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Friday face-off: With gov't shutdown looming, House to vote on stopgap funding measure that would defund health law

The GOP-controlled chamber is expected to approve the bill, which will then face stiff opposition in the Senate. The White House has also threatened a veto.

21 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Rove warns GOP that defunding could be 'self-defeating;' Jonathan Cohn says latest Obamacare fight reveals Republicans' will to overlook gains from law

Today, independents look more like Republicans than Democrats, especially when it comes to health care. In a new Crossroads GPS health-care policy survey conducted in 10 states likely to have competitive Senate races and in House districts that lean Republican or are swing seats, 60 percent of independents oppose President Obama's Affordable Care Act. If this holds through 2014, then Republicans should receive another big boost in the midterms. There is, however, one issue on which independents disagree with Republicans: using the threat of a government shutdown to defund ObamaCare (Karl Rove, 9/18).

20 Sep 2013

Reprieve over? Health spending projected to climb 6% next year

The nation's health care spending is slated to rise about 6 percent next year, according to a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report. This follows five years of slower growth expected to end as the nation's economy recovers and the health law expands coverage. The spending increase is likely lower than it would have been, however, if the Supreme Court hadn't allowed states to choose whether to expand Medicaid, researchers wrote.

20 Sep 2013

White House takes steps to assure consumers about safety of insurance marketplaces

The announcement of anti-fraud measures, part of a coordinated federal effort to protect consumers, came after a House committee warned of "risks of fraud and misinformation" in efforts to enroll millions of people eligible for subsidized insurance in new online marketplaces.

19 Sep 2013

Inovalon, Walgreens sign agreement to bring innovative solutions to healthcare marketplace

Inovalon, Inc., a leading provider of data-driven healthcare solutions, and Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement to provide Inovalon's data-driven encounter support platform, Electronic Patient Assessment Solution Suite within Healthcare Clinic at select Walgreens to support improvements in managed care quality and performance.

19 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 19, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about future health spending projections from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Actuaries as well as the latest on the upcoming House vote on a stopgap funding measure that would also defund the health law.

19 Sep 2013

Gentiva, Harden enter into definitive merger agreement

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., the largest provider of home health and hospice services in the United States based on revenue, and Harden Healthcare Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of home health, hospice and community care services, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Gentiva will acquire Harden.

19 Sep 2013

CBO issues not-so-rosy long-term budget outlook

In the short term, the federal deficit will fall. But, starting in 2016, as more baby boomers join the Medicare ranks, the deficits again will pick up. With this news in the backdrop, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Republican lawmakers of the dangers of risking a government default as part of their efforts to derail the implementation of the health law.

19 Sep 2013

Percentage of Americans without health coverage drops for 2nd year

The small decline was credited mainly to somewhat higher enrollments in Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the Children's Health Insurance Program.

19 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Deep flaws in current health system often overlooked in Obamacare debate; 'Missouri bleeds jobs' while neighbors expand Medicaid; budget debate is best shot at stopping health law

Americans have had little understanding of the Affordable Care Act since it became law in 2010. With major provisions taking effect in January, half the country still does not know what the law does or what it means for them. While some of the confusion is no doubt due to the law's complexity and the highly charged political environment, a largely ignored but central factor is that people know little about the deeply flawed health insurance system that got us to this place (John Seffrin and Jim Guest, 9/17).

19 Sep 2013

Contact Precautions used to prevent spread of infections create negative perception of care

Patient satisfaction has an increasing impact on hospitals' bottom lines, factoring into Medicare reimbursement of hospital care. A new study finds patients placed in Contact Precautions (Contact Isolation) were twice as likely to report perceived problems with care compared to patients without Contact Precautions, placing the common infection control practice at odds with hospital interests.

19 Sep 2013

Wide variation among states in access to care, coverage for poor

There is wide variation in access to health care for the poor among the states, with the higher-performing states making it more likely that their poorer residents have health coverage and get preventive care, a new study finds.

19 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 18, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the Census Bureau's latest figures on the nation's uninsured as well as Congressional Budget Office long-term deficit projections and how that news fits into events in the ongoing Capitol Hill budget battles.

18 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: WSJ says GOP 'kamikaze' defunding mission will not go well; taxing Medicare benefits; problems with Penn. State's wellness program

These critics [like Heritage Action and the Club for Growth] portrayed the Boehner plan as a sellout because of a campaign that captured the imagination of some conservatives this summer: Republicans must threaten to crash their Zeros into the aircraft carrier of ObamaCare.

18 Sep 2013

GOP lawmakers contemplate daunting budgetary choices -- Defund health law? Avoid gov't shutdown? Raise debt ceiling?

The fiscal choices set up intra-party fissure for Republicans and draw more tough talk from President Barack Obama.

18 Sep 2013

Health insurance exchange news: Investors say 4 million Americans will initially enroll

This number is well below the Congressional Budget Office's prediction of seven million. Meanwhile, USA Today reports that many Americans will pay less than $100 a month in premiums, based on an HHS report to be released today.

18 Sep 2013

Emotional stress, cognitive impairment linked to early hospital readmission of heart patients

Heart patients' mental state and thinking abilities may help predict whether costly and potentially dangerous early hospital readmission will follow their release after treatment, according to the results of a significant new study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

18 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 17, 2013

Today's headlines include stories detailing how the health law's new online insurance marketplaces will work.

17 Sep 2013

Leading geriatrician asserts elimination of Medicare three-night hospital stay rule

Elimination of a Medicare rule that mandates a three-night hospital stay as a precondition for skilled nursing rehabilitation coverage could reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and improve patient care without increasing costs to the patient or the federal government, a leading geriatrician asserts in on online publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

17 Sep 2013

Medical imaging self-referral leads to unnecessary imaging examinations

Patients having knee MRI examinations are significantly more likely to receive a negative finding if referred by physicians who have a financial interest in the imaging equipment being used, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.

17 Sep 2013

Medicare News and Research

Friday face-off: With gov't shutdown looming, House to vote on stopgap funding measure that would defund health law

Viewpoints: Rove warns GOP that defunding could be 'self-defeating;' Jonathan Cohn says latest Obamacare fight reveals Republicans' will to overlook gains from law

Reprieve over? Health spending projected to climb 6% next year

White House takes steps to assure consumers about safety of insurance marketplaces

Inovalon, Walgreens sign agreement to bring innovative solutions to healthcare marketplace

First Edition: September 19, 2013

Gentiva, Harden enter into definitive merger agreement

CBO issues not-so-rosy long-term budget outlook

Percentage of Americans without health coverage drops for 2nd year

Viewpoints: Deep flaws in current health system often overlooked in Obamacare debate; 'Missouri bleeds jobs' while neighbors expand Medicaid; budget debate is best shot at stopping health law

Contact Precautions used to prevent spread of infections create negative perception of care

Wide variation among states in access to care, coverage for poor

First Edition: September 18, 2013

Viewpoints: WSJ says GOP 'kamikaze' defunding mission will not go well; taxing Medicare benefits; problems with Penn. State's wellness program

GOP lawmakers contemplate daunting budgetary choices -- Defund health law? Avoid gov't shutdown? Raise debt ceiling?

Health insurance exchange news: Investors say 4 million Americans will initially enroll

Emotional stress, cognitive impairment linked to early hospital readmission of heart patients

First Edition: September 17, 2013

Leading geriatrician asserts elimination of Medicare three-night hospital stay rule

Medical imaging self-referral leads to unnecessary imaging examinations

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