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Insurers struggling to meet health law's shifting deadlines

The administration's effort to stretch the enrollment period after the botched rollout of the healthcare.gov website has complicated efforts by insurers and left some consumers concerned about their coverage.

19 Dec 2013

Insured, uninsured are uncertain over impact of health law on them, poll finds

Both insured and uninsured Americans worry about what the health law means for them, a new poll reveals. In the meantime, however, another poll says that despite worry over the health law, the public remains worried about electing Republicans over Democrats in next year's elections.

19 Dec 2013

First lady promotes health law to moms, minorities

In addition to joining her husband in a White House meeting with mothers, Michelle Obama will do a series of interviews with the nation's most popular African-American radio hosts to encourage people to sign up for coverage through the health law.

18 Dec 2013

Federal officials begin sending states applications from residents eligible for Medicaid

The administration is delivering the data to states so that they can enroll new applicants. Meanwhile, in Virginia, the legislative panel holds its last meeting of the year without a recommendation about Medicaid expansion and Colorado reports its latest enrollment figures.

18 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 18, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the former Microsoft executive who has been tapped by the Obama administration to take over the repairs of healthcare.gov.

18 Dec 2013

Takeda expands commercial platform in Israel

Takeda Pharmaceuticals International GmbH today announced further expansion of its commercial platform with the establishment of its wholly-owned subsidiary in Israel. Together with Algeria, Ecuador, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, Israel is the sixth sales entity Takeda has opened this year to reinforce its platform in growth markets.

18 Dec 2013

Immigrants, minority populations, small business employees -- Does the health law help them?

News outlets examine the various groups that might be falling through the health law's coverage gaps, or that might face higher costs, as well as some of the efforts underway to reach them.

18 Dec 2013

New report: Medicaid 'gap' hurts minorities most; Va.'s outgoing governor ponders expansion review

And, The Washington Post profiles Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican whose state is expanding Medicaid and has its own insurance exchange.

18 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: All eyes on insurers; an employer's perspective on health law; budget peace may not last long

When will the insurers revolt? It's a question that's popping up more and more. On the surface, the question answers itself. We're talking about pinstriped insurance company executives, not Hell's Angels. One doesn't want to paint with too broad a brush, but if you were going to guess which vocations lend themselves least to revolutionary zeal, the actuary sciences rank slightly behind embalmers (Jonah Goldberg, 12/17).

18 Dec 2013

Problems in states' health insurance exchanges persist as officials ready deadline push

In Maryland, Gov. Martin O'Malley has hired new contractors to make sure the state's online health insurance exchange works properly even as new problems arise. In the meantime, Minnesota lawmakers are sparring over fixes to that state's exchange and California's marketplace faces enrollment challenges as deadlines loom.

17 Dec 2013

Insurers object to charity helping poor buy health coverage

The charity, A Better LA, said it would sign up 50 low-income Californians for Obamacare plans, but insurers protested that such help could skew insurance pools toward sicker people, The Wall Street Journal reports.

17 Dec 2013

Fix in health website helps stop freefall in Obama's popularity

An ABC News/Washington Post poll suggests opposition to the health law has eased in the past month. Meanwhile, the administration says that the president will soon name someone to replace Jeffrey Zients to oversee the operation of the insurance website.

17 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the health law is viewed by immigrant populations.

17 Dec 2013

MAXIMUS to manage IPA program to support West Virginia's health insurance marketplace

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it has signed a new contract with the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner to develop, manage and maintain an In-Person Assister program to support the state's health insurance marketplace. The $4.5 million contract began on July 15, 2013 and will run through July 15, 2014.

17 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Health law still facing major challenges; Ky. gov. questions McConnell's assessment of overhaul; Pa.'s Medicaid experiment is a 'sham'

The White House is claiming that the Healthcare.gov website is mostly fixed, that the millions of Americans whose health plans were canceled thanks to government rules may be able to keep them for another year, and that in any event these people will get better plans through ObamaCare exchanges. Whatever the truth of these assertions, those who expect better days ahead for the Affordable Care Act are in for a rude awakening. The shocks - economic and political - will get much worse next year and beyond (Michael J. Boskin, 12/15).

17 Dec 2013

Congressional lawmakers and political opponents stake out health law positions, strategies

Republican primary candidates are caught in an Obamacare fix. Even the slightest hint that a GOP contender might support anything besides all-out repeal of the health care law is drawing attacks from the right. So, increasingly, in races across the country, proposals to fix the existing law or retain any of it are being ruled out by Republicans eager to further burnish their conservative credentials (Hohmann and Cheney, 12/15).

17 Dec 2013

Individuals still getting errors from health website as notifications to insurers lag

The Wall Street Journal looks at some of the inaccurate assignments that many consumers find when they seek insurance on the new marketplaces. Meanwhile, the enrollment records for 15,000 people were not properly transmitted to insurance plans, according to federal officials.

17 Dec 2013

With one week to go, insurers look for healthy enrollees

Supporters and detractors of the health law are focused on so-called "young invincibles," adults in their 20s and 30s who don't rack up large medical bills. Dec. 23rd is the deadline for signing up for insurance starting Jan. 1.

17 Dec 2013

States race to fix insurance exchange glitches

In Maryland, Vermont and Oregon, state officials are still hammering out technological issues preventing consumers from signing up for coverage. In California, in contrast, the pace of enrollment in December has been nearly three times that of a month earlier as the deadline approaches to sign up for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

17 Dec 2013

New commentary documents harmful effects of sequestration on Indian Health Service

As federal legislators work toward a budget agreement, a new commentary documents the harmful effects of sequestration on the Indian Health Service. Sequestration forced a 5 percent reduction in funds for the Indian Health Service, perpetuating longstanding health care disparities and raising questions about the federal government's legal and moral obligation to Indians, states the commentary, which appears in the Hastings Center Report.

17 Dec 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

Insurers struggling to meet health law's shifting deadlines

Insured, uninsured are uncertain over impact of health law on them, poll finds

First lady promotes health law to moms, minorities

Federal officials begin sending states applications from residents eligible for Medicaid

First Edition: December 18, 2013

Takeda expands commercial platform in Israel

Immigrants, minority populations, small business employees -- Does the health law help them?

New report: Medicaid 'gap' hurts minorities most; Va.'s outgoing governor ponders expansion review

Viewpoints: All eyes on insurers; an employer's perspective on health law; budget peace may not last long

Problems in states' health insurance exchanges persist as officials ready deadline push

Insurers object to charity helping poor buy health coverage

Fix in health website helps stop freefall in Obama's popularity

First Edition: December 17, 2013

MAXIMUS to manage IPA program to support West Virginia's health insurance marketplace

Viewpoints: Health law still facing major challenges; Ky. gov. questions McConnell's assessment of overhaul; Pa.'s Medicaid experiment is a 'sham'

Congressional lawmakers and political opponents stake out health law positions, strategies

Individuals still getting errors from health website as notifications to insurers lag

With one week to go, insurers look for healthy enrollees

States race to fix insurance exchange glitches

New commentary documents harmful effects of sequestration on Indian Health Service

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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