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Viewpoints: Republicans' 'temper tantrum' on health care; 'mixed message' on cancer

Last week House Republicans voted for the 40th time to repeal Obamacare. Like the previous 39 votes, this action will have no effect whatsoever. But it was a stand-in for what Republicans really want to do: repeal reality, and the laws of arithmetic in particular.

6 Aug 2013

GOP still embroiled in intra-party split over govt. shutdown and efforts to defund the health law

Some Republican governors are urging members of Congress to step away from the government shutdown threat. And while some GOP leaders are signaling that efforts to gut health law funding will not be considered in this fall's budget battle, rank-and-file lawmakers have opinions of their own.

6 Aug 2013

Democratic governors see political advantage in efforts to implement the health law

News coverage of issues related to state health exchange readiness and premium costs could boost Democrats in some states.

6 Aug 2013

Public unions pushed to accept less expensive health benefits

The New York Times explores how local governments are pressing unions to accept less expensive benefit packages to avoid the health law's so-called Cadillac tax which goes into effect in 2018. Other news outlets examine health law outreach efforts, as well as how August might be a 'steamy' month of town hall meetings.

6 Aug 2013

Aetna pulls insurance plans from MD.'s health law exchange

In state health insurance marketplace news, Aetna won't sell its plans on Maryland's version of the exchange over concerns premiums wouldn't cover costs. Officials in Colorado, Missouri, California and Oregon also face decisions about their marketplaces and the challenges to enrolling their residents in them.

6 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 5, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau reports: "Medicare will levy $227 million in fines against hospitals in every state but one for the second round of the government's campaign to reduce the number of patients readmitted within a month, according to federal records released Friday" (Rau, 8/2).

5 Aug 2013

Obese white Americans are twice as likely as blacks to have bariatric surgery

White Americans who are obese are twice as likely as black Americans to have surgery to tackle the problem, a study has found.

5 Aug 2013

Prospective health of the Hispanic/Latino population in the US: an interview with Dr. Martha Daviglus, University of Illinois at Chicago

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among Hispanic/ Latino adults living in the US and this population is known to have high rates of obesity and diabetes.

5 Aug 2013

Republicans' Obamacare twofer: 40th repeal-type vote, Sen. Collins blasts employer provision

News outlets covered Friday's vote in the House of Representatives to keep the IRS from enforcing parts of the Affordable Care Act and today's weekly GOP address by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

5 Aug 2013

State highlights: Psychiatric care worries as Brooklyn hospitals close; working parents could lose Medicaid in Fla.; new phase of Calif. healthy families transition concerns some

A selection of health policy stories from New York, Florida, California and Oregon.

3 Aug 2013

Research roundup: Making sense (or not) of health insurance; what a full Medicaid expansion could look like; recession and coverage

Each week, KHN reporter Alvin Tran compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

3 Aug 2013

Aetna extends help to its members affected by wildfires burning in Oregon

Aetna is making it easier for members affected by wildfires in Oregon to refill prescriptions and access employee assistance, student assistance and behavioral health programs. The company is also extending claim and appeal filing times, and helping members who have evacuated find care outside their home areas, among other steps.

3 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Shutting down the government over health law is 'nutty' idea; GOP's Obamacare playbook for summer recess

Led by Sens. Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, the GOP insurgents are threatening to shut down the government on Oct. 1 if the stopgap funding bill contains money for Obamacare. This is nuts. The president will never sign a bill defunding the singular achievement of his presidency. Especially when he has control of the Senate. Especially when, though a narrow 51 percent majority of Americans disapproves of Obamacare, only 36 percent favors repeal. President Obama so knows he'll win any shutdown showdown that he's practically goading the Republicans into trying. ... Every fiscal showdown has redounded against the Republicans (Charles Krauthammer, 8/1).

3 Aug 2013

Mich. legislative panel moves Medicaid expansion forward

The approval for making at least 320,000 low-income adults eligible for Medicaid sets the stage for a crucial Senate vote later this month.

3 Aug 2013

Tavenner challenges GOP health law claims during Capitol Hill hearing

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Marilyn Tavenner disputed statements by Republican lawmakers that the country's health care reform law is causing workers to lose hours or benefits. The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service also testified.

3 Aug 2013

Spin battle over Obamacare premiums continues

Kaiser Health News offers five pointers to help you make sense of contradictory headlines about how much insurance could cost you when the Affordable Care Act marketplaces open for enrollment in October. Meanwhile, other media report on states' projections of what premiums may cost in the online marketplaces next year.

3 Aug 2013

Deal will keep federal contributions for insurance when Congress moves to exchanges

The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday that it would allow the federal government to continue paying a large share of the cost of health insurance for members of Congress and their aides, averting a problem for many who work on Capitol Hill.

3 Aug 2013

Assessing health law's impact on cities, people

Texas is home to more than two-thirds of the nation's 30 counties most in need of expanded health insurance coverage, including Dallas, according to a liberal group. The Center for American Progress Action Fund ranked 22 Texas counties -- including Dallas -- as among the "30 worst" in the country.

3 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 2, 2013

Today's headlines include details about today's health law repeal vote in the House. It comes just as lawmakers prepare to leave for the August break.

2 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Health law rollout needs a better salesman; the overhaul is shifting the economy to part-timers

We need a serious and sustained presidential conversation with the country about the new health care reform laws - or progressives risk losing ownership of this once-in-generation liberal reform. If you listen to people in focus group discussions right now, they are clueless about the most basic policies in the reforms, even though parts of the law are already in place, the exchanges are to be launched in October, and the law's requirements and benefits will become fully operative in January. ... And in the most recent national surveys, more people think their health insurance situation will be made worse by the impending changes (Stanley B. Greenberg, 7/30).

2 Aug 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

Viewpoints: Republicans' 'temper tantrum' on health care; 'mixed message' on cancer

GOP still embroiled in intra-party split over govt. shutdown and efforts to defund the health law

Democratic governors see political advantage in efforts to implement the health law

Public unions pushed to accept less expensive health benefits

Aetna pulls insurance plans from MD.'s health law exchange

First Edition: August 5, 2013

Obese white Americans are twice as likely as blacks to have bariatric surgery

Prospective health of the Hispanic/Latino population in the US: an interview with Dr. Martha Daviglus, University of Illinois at Chicago

Republicans' Obamacare twofer: 40th repeal-type vote, Sen. Collins blasts employer provision

State highlights: Psychiatric care worries as Brooklyn hospitals close; working parents could lose Medicaid in Fla.; new phase of Calif. healthy families transition concerns some

Research roundup: Making sense (or not) of health insurance; what a full Medicaid expansion could look like; recession and coverage

Aetna extends help to its members affected by wildfires burning in Oregon

Viewpoints: Shutting down the government over health law is 'nutty' idea; GOP's Obamacare playbook for summer recess

Mich. legislative panel moves Medicaid expansion forward

Tavenner challenges GOP health law claims during Capitol Hill hearing

Spin battle over Obamacare premiums continues

Deal will keep federal contributions for insurance when Congress moves to exchanges

Assessing health law's impact on cities, people

First Edition: August 2, 2013

Viewpoints: Health law rollout needs a better salesman; the overhaul is shifting the economy to part-timers

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Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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