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New bill would expand health law subsidies for those in high-cost areas

The bill would tie subsidy levels to cost of living around the nation instead of to the national federal poverty level. In the meantime, a lawmaker from Colorado introduces a bill to speed construction of VA hospitals.

9 Feb 2014

N.H. State Senators agree to bipartisan Medicaid expansion compromise

The plan will require three federal waivers, would sunset after three years without continued 100 percent federal contributions and would use private insurance to reach the additional low-income New Hampshire residents. It's similar to the Iowa and Arkansas approaches.

9 Feb 2014

Despite jump in enrollment, Aetna says it faces losses from health law marketplaces

Aetna Inc. said it expects to lose money on its business in the health-law marketplaces this year, with the demographics of enrollees skewing slightly more than expected toward people likely to rack up higher costs. The insurer, which is participating in public consumer exchanges in 16 states and the District of Columbia, the most of any carrier, said it has signed up about 135,000 paid members through the end of January (Mathews, 2/6).

9 Feb 2014

States struggle to fix failed exchanges

The "spectacular failure" of health insurance exchanges in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland and Oregon -- despite their support of the health law -- gets a closer look from ProPublica. Repair efforts in Maryland and Oregon are also covered.

9 Feb 2014

Consumers might get to keep noncompliant health plans longer

Meanwhile, groups seeking to enroll young people in coverage use techniques honed in political campaigns, and critics of the law call on consumers to take more responsibility for their health.

9 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 7, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from Capitol Hill about the continuing efforts to overhaul Medicare's payment system for doctors.

9 Feb 2014

Arkansas' model Medicaid expansion plan in Jeopardy

Arizona's efforts to expand the program are also facing challenges while a new approach is being advanced in Virginia.

9 Feb 2014

Patients who experience abrupt kidney injury following surgery have increased risk of heart problems

Patients who experience abrupt kidney injury following surgery have an increased risk of later developing heart problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

7 Feb 2014

CBO findings on how the health law will impact the workforce become partisan flashpoint

During a House Budget Committee hearing, and also across the Capitol, and on social media and the airwaves, Democrats and Republicans sparred over the Congressional Budget Office report released this week.

7 Feb 2014

CBO report reax leads to fact-checking, heavy dose of political debate

Despite the political storm it has generated, the latest report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the law will give several million people an opportunity to work less or not at all because they won't be stuck in jobs simply to keep their job-based insurance.

7 Feb 2014

Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon attempt to boot up exchanges

Meanwhile, PBS NewsHour looks at why enrollment lags among Latinos, the ethnic group with the highest uninsured rate, despite tens of millions being spent on outreach in states like California.

7 Feb 2014

Study: More than half of the nation's uninsured people live in just 116 counties

The study, conducted for the Associated Press, suggests that, even as the clock ticks down on the insurance sign-up period, outreach to this target population may not be so difficult.

7 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the day-after debate about the Congressional Budget Office's updated health law projections played out on Capitol Hill.

6 Feb 2014

Highlights for first quarter of fiscal 2014 from MAXIMUS

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, today reported financial results for its first quarter ended December 31, 2013.

6 Feb 2014

State highlights: Colo. County may sue over no change to insurance ratings; Oregon Medicaid patients visit ER less; Iowa Universities face subsidies lawsuit

Enraged that Colorado officials are refusing to change health insurance rating systems for this year or next, Garfield County's attorney and commissioners are considering suing the state.

6 Feb 2014

CBO projections find health law's increased access to health care could lead many to quit work or reduce hours

The Congressional Budget Office report, released Tuesday, which updated estimates regarding how many people will be able to gain health insurance without necessarily having a job, became an immediate political flashpoint and reignited the political debate surrounding the health law.

6 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: CBO report on health law: Damaging the labor market or freeing workers from 'insurance trap'?

There are 7.8 million Americans working part-time who want full-time work, including a fry cook whose restaurant cut his hours to avoid Affordable Care Act mandates and confronted President Obama in an online Google Q&A last week: "We can't survive. It's not a living." Mr. Obama changed the subject to raising the minimum wage. But he can't dodge reality forever as the evidence piles up that ObamaCare is harming the labor market.

6 Feb 2014

GOP gubernatorial candidate says Mass. should seek Obamacare waiver

Charlie Baker, a former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care who is running for governor, said Massachusetts ran into problems because it tried to meld its successful state law with new federal requirements. Meanwhile, a mini-health exchange in Florida, which will sell discount cards and other products to "fill benefit gaps," nears launch and Connecticut exchange officials announce they are close to their enrollment goals.

6 Feb 2014

Women must visit obstetricians, primary care doctors after childbirth

Medical associations widely recommend that women visit their obstetricians and primary care doctors shortly after giving birth, but slightly fewer than half make or keep those postpartum appointments, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

6 Feb 2014

GOP hammers "risk corridors" as bailout; Democrats worry about explaining law

Republicans are trying to tie a vote raising the debt ceiling to repealing the health law's "risk corridors," which help mitigate insurer risk. In the meantime, President Obama faces some pushback on the law's rocky rollout from his own party.

6 Feb 2014