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White House takes aim at Latinos, young people with health law outreach efforts

Both populations are key to the success of new online health insurance marketplaces, which will begin enrolling people on Oct. 1 for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

27 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Entitlements driving U.S. toward insolvency; Shalala on being informed; Catholics find contraceptive mandate morally wrong

As currently structured, entitlement programs can't keep up with longer life expectancies and changing demographics. Soon, one-third of Americans will be retired and will spend one-third of their lives in retirement. Meanwhile, the ratio of workers to retirees has dropped precipitously. During this decade and the next, the number of Americans 65 or older will jump 75 percent, while those of working age will nudge up by just 7 percent. Within a decade, the total price for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will reach $3 trillion a year, but we'll have fewer workers paying into the system and supporting those growing costs (R. Bruce Josten, 6/25).

27 Jun 2013

Cruz says immigration plan would affect workers' benefits under health law; Senate panel hears concerns about Medicare audits

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, criticizes the pending immigration bill and health law while Medicare observation care and audits are hot topics during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. Also in the news, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, talks about hospital CEO pay. In addition, he and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., push to open the Medicare claims payment database.

27 Jun 2013

Tavenner outlines specifics on health exchanges, other health law issues

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services chief Marilyn Tavenner discussed health exchanges, among other things, with Georgia Health News. Other news outlets detailed the exchange developments in Minnesota and Colorado.

27 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 26, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the latest developments in the health care marketplace.

26 Jun 2013

Lawsuits, or threat of them, hover over Medicare policy

News outlets report on the government's position on releasing doctor-specific information and on Medicare patients' access to physical therapy. And, ProPublica investigates prescribing practices.

26 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Exploring the bond between caretaker and patient; Missouri looks beyond expansion to reform Medicaid

This Op-Doc video explores the relationship between an immigrant caretaker and an elderly woman in the last months of her life. Joesy, a Fijian immigrant, works long hours providing live-in care for 95-year-old Haru Tsurumoto in Sonoma County, Calif. Through intimate and quiet scenes, we explore Joesy's complex relationship with Haru. The two respect each other in part because each has experienced being an outsider in the United States - Joesy as an undocumented immigrant who fears she could be sent back to Fiji, and Haru as a Japanese-American who was sent to an internment camp during the Second World War (Theo Rigby and Kate McLean, 6/24).

26 Jun 2013

Study examines increased use of new technologies for prostate cancer treatment

Use of advanced treatment technologies for prostate cancer, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy and robotic prostatectomy, has increased among men with low-risk disease, high risk of noncancer mortality, or both, a population of patients who are unlikely to benefit from these treatments, according to a study in the June 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Jun 2013

HHS inspector general details prescription-writing abuses

The new report finds that health providers such as massage therapists, chiropractors and athletic trainers often wrote prescriptions -- and Medicare paid for them.

25 Jun 2013

Hospital performance on publicly reported conditions may be correlated with overall mortality rates

Hospital performance on publicly reported conditions (acute myocardial infarction [heart attack], congestive heart failure, and pneumonia), may potentially be used as a signal of overall hospital mortality rates, according to a study by Marta L. McCrum, M.D., of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues.

25 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 25, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the Obama administraiton's plans for getting the word about the health law's online marketplaces.

25 Jun 2013

State highlights: Calif. eyes health care for immigrants; New scrutiny for N.Y. home health firms; Examining Ore. insurers' choice on smokers

When Congress passed President Obama's health care overhaul, a critical compromise provision was that immigrants living in the United States illegally would not be allowed access to publicly subsidized health insurance.

25 Jun 2013

Research roundup: Examining the health of future Medicaid patients; Rural trauma care issues; Lessons from Medicare Part D

Under the federal health law, states have the option of expanding Medicaid coverage to most-low income populations, potentially adding millions of new enrollees. Researchers analyzed 2007-2010 survey data from a study population of more than 1,000 people, and found that, compared to adults already enrolled in state Medicaid programs, low-income uninsured adults who stand to gain from Medicaid expansion "will differ significantly from current Medicaid enrollees," the authors write.

25 Jun 2013

Political fight jeopardizes Mississippi's entire Medicaid program

The state's Democratic and Republican lawmakers are embroiled in a game of chicken that threatens to blow up the Medicaid program, which serves 700,000 poor Mississipians. Meanwhile, reports from Indiana, Montana and California detail other developments related to state officials' decisions about whether to expand the program under the health law.

25 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Mich. gov. says Medicaid expansion would save money, lives; CMS on making medical devices affordable

The people of Michigan elected the members of the state Senate to be leaders, not vacationers. Unfortunately, the Senate forgot that Thursday and adjourned for its summer vacation. It left Lansing without voting on a bill that would provide health care coverage to nearly half a million working Michiganders. Ensuring access to affordable, quality health care is one of the most significant challenges facing Michigan. The Healthy Michigan plan developed over the past several months is a plan that addresses many of the state's needs and reflects the state's values (Gov. Rick Snyder, 6/23).

25 Jun 2013

Hospital news: Reimbursement caps mean some Calif. facilities reduce surgery prices

The program saved $5.5 million over two years, the study found. News outlets covered developments in the industry.

25 Jun 2013

African-Americans with Medicaid are less likely to receive LKT than patients with private insurance

African-Americans with Medicaid as their primary insurance were less likely to receive a living kidney transplant (LKT) than patients with private insurance, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

21 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 21, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the rebates some insurers will provide to consumers as a result of a health law provision.

21 Jun 2013

Weill Cornell public health study sheds light on hidden cost of terrorism

The 9/11 attacks on America appear to have caused about one million former smokers across the country to take up the habit again and maintain it, according to a Weill Cornell Medical College public health study.

21 Jun 2013

Reviews highlight harmful prescriptions and unnecessary surgeries

ProPublica takes a look at a Medicare drug program report detailing the prescription writing practices of some physicians while USA Today reports on its findings regarding unnecessary surgeries based on a review of government records and medical databases.

21 Jun 2013

Medicare News and Research

White House takes aim at Latinos, young people with health law outreach efforts

Viewpoints: Entitlements driving U.S. toward insolvency; Shalala on being informed; Catholics find contraceptive mandate morally wrong

Cruz says immigration plan would affect workers' benefits under health law; Senate panel hears concerns about Medicare audits

Tavenner outlines specifics on health exchanges, other health law issues

First Edition: June 26, 2013

Lawsuits, or threat of them, hover over Medicare policy

Viewpoints: Exploring the bond between caretaker and patient; Missouri looks beyond expansion to reform Medicaid

Study examines increased use of new technologies for prostate cancer treatment

HHS inspector general details prescription-writing abuses

Hospital performance on publicly reported conditions may be correlated with overall mortality rates

First Edition: June 25, 2013

State highlights: Calif. eyes health care for immigrants; New scrutiny for N.Y. home health firms; Examining Ore. insurers' choice on smokers

Research roundup: Examining the health of future Medicaid patients; Rural trauma care issues; Lessons from Medicare Part D

Political fight jeopardizes Mississippi's entire Medicaid program

Viewpoints: Mich. gov. says Medicaid expansion would save money, lives; CMS on making medical devices affordable

Hospital news: Reimbursement caps mean some Calif. facilities reduce surgery prices

African-Americans with Medicaid are less likely to receive LKT than patients with private insurance

First Edition: June 21, 2013

Weill Cornell public health study sheds light on hidden cost of terrorism

Reviews highlight harmful prescriptions and unnecessary surgeries

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