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Budget talks moving further from GOP's health law concerns

Republicans blame Democrats for throwing up new roadblocks to a compromise, but at the same time Sen. Lindsey Graham says making changes to the health law is "unrealistic."

14 Oct 2013

Study finds empirical evidence of external market factors that may facilitate or inhibit ACO formation

Accountable care organizations are rapidly being formed with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and they are being established in areas where it may be easier to meet quality and cost targets, researchers at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice said in a study published in the journal Health Services Research.

13 Oct 2013

Rutgers getting ready to launch solution to deliver more effective care at lower cost

During nearly three decades as a primary care physician, Alfred Tallia has identified a daunting list of flaws with the nation's health care.

13 Oct 2013

Blame for Healthcare.gov's problems placed on key design element

As outside experts offered opinions about the reasons for the glitches in the federal health insurance exchange, administration officials asked consumers for patience while the system undergoes repairs. Meanwhile, House and Senate Republicans launched investigations into the difficulties.

12 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to privacy; 'catastrophic' debut of marketplaces should signal need for delay; in budget impasse can either side accept a compromise?

Every day, personal information is the subject of hundreds of thousands of hacking attempts from all over the world. From nation states to crime rings, knowing and exploiting your information is big business. On October 1, a major component of Obamacare made you even more vulnerable to devastating attacks on your personal information and the administration is doing too little about it (Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., 10/10).

12 Oct 2013

Research roundup: Medicare Part D in 2014; barriers to mental health care; scattered patterns of ACOs

Medicare Part D continues to be a marketplace with an array of competing plans offered at a wide range of premiums and benefit designs. In 2014, Medicare beneficiaries will have a choice of 35 stand-alone PDPs, on average, up by four from 2013. ... Beneficiaries receiving Low-Income Subsidies will have access to a modestly higher number of plans for no monthly premium in 2014 compared to 2013 ... Notable trends for 2014 include a growing share of PDPs using preferred pharmacy networks and adopting more formulary cost-sharing tiers.

12 Oct 2013

No deal yet, but GOP offer on debt limit raises hopes

Speaker John Boehner's offer represented give on the part of Republicans, who had been insisting on cuts to the federal health care law as the price for reopening government and extending the debt limit. While Boehner proposed moving only to raise the debt limit, discussions broadened to include efforts to reopen the government in exchange for entitlement cuts. In the past, President Barack Obama has refused to consider those unless Republicans agree to raise revenues.

12 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 11, 2013

Today's headlines include news about what experts are diagnosing as the trouble spots in the federal online health insurance exchange and how to fix them.

11 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: 'Death throes' of health law opponents; Ryan's plan on entitlements may offer way out of budget crisis

Politically, the biggest challenges facing the ACA are behind us. By my count, the law has already survived three near-death experiences: the Democrats' loss of a filibuster-proof Senate majority with the election of Scott Brown in Jan. 2010, the Supreme Court's June 2012 decision upholding (with one exception) the law's constitutionality, and President Obama's re-election last Nov. Much of what we see going on in Washington now is the death throes of the opposition, especially now that Americans are beginning to sign up for coverage (John McDonough, 10/9).

11 Oct 2013

Obama meets with congressional delegations as GOP mulls change in tactics to end budget crisis

The president is having separate meetings with Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate as both sides seek a solution to the impasse. Some Republicans are looking at a plan on entitlement changes from Rep. Paul Ryan as a roadmap, but others complain that he is abandoning the fight over the health law.

11 Oct 2013

Health exchange issues? There are many, say experts and consumers

The reviews may not be good, but people are visiting the new health care web sites, according to the new AP-GfK poll. In addition, experts offer possible reasons for the problems that continue to plague the federal health insurance web site. Meanwhile, various news outlets examine how certain states are faring with the federal and state exchanges.

11 Oct 2013

Driver Rehabilitation program evaluates whether patient can safely drive car or not

Loyola University Health System has begun a Driver Rehabilitation program that provides a comprehensive evaluation on whether a patient can safely drive a car.

11 Oct 2013

US health care spending to grow at an average annual rate of 5.8% for 2012-22

New estimates released 9/18/13 from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project that aggregate health care spending in the United States will grow at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent for 2012-22, or 1.0 percentage point faster than the expected growth in the gross domestic product.

11 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 10, 2013

Today's headlines include a new Associated Press poll that offers the public's early reviews of the first days of the health law's online insurance marketplaces.

10 Oct 2013

BMC finds patients with high degree of skills, confidence less likely to have hospital readmissions

A study by physicians at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has found that patients with a high degree of activation (possessing the knowledge, skills, confidence and inclination to assume responsibility for managing one's health and health-care needs) were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge than those with a low level of activation.

10 Oct 2013

Mayo Clinic study: Baby boomers to witness surge in cataract surgeries

As baby boomers enter their retirement years, health care costs for complex and debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease are expected to soar. Not drawing as much attention is the likelihood of similarly rising expenses for common age-related medical procedures. A Mayo Clinic study looked at one of those -- cataract surgery-- and found that more people are getting the vision-improving procedure, seeking it at younger ages and having both eyes repaired within a few months, rather than only treating one eye.

10 Oct 2013

State health exchanges running more smoothly than federal marketplace

The New York Times reports that, while difficulties continue for consumers in the 30 states that are using the federal government's online health insurance marketplace, those who live in states that have chosen to operate their own are faring better.

10 Oct 2013

Shoppers on fed's insurance website still face problems

News outlets report on the glitches still plaguing the website, healthcare.gov., in its second week of operation. White House officials say fixes are being made, although they have been unable to say how many consumers have enrolled in plans through the website.

10 Oct 2013

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield offers tips for playing safe with prescription drugs

As we age, most of us come to depend on prescription drugs to help us live healthier, longer lives. But the very medications that we count on for better health could also land us in the hospital.

10 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Rep. Ryan says entitlements hold the key to an agreement; health law's impact on smokers; WSJ on Medicaid expansion

Once those threats are removed, however, there is plenty to discuss: how to replace the sequester cuts, which are already devastating domestic programs and are about to get much worse for defense spending; how to use fiscal policy to stimulate the creation of jobs and fix the nation's infrastructure; how to repair a broken tax system, reduce long-term debt, and ensure that social welfare programs remain healthy (10/8).

10 Oct 2013

Medicare News and Research

Budget talks moving further from GOP's health law concerns

Study finds empirical evidence of external market factors that may facilitate or inhibit ACO formation

Rutgers getting ready to launch solution to deliver more effective care at lower cost

Blame for Healthcare.gov's problems placed on key design element

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to privacy; 'catastrophic' debut of marketplaces should signal need for delay; in budget impasse can either side accept a compromise?

Research roundup: Medicare Part D in 2014; barriers to mental health care; scattered patterns of ACOs

No deal yet, but GOP offer on debt limit raises hopes

First Edition: October 11, 2013

Viewpoints: 'Death throes' of health law opponents; Ryan's plan on entitlements may offer way out of budget crisis

Obama meets with congressional delegations as GOP mulls change in tactics to end budget crisis

Health exchange issues? There are many, say experts and consumers

Driver Rehabilitation program evaluates whether patient can safely drive car or not

US health care spending to grow at an average annual rate of 5.8% for 2012-22

First Edition: October 10, 2013

BMC finds patients with high degree of skills, confidence less likely to have hospital readmissions

Mayo Clinic study: Baby boomers to witness surge in cataract surgeries

State health exchanges running more smoothly than federal marketplace

Shoppers on fed's insurance website still face problems

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield offers tips for playing safe with prescription drugs

Viewpoints: Rep. Ryan says entitlements hold the key to an agreement; health law's impact on smokers; WSJ on Medicaid expansion

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