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Obama resets the 'keep your insurance' pledge, heads to Texas

President Barack Obama will be visiting an area -- Dallas County -- that has one of the highest concentrations of uninsured people in the nation. He is expected to urge Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a staunch opponent of the health law, to follow the lead of other Republican state executives and pursue the overhaul's Medicaid expansion.

6 Nov 2013

Despite some success, state health exchanges continue to get mixed reviews

Though most of the state-run online insurance marketplaces have not been hobbled by the same types of difficulties that marred the federal exchange's launch, some states are successfully enrolling their residents while others still confront hurdles.

5 Nov 2013

Massachusetts-based study finds gaps in care, health outcomes across racial and ethnic groups

New research finds improvements in access to care and health outcomes across racial and ethnic groups in Massachusetts since implementation of the state's health reform law in 2007 yet trends do not indicate progress in reducing disparities in the leading causes of illness and death, according to new research released today at the American Public Health Association's 141st Annual Meeting in Boston.

5 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Website is like 'a patient bleeding from self-inflicted wounds;' remembering patients who never had care and the need for health law

Obamacare is starting to resemble a patient bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. A month after launch, the online health exchanges where individuals are supposed to shop for insurance remain slow or unusable, except in states that opted to run their own marketplaces and did a more competent job than the administration. As if that weren't trouble enough, critics are justifiably mocking President Obama for his repeated, untrue promise that if people liked their health plans, they could keep them. Oops. Hundreds of thousands of people are getting termination notices for plans that don't meet the strict new requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Presumably, not all those people disliked their plans (11/3).

5 Nov 2013

Senate Dems express increasing alarm over website issues

With its first rocky month down, some say the most critical days are beginning for healthcare.gov. Meanwhile, the technical difficulties that have plagued the site are starting to chip away at the Democratic unity that has, so far, surrounded it. Some senators, for instance, are beginning to express concerns about its impact on the upcoming mid-term election and are calling for a delay in the individual mandate penalties if the website is not soon operational.

4 Nov 2013

Insurers seek to explain the factors behind wave of health plan cancellations

The top trade group for health insurers, among others, is attempting to explain the "why" behind these recent developments.

4 Nov 2013

Research roundup: States struggling with Medicaid expansion "complex issues"

We conducted a secondary analysis of data (2005 to 2010) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. ... Comparisons were made between 2 groups to reflect likely movements in insurance status after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act implementation: (1) the uninsured who will be Medicaid eligible afterward versus Medicaid insured, and (2) the uninsured who will be Medicaid ineligible afterward versus the privately insured. ...

4 Nov 2013

Romney says Obama's 'fundamental dishonesty' is undermining second term

Former GOP presidential candidate says Obama did not learn the lessons of the Massachusetts' health overhaul.

4 Nov 2013

Details emerge about key fixers in 'tech surge' to address website issues

News outlets report that the administration's so-called "tech surge" has been somewhat mysterious, but it's becoming clear that the administration has enlisted engineers from a number of major companies.

4 Nov 2013

Sebelius says she is accountable for health website problems

In testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the secretary of health and human services says problems are not acceptable and her department is working hard to fix it. She also rejects complaints that the law is responsible for recent cancellations by insurers.

31 Oct 2013

Healthcare.gov contractor says it flagged problems

A House committee released a letter from CGI, one of the main developers of the government's health insurance website.

31 Oct 2013

ACA insurance coverage expansions could lead to increased emergency department reimbursements

Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) found that outpatient emergency department encounters could reimburse considerably more after implementation of the insurance coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

30 Oct 2013

Healthcare.gov's technical problems persist even as some hiccups are fixed

For instance, the troubled healthcare.gov was recovering Monday from an outage caused by one of the companies supporting the site.

30 Oct 2013

States struggle with enrollment data, outreach to minority populations

News outlets report on state health exchange developments in Colorado, Maryland, California and Minnesota.

30 Oct 2013

Health plan cancellations create White House's next set of challenges

News coverage is focusing on the notion that a large percentage of people who currently have individual health coverage are receiving cancellation notices because their plans don't meet the standards created by the health law. Many of these people, according to reports, will face "sticker shock" with their new insurance. A critical emerging question is whether the Obama administration expected this scenario.

30 Oct 2013

University of Chicago professor helps assess results of India's health reform program

A University of Chicago professor in law and medicine is helping the nation of India assess the results of a massive health reform program targeting its poorest populations, as the government considers whether to extend the five-year-old effort.

29 Oct 2013

State exchange updates: Football marketing, slow starts and Calif.'s litmus test

News outlets provide updates on state health insurance exchanges in Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota and California, the state that many believe will provide a litmus test on how, and if, the state-based exchanges can work elsewhere.

29 Oct 2013

ERs may begin to receive more reimbursement once Obamacare gets fully implemented

Emergency departments, which have suffered shortfalls in reimbursement for decades due to the high rate of uninsurance in the United States, may begin receiving "considerably more" reimbursement once the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) is fully implemented.

29 Oct 2013

GOP officials press for health law delay, Sebelius to resign; Democrats urge patience

The troubles with the health website took center stage on the Sunday news shows and in the Saturday weekly addresses from the president and the Republicans.

28 Oct 2013

Little evidence Obamacare is costing full-time jobs

Reuters and The Wall Street Journal challenge the notion, based on recent jobs data, that the health law is causing an erosion of full-time work. Other media outlets look at the endangered status of new insurance co-ops funded by the law, the high price of many prescription drugs and concerns about the people enrolled in high-risk insurance pools that will close at the end of the year.

24 Oct 2013

Health Reform News and Research

Obama resets the 'keep your insurance' pledge, heads to Texas

Despite some success, state health exchanges continue to get mixed reviews

Massachusetts-based study finds gaps in care, health outcomes across racial and ethnic groups

Viewpoints: Website is like 'a patient bleeding from self-inflicted wounds;' remembering patients who never had care and the need for health law

Senate Dems express increasing alarm over website issues

Insurers seek to explain the factors behind wave of health plan cancellations

Research roundup: States struggling with Medicaid expansion "complex issues"

Romney says Obama's 'fundamental dishonesty' is undermining second term

Details emerge about key fixers in 'tech surge' to address website issues

Sebelius says she is accountable for health website problems

Healthcare.gov contractor says it flagged problems

ACA insurance coverage expansions could lead to increased emergency department reimbursements

Healthcare.gov's technical problems persist even as some hiccups are fixed

States struggle with enrollment data, outreach to minority populations

Health plan cancellations create White House's next set of challenges

University of Chicago professor helps assess results of India's health reform program

State exchange updates: Football marketing, slow starts and Calif.'s litmus test

ERs may begin to receive more reimbursement once Obamacare gets fully implemented

GOP officials press for health law delay, Sebelius to resign; Democrats urge patience

Little evidence Obamacare is costing full-time jobs

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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