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Sebelius on making the health law work

Key to achieving that goal, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, are navigators who will help educate the public about the health law's options.

17 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: George will assails 'illegal' delay of employer mandate; Cohn reminds conservatives that subsidies will be important

Barack Obama's increasingly grandiose claims for presidential power are inversely proportional to his shriveling presidency. Desperation fuels arrogance as, barely 200 days into the 1,462 days of his second term, his pantry of excuses for failure is bare, his domestic agenda is nonexistent and his foreign policy of empty rhetorical deadlines and redlines is floundering. And at last week's news conference he offered inconvenience as a justification for illegality.

16 Aug 2013

Anticipation leads to questions -- will the health exchanges work?

McClatchy asks the central question: "Will it be smooth sailing or a 'train wreck'?" Meanwhile, other news outlets report on issues such as how experts view the possibility of rate shock when consumers shop for coverage from these online marketplaces, as well as other related developments in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Georgia, Ohio and Colorado.

16 Aug 2013

Talking up the health law to educate consumers

News outlets report that a variety of health law advocates -- ranging from federal, state and local officials to retirees and grassroots volunteers -- are hitting the streets and knocking on doors to inform people about the law and counter what some say is "misinformation."

16 Aug 2013

Critical-access hospitals would face funding trims under new plan

The proposal, advanced as part of a report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, would curb enhanced payments to as many as two-thirds of these facilities.

16 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Gov. Jindal skeptical of navigators program; scare tactics against Obamacare growing

By August 15, the Obama administration is expected to spend $54 million of our tax dollars to hire community organizers to push this law on the American people. ...

14 Aug 2013

The countdown's on to opening day, but enrollment challenges persist

Stateline reports on the advocacy group Enroll America's plan to focus on 10 states as it tries to get the uninsured enrolled in plans offered on the new online insurance marketplaces. Meanwhile, the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is asking the administration to delay the exchanges because of data security concerns.

14 Aug 2013

NIH awards $17M to research projects to investigate emerging field of exRNA

The National Institutes of Health announced today it will award $17 million this year for 24 research projects designed to improve scientists' understanding of a newly discovered type of cell-to-cell communication based on extracellular (outside the cell) RNA, also called exRNA.

14 Aug 2013

Sebelius signals openness to state alternatives to Medicaid expansion

Speaking to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she is willing to work with states experimenting with new ways to insure poor Americans. Meanwhile, outlets in Virginia and Michigan report on the debate in those states about expanding the program.

14 Aug 2013

Three winners announced for biomedical engineering design competition in DEBUT challenge

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13 Aug 2013

U.S. probes whether Medicaid programs prescribe antipsychotics to children too often

Health officials are investigating whether health care professionals are prescribing antipsychotic drugs too often to children on Medicaid. In the meantime, a Texas compounding pharmacy has become the latest to have its products recalled over meningitis concerns.

13 Aug 2013

FDA: New drug Tivicay approved to treat HIV-1 infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Tivicay (dolutegravir), a new drug to treat HIV-1 infection. Tivicay is an integrase strand transfer inhibitor that interferes with one of the enzymes necessary for HIV to multiply.

13 Aug 2013

Obama urges veterans to speak up for the health law

President says overhaul won't affect veterans' benefits. Meanwhile, religious leaders in Illinois are promoting the law.

13 Aug 2013

Abortion fights in the states turn to digital world

Eleven states now ban abortion by telemedicine, the Guttmacher Institute says in a new study. In the meantime, the Government Accountability Office is investigating how Planned Parenthood and other related organizations spend public money.

13 Aug 2013

First Edition: Aug. 12, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about state action on the health law's implementation and other news from the health insurance marketplace.

12 Aug 2013

Sebelius open to 'uniquely Texan' approach to covering uninsured

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in Texas yesterday that the Obama administration was flexible about how coverage might be expanded in that state, "but as far as I know, those conversations, at least with the state officials, are not taking place right now." Meanwhile, several state officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, blasted the federal health care law.

12 Aug 2013

Study of childhood epilepsies links two new genes to severe forms of disease

A genetic study of childhood epilepsies has linked two new genes to severe forms of disease and provides a novel strategy for identifying therapy targets. This study used a cutting-edge genetic technique, called exome sequencing, to search for new mutations that are not inherited.

12 Aug 2013

'Looming questions' remain about technology for marketplaces

But HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CMS director Marilyn Tavenner say the exchanges will be ready to operate on Oct. 1.

12 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 9, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including Kathleen Sebelius' outreach to Texans and a look at Americans' comprehension of health insurance.

9 Aug 2013

Genetically engineered proteins may be promising new tool for mapping brain cell activity

Scientists used fruit flies to show for the first time that a new class of genetically engineered proteins can be used to watch nerve cell electrical activity in live brains. The results, published in Cell, suggest these proteins may be a promising new tool for mapping brain cell activity in multiple animals and for studying how neurological disorders disrupt normal nerve cell signaling.

9 Aug 2013