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HHS announces $54M for 'navigators' to help consumers use new insurance marketplaces

The $54 million to hire and train people to help the uninsured sign up for coverage will be distributed to groups in 33 states based on their number of uninsured. Texas and Florida, for instance, with almost nine million uninsured, will get $14 million.

11 Apr 2013

Three steps to create patient-centered care at lower costs

Americans want and deserve excellent health care — whether they are visiting a primary care physician for a checkup, having surgery or need more complex care — but many wonder how they and the nation will afford it.

11 Apr 2013

Controlling ER, hospitals admissions a challenge for Medicare

A new study finds that Medicare isn't properly counting people who are released from hospitals and then come back to emergency rooms, while Reuters points out pay-for-performance incentives are aimed at keeping people out of ERs.

11 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 10, 2013

Today's headlines include more details and analysis regarding President Barack Obama's budget plan and how it handles Medicare and other entitlement programs.

10 Apr 2013

Medicare estimates of potential work savings greatly exaggerated

According to a new study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, any efficiencies in physician interpretation and diagnosis gained when different providers interpret different medical imaging scans performed on the same patient are minute and vary by procedure.

10 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Looking for the budget's true bottom line; The debate on Plan B reignited; Medicare cuts have impact

President Obama will release his overdue budget on Wednesday. It will doubtless project a reduction in the federal budget deficit - a projection that journalists, commentators and policy makers should ignore.

10 Apr 2013

State roundup: Ga. smoker surcharge could be working; States clamp down on early deliveries; Calif. groups want Medi-Cal transition pause over coverage concerns

State officials say the number of Georgians in the state employee health plan paying $80 more a month in insurance premiums due to smoking has dropped by 44 percent over the past six years.

10 Apr 2013

President's budget likely to reignite discussions regarding a variety of budget-trimming options

News outlets examine how the budget blueprint could address Medicare payments and also include other trims to the program.

10 Apr 2013

Sebelius: 'Relentless and continuous' politics complicates health law's implementation

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she underestimated how long politics would dog the health law. Meanwhile, a regional official of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services tells The Washington Post what's happening in the field.

10 Apr 2013

Moody's: Sequestration adds on new financial pressures for non-profit hospitals

Also in the news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has begun auditing some of the physicians who qualify for a Medicare EHR "meaningful use" bonus before they even receive a check -- a step that has triggered grumbling from organized medicine.

10 Apr 2013

House GOP leader to introduce Tavenner at nomination hearing

Senators are planning to grill Marilyn Tavenner, the Obama administration's nominee to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, but Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., has said she is "eminently qualified," and her confirmation is expected.

10 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 9, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about about various elements of the health law and how they are being viewed as implementation rolls ahead.

9 Apr 2013

Tavenner may gain bipartisan support

President Barack Obama's nominee to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will go before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday with potential for bipartisan support for her confirmation.

9 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Drugging soldiers; GOP opposition to Medicaid expansion strays from party legacy; Health law distorts market

Last year, more active-duty soldiers committed suicide than died in battle. ... Worse, according to data not reported on until now, the military evidently responded to stress that afflicts soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan primarily by drugging soldiers on the front lines.

9 Apr 2013

Military health care: Shallow candidate pool could hamper mental health efforts

The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to hire 1,600 mental health professionals, but some say a shallow pool of candidates could hamper efforts, while Congress continues to resist making military health care beneficiaries pay more for their care.

9 Apr 2013

New medical schools aim at doubling number of primary care doctors

New medical schools are trying to double the number of primary care doctors in America, while MedPAC considers better pay for advanced-practice nurses and physicians assistants under Medicare.

9 Apr 2013

Obama's budget expected to call for Medicare cuts

n advance of the release of President Barack Obama's fiscal blueprint on Wednesday, an adviser warned friends and foes that the plan includes things neither will like. The budget plan is expected to kick off new discussions about trimming entitlements and revamping the nation's safety net.

9 Apr 2013