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UT Southwestern receives grant to establish Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

UT Southwestern Medical Center has been funded to establish a Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research that supports and conducts high-quality research comparing the outcomes and effectiveness of different strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor health conditions to improve patient care.

18 Feb 2014

'Copper' plans? Health law backers push for new, lower premium coverage

Some health law proponents are urging officials to create "copper" plans that offer lower deductibles, but higher out-of-pocket costs than the health law's gold, silver and bronze plans.

17 Feb 2014

The obese, people with AIDS encounter coverage gaps

Many plans sold through the health law's marketplaces don't cover weight loss surgery, and none in Louisiana are accepting payments from a federal program intended to help people with HIV/AIDS. The New York Times explores who benefits from the latest employer mandate extension, and Kaiser Health News answers a question about the health law's impact on a person covered by COBRA.

17 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

The monthly announcement of Obamacare's enrollment figures has become an exercise in confirmation bias, starting with the administration itself. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted the "encouraging trends" in yesterday's release, while House Speaker John Boehner opted to highlight its "embarrassing failures." ... The only debate worth having is how to improve enrollment. ... enrollment numbers for Obamacare aren't some referendum on the president's popularity or lack thereof. They're the best way to tell whether the law is working as planned -- and how to adjust if it isn't (2/13).

17 Feb 2014

N.Y., federal officials reach tentative accord on more Medicaid funding

The agreement would add $8 billion to help the state reconfigure the state's health insurance program for low-income residents and aid some struggling hospitals.

17 Feb 2014

Some having new luck with healthcare.gov, but others remain stuck

Quiet fixes to healthcare.gov are helping some shoppers on the troubled website, but some still remain without insurance coverage. In the meantime, insurers are skeptical the latest marketplace enrollment numbers are cause for health law optimism.

17 Feb 2014

Some states beating others to health law enrollment punch

News outlets take closer looks at the Obama administration's health law enrollment figures and find that some states are far outpacing others. Marketplace problems that persist in some states are also examined.

16 Feb 2014

GOP lawmakers seek probes of state health insurance exchanges

In separate requests, Republican congressmen have sought federal investigations into Maryland and Oregon's problem-riddled online insurance marketplaces.

16 Feb 2014

Finding the meaning behind new Obamacare enrollment numbers

As the president renews his call for people -- especially African Americans and Latinos -- to enroll for insurance coverage, news outlets detail what is actually known about who has already signed up.

16 Feb 2014

Research roundup: Examining readmissions; easing doctor burnout

Despite massive early IT problems, exchange enrollment is accelerating rapidly. While enrollment may not reach 7 million by the end of March, we expect at least 5 million to have enrolled by the close of the initial open-enrollment period. If enrollment falls far short, HHS could extend open enrollment for a fixed period to reach its 7 million target. ... We project that 5 million new beneficiaries will be covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program by the end of 2014. Medicaid managed-care enrollment of non-dual beneficiaries will increase by 20 percent from 2013 to 2014 and by 38 percent from 2013 to 2016. We expect that 75 percent of non-dual Medicaid beneficiaries will be covered by Managed Care Organizations starting in 2015, up from 63 percent in 2012 (Feb. 2014).

14 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 14, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on the least expensive health insurance markets and efforts to set up skimpier plans under the health law.

14 Feb 2014

More than 1 million people signed up for health plans in January -- bringing the total tally to more than 3 million

According to Obama administration officials, the overall enrollment figure reflects people who enrolled in coverage through the federal or state exchanges from October through January.

14 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Decoupling jobs and insurance; overblown fear: Medicaid willl take my house

Three blog posts and a column should probably suffice to cover the debate over Obamacare and work incentives, but I don't want to let the topic drop without first stepping back and talking about the actual health policy disagreement here.

14 Feb 2014

HHS enrollment figures indicate sign-ups even in states where officials have opposed the health law

News outlets offer a sampling of state-specific health plan enrollment numbers. Even Oregon, with its non-working exchange, signed up more than 33,000 people.

14 Feb 2014

Covered California infomercial hits the web; Koch brother ad attacks Michigan Dem

Ads are appearing ahead of the March 31st health insurance enrollment deadline and the 2014 congressional primaries.

14 Feb 2014

Indicted Colorado exchange director had been fully vetted, officials say

Colorado's Connect for Health director was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday after being indicted for stealing from her last employer. Meanwhile, the new head of Massachusetts' exchange pledges to fix it quickly, and Kansas navigators say they're overcoming healthcare.gov's rocky start.

14 Feb 2014

GOP states struggling with Medicaid expansion issues

Meanwhile, McClatchy News reports that higher rates of mental illness and substance abuse among the newly enrolled will be a problem because there aren't enough therapists who accept Medicaid patients. Medicaid expansion developments in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wyoming and Virginia are also covered.

13 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 13, 2014

Today's headlines include news coverage of yesterday's update from the Obama administration regarding the number of people who have enrolled in private health insurance through the health law's online marketplaces.

13 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Obama's 'cavalier approach' to health law; CBO report's job forecast isn't bad news

The Obama administration on Monday announced that it was delaying, once again, enforcement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) "employer mandate." Yes, Republicans have done everything they can to impede implementation of this law.

13 Feb 2014

State highlights: More states gearing up to combine Medicare, Medicaid; vaccination exemptions still considered by many states; likely Texas democratic Gov. Candidate backs 20-week abortion ban

A selection of health policy stories from California, Texas, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Connecticut.

13 Feb 2014

Health Insurance News and Research

UT Southwestern receives grant to establish Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

'Copper' plans? Health law backers push for new, lower premium coverage

The obese, people with AIDS encounter coverage gaps

Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

N.Y., federal officials reach tentative accord on more Medicaid funding

Some having new luck with healthcare.gov, but others remain stuck

Some states beating others to health law enrollment punch

GOP lawmakers seek probes of state health insurance exchanges

Finding the meaning behind new Obamacare enrollment numbers

Research roundup: Examining readmissions; easing doctor burnout

First Edition: February 14, 2014

More than 1 million people signed up for health plans in January -- bringing the total tally to more than 3 million

Viewpoints: Decoupling jobs and insurance; overblown fear: Medicaid willl take my house

HHS enrollment figures indicate sign-ups even in states where officials have opposed the health law

Covered California infomercial hits the web; Koch brother ad attacks Michigan Dem

Indicted Colorado exchange director had been fully vetted, officials say

GOP states struggling with Medicaid expansion issues

First Edition: February 13, 2014

Viewpoints: Obama's 'cavalier approach' to health law; CBO report's job forecast isn't bad news

State highlights: More states gearing up to combine Medicare, Medicaid; vaccination exemptions still considered by many states; likely Texas democratic Gov. Candidate backs 20-week abortion ban

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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