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Viewpoints: Expanding abortion restrictions; Lift the ban on gay blood donors; Medicare's price schedules

What's going on in Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa ought to be a wake-up call to Minnesotans who prefer that physicians, not politicians, guide an individual's medical care. Minnesota's neighbors have moved with alarming alacrity to cripple women's access to a safe and legal medical procedure - abortion (7/18).

20 Jul 2013

House panel releases draft bill to repeal Medicare's payment system for doctors

The proposal would get rid of the sustainable growth rate formula and replace it with a system that rewards doctors based on quality and efficiency measures, MedPage Today reports.

20 Jul 2013

UnitedHealth reports profit up 7.4 percent

The nation's largest health care insurer says membership is growing and medical costs have been lower than expected.

20 Jul 2013

In a major pitch, Obama says health law is benefiting consumers

In a Thursday White House speech, President Barack Obama stepped into his role as the overhaul's campaigner-in-chief and talked about the millions of Americans who are already benefiting from insurance benefits.

20 Jul 2013

Community health faces new subpoena into Medicare admissions practices

Community Health has received a subpoena for two executives to testify in an investigation into its Medicare admissions. The hospital operator also reports its income fell 57 percent on weak patient volume and debt.

20 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 19, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of President Barack Obama's Thursday speech pitching the positives of the health law.

19 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Baucus applauds 'listening to customers' on employer mandate delay; Unions 'wake up' to problems with health law; Medicare's 'two midnights' rule

Any successful business leader will tell you the importance of listening to customers, gathering their input and suggestions and always putting them first. That lesson was not lost on the Obama administration earlier this month when it correctly decided to push back the implementation of the Affordable Care Act's employer responsibility provision - the employer mandate - until 2015. I'm sure this was a tough call, but it was the right one. It shows the administration is listening to the business community and working to address its concerns, as well as the concerns of Congress (Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., 7/17).

19 Jul 2013

State highlights: D.C. health care providers continue wait for payments; Ga. plans Medicaid managed care for kids; Hospital chain seeks insurer license in Calif.

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.

19 Jul 2013

Study finds simple action to reduce healthcare costs

A study led by a Loyola University Medical Center ENT physician provides a case study of a simple action that can reduce healthcare costs without compromising care.

19 Jul 2013

Testing requirements could delay launch of state health exchanges

Government officials said Wednesday during a Capitol Hill hearing that the Oct. 1 deadline may not allow enough time to test the systems that are being put in place to run these online insurance marketplaces.

19 Jul 2013

Coverage campaign: The White House effort 'to sell' the health law

The Washington Post details how the White House plans to sell the health law and to persuade young people to buy health insurance. Meanwhile, The Hill reports on how a public relations contract related to Obamacare is being boosted by $33 million.

19 Jul 2013

HCA signs definitive agreement to acquire three Tampa Bay hospitals from IASIS

HCA and IASIS Healthcare LLC today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the sale of three Tampa Bay hospitals—Palms of Pasadena Hospital, Memorial Hospital of Tampa and Town & Country Hospital—by IASIS to HCA West Florida.

19 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 18, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the House vote to delay the health law's mandates as well as advance coverage of President Barack Obama's Thursday speech in which he touts the overhaul's benefits.

18 Jul 2013

Health law computer database 'hub' links 7 agencies, spurs privacy concerns

A computer system designed to determine which Americans get what subsidies to help them buy health coverage will be hugely important to the success or failure of Obamacare, Bloomberg reports. And new federal data show doctors have filed more than 190 million prescriptions electronically.

18 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Running out of money in old age; GOP favors the Pentagon over Americans' health care; Texas Senator's support on abortion stand doesn't reflect American attitudes

Nearly half of all Americans will outlive their assets, dying with practically no money at all. Even more worrisome, that's true even among households that met the traditional standards for secure retirement income. ... The results can be measured in more than merely dollars and cents. [MIT Economist James] Poterba's paper found that this group is "disproportionately in poor health," in part because they have no resources to cover medical expenses outside Medicare. Most shocking, many of these households were considered to have entered retirement in good financial shape; they didn't count on outliving their plans (Michael Hiltzik, 7/16).

18 Jul 2013

State highlights: Poll says N.C. abortion bill hurting Governor support

A selection of health policy stories from North Carolina, California and Virginia.

18 Jul 2013

Hospital information on percutaneous coronary intervention now available to consumers

Information from the American College of Cardiology national database of hospital records on stenting and angioplasty, also known as percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, is now available to consumers.

18 Jul 2013

Pioneer ACO results include improved quality, lowered Medicare costs

Even with these marks, nine of the health systems -- nearly a third of those participating in the program -- have decided to leave after the first year.

18 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 17, 2013

Today's headlines include a report about how the delay of the health law's employer mandate might undermine enforcement of the measure's individual mandate as well as news that the House will consider a bill that would put off both of these provisions.

17 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Does your doctor favor more expensive drugs?; Texas Sen. Wendy Davis says abortion law threatens 'health and safety' of women

Your doctor hands you a prescription for a blood pressure drug. But is it the right one for you? You're searching for a new primary-care physician or a specialist. Is there a way you can know whether the doctor is more partial to expensive, brand-name drugs than his peers? (Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, 7/16).

17 Jul 2013