apr 2014

Minnesota state lawmakers will decide if online insurance marketplace needs top-to-bottom audit

The decision regarding a further investigation of MNsure's troubles is expected this week. A state legislative commission decides this week whether the state's new online health insurance marketplace, MNsure, should get a major, top to bottom audit. MNsure has received more than $150 million in federal grants and external reviews found poor management and serious software failures.

8 Apr 2014

State highlights: 'Balance billing' protection in N.Y.; L.A. nursing home complaint backlog

Hospital patients in New York are the latest in the nation to gain legal protection against unexpected bills from doctors who won't accept their insurance.

8 Apr 2014

Despite hitting 7M, Obamacare faces plenty of challenges

Big tests await the health law, including whether premiums and other consumer costs can be held down in the face of pent up demand and also the GOP's continuing efforts to sabotage or repeal it heading into the midterm elections.

8 Apr 2014

Medicaid enrollment increases by 3 million since health law enrollment began

The number is not yet complete because some states have not reported their numbers and it doesn't include March sign-ups.

8 Apr 2014

Survey: Number of uninsured Americans hits new low

A national survey by Gallup-Healthways finds the share of Americans without health insurance has dropped to the lowest level since before President Barack Obama took office.

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

Research roundup: Mental health parity; nurses' workload; can restaurants reduce portion size?

Historically, health insurance covered mental health care differently than other medical care. Recent laws have begun bringing them into balance. ... Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) in 2008. ... the MHPAEA applied to large group health plans, both fully and self-insured, and included a cost exemption.

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

Report estimates number of previously uninsured people who gained coverage: 5.4 million

According to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, consumers who obtained insurance through the federal and state online insurance marketplaces were not simply swapping out other insurance. In many cases, according to the survey, the health law is having its intended effect.

7 Apr 2014

Calif.'s Latino enrollment soared in final days; hand-wringing continues over Md.'s online marketplace

Enrollment by Latinos in California's healthcare insurance exchange surged in the final month of sign-ups after an intensive push to reach that key population.

7 Apr 2014

State exchange officials air difficulties, lessons during Capitol Hill hearing

A House panel heard testimony from officials from five states -- Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Oregon -- that faced problems during the health law's open enrollment period and from California, which has had success.

7 Apr 2014

More young workers decline employer health coverage

Despite the mandate that most Americans carry health insurance or pay a penalty, young workers employed by large companies signed up for job-based health plans at a lower rate than last year, according to a report by payroll services company Automatic Data Processing Inc. Meanwhile, Connecticut gets another insurer, and employers continue to shift health care costs to their workers.

7 Apr 2014