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Despite long-held objections to health law, Insurers work hard to make it succeed

The Wall Street Journal looks at how these critics of the law are key to making it work. Also, Politico examines how large and small businesses are affected by Obamacare changes.

1 Oct 2013

States prepare for Medicaid coverage changes -- even those not expanding under Obamacare

States grapple with Medicaid expansion issues -- even in states like South Carolina that aren't using the health law's provision to expand coverage. In Texas, 1 million people may fall into a Medicaid "doughnut hole," and Ohio Gov. John Kasich waits to see how his push for expansion will affect his re-election chances.

1 Oct 2013

Navigating the health law's new insurance options

In some states, the task of helping consumers find their way through the health law's new online insurance marketplace has fallen to "navigators." In general, though, news outlets report on the strategies and public outreach efforts underway in locations across the country.

1 Oct 2013

Polls show continued confusion over health law

New surveys show public confusion persists over many health law provisions, including the role of health insurance exchanges which open for enrollment Tuesday, and the financial assistance that will be available to many people to help them buy coverage.

1 Oct 2013

Battle over health law brings gov't to brink of shutdown

A stopgap bill to fund the government when the fiscal year ends Oct. 1 continues to be caught up in Republican efforts to defund, delay or derail the health law. Federal agencies have contingency plans in place.

1 Oct 2013

Concerns about technical snags on marketplace opening day

Advocates and foes of health law acknowledge that technical glitches could create some problems.

1 Oct 2013

Tips for shopping on new Obamacare exchanges

Media outlets offer guides to the uninsured and to those who buy their own coverage on the eve of the startup of new online marketplaces under the federal health law.

1 Oct 2013

Use of psychotropic prescription medications in very young children stabilizing

The use of psychotropic prescription medications to treat ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety and other mental health disorders in very young children appears to have leveled off.

30 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 30, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the readiness of the health law's online marketplaces and other key provisions the day before their Oct. 1 launch date even as the looming government shutdown becomes more of a reality.

30 Sep 2013

In campaign-style speech, Obama defended the health law, refused to back down in the face of GOP efforts to roll it back

In his Thursday appearance at a suburban Maryland community college, President Barack Obama dismissed as "crazy" the arguments being advanced by the overhaul's opponents and accused some GOP lawmakers of attempting "blackmail" to stop its implementation.

30 Sep 2013

Research roundup: Managed care for dementia patients; bundled payments after the hospital; disparities among Medicare beneficiaries

Dementia is a leading cause of death in the United States; however, patients dying with this disease may not receive optimal end-of-life care. ... many of these [nursing home] residents commonly experience burdensome and costly interventions, such as hospital transfers, tube-feeding, and intravenous antibiotics. ... Nursing home reimbursement policies are among the factors that incentivize more aggressive care. ... This study linked unique prospective clinical data with Medicare claims to describe and compare patterns of care between nursing home residents with advanced dementia enrolled in a Medicare managed-care insurance plan and those with fee-for-service Medicare.

30 Sep 2013

Technical glitches delay online signups for small business and Spanish speakers

The Obama administration acknowledged glitches Thursday that will delay online enrollment for small businesses and Spanish-language speakers in the 34 states that elected to not set up their own insurance marketplaces. The postponements amount to a few weeks in the six-month open enrollment period and will not affect the Jan. 1 start date for coverage.

30 Sep 2013

Sunshine Health to participate as Qualified Health Plan in Florida Health Insurance Marketplace

Sunshine State Health Plan announced today that it has received approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to participate as a Qualified Health Plan in the Florida Health Insurance Marketplace in three South Florida counties, where it will offer a line of products branded as Ambetter from Sunshine Health.

30 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Gerson says no compromises make for 'bad politics;' Democrats are getting a pass; Manchin signals a break in Democratic ranks

We are seeing that an anti-compromise ideology can make for bad politics. In our system, Obamacare will not be overturned by one house of Congress. A tea-party shutdown strategy - if implemented - would make securing the other house and the presidency less likely for Republicans. And the political energy consumed by Cruz and crew has not been available to promote incremental limits on Obamacare that might have aided GOP political prospects (Michael Gerson, 9/26).

30 Sep 2013

Manchin may back Democrats on individual mandate delay

News outlets are reporting that Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said Thursday he'd be willing to support a year-long delay in the health law's individual mandate if it came before the Senate -- and then walked those comments back. Some other Democrats support modest tweaks to the law, The Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Sep 2013

Health law confusion, division among American public persists

USA Today examines how the health law is viewed in Colorado as a case study of the confusion that surrounds it. As further evidence of that confusion, one new poll finds that people without insurance are divided on how much the overhaul will impact them just as another concludes that half of Americans say Republicans should stop their effort to derail the measure as part of the current budget battle.

30 Sep 2013

Parsing the premiums in new Obamacare exchanges

Media outlets analyze the data on premiums for 36 states released this week by the Obama administration -- looking at the impact of competition on prices and assessing which regions -- and which consumers -- might be winners or losers in the new online marketplaces.

30 Sep 2013

Americans in highest socio-economic groups have 13% greater chance of surviving SAH

Americans in the highest socio-economic groups have a 13 per cent greater chance of surviving a kind of stroke known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage than those in the lowest socio-economic groups, a new study has found.

29 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 27, 2013

Today's headlines include the latest updates on the congressional brinksmanship related to current budget battles and efforts to defund the health law, as well as reports about President Barack Obama's campaign-style speech about the law and details on another implementation delay.

27 Sep 2013

Opinions on Cruz: GOP fight obscures harms from sequester; dramatic stand reaffirms Republican resolve; fundraising bonanza for both parties

The budget crisis manufactured by Congressional Republicans will never succeed at halting health care reform, but it has already caused long-lasting harm. It will preserve the deeply damaging spending cuts, known as the sequester, that are costing jobs and hurting the lives of millions (9/25).

27 Sep 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

Despite long-held objections to health law, Insurers work hard to make it succeed

States prepare for Medicaid coverage changes -- even those not expanding under Obamacare

Navigating the health law's new insurance options

Polls show continued confusion over health law

Battle over health law brings gov't to brink of shutdown

Concerns about technical snags on marketplace opening day

Tips for shopping on new Obamacare exchanges

Use of psychotropic prescription medications in very young children stabilizing

First Edition: September 30, 2013

In campaign-style speech, Obama defended the health law, refused to back down in the face of GOP efforts to roll it back

Research roundup: Managed care for dementia patients; bundled payments after the hospital; disparities among Medicare beneficiaries

Technical glitches delay online signups for small business and Spanish speakers

Sunshine Health to participate as Qualified Health Plan in Florida Health Insurance Marketplace

Viewpoints: Gerson says no compromises make for 'bad politics;' Democrats are getting a pass; Manchin signals a break in Democratic ranks

Manchin may back Democrats on individual mandate delay

Health law confusion, division among American public persists

Parsing the premiums in new Obamacare exchanges

Americans in highest socio-economic groups have 13% greater chance of surviving SAH

First Edition: September 27, 2013

Opinions on Cruz: GOP fight obscures harms from sequester; dramatic stand reaffirms Republican resolve; fundraising bonanza for both parties

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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