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First Edition: July 29, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the White House's strategy for building support for the health law.

29 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 26, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about an effort by some GOP lawmakers to force a showdown over health law funding.

26 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Doctors' sway over Medicare pay; hospital rankings not all they seem; legal immigrants' health needs overlooked

Reporters Peter Whoriskey and Dan Keating have opened Post readers' eyes to the fact that Medicare pays for physician services - a $69.6 billion item in 2012 - according to an arcane and little-known price list, over which doctors themselves exercise considerable and less-than-totally-transparent influence (7/24).

26 Jul 2013

GAO analysis: Health premiums vary widely

The Government Accountability Office report, which is based on prices reported by insurers, shows that consumers face a wide range of premium prices, deductibles and annual exposure to out-of-pocket costs.

26 Jul 2013

Success of health law's exchanges rides on young people

Interviews here with more than two dozen single workers of modest income between 24 and 31 years old suggest that insurance plans will be a hard sell. Subsidies for 26-year-old workers range from $118 a month for someone earning under $16,000 to less than $1 a month for one earning $26,500, according to an analysis of insurance data (Weaver and Radnofsky, 7/25).

26 Jul 2013

For many states, Medicaid expansion plans remain unsettled

Federal officials remind Florida lawmakers that it is not too late to opt into the program, while in Virginia, Politico reports the issue could be decided by this fall's gubernatorial election. Also, an Arizona push to get the issue on the ballot in November may fail because of paperwork errors and the Michigan Senate considers a tweaked expansion bill that requires co-pays for new Medicaid enrollees.

26 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 25, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about WellPoint's second-quarter profits and the Insitute of Medicine's findings about geographic varitions in Medicare spending.

25 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Indian health service takes big cuts; labor 'mutiny' over health law; Gov. Jindal says Medicaid expansion would have moved privately insured to Medicaid

It's an old American story: malign policies hatched in Washington leading to pain and death in Indian country. It was true in the 19th century. It is true now, at a time when Congress, heedless of its solemn treaty obligations to Indian tribes, is allowing the across-the-board budget cuts known as the sequester to threaten the health, safety and education of Indians across the nation.

25 Jul 2013

Study: Docs place 'major responsibility' for health care costs on others

In a survey of doctors by Mayo Clinic researchers, most respondents pointed to lawyers, health insurers, hospitals, drug companies and patients as having a large stake in cutting costs.

25 Jul 2013

Michelle Obama seeks Latino activists' assistance with insurance enrollment

Speaking Tuesday to the National Council of La Raza, the first lady urged the organization's members to encourage their friends and families to enroll in new coverage options.

25 Jul 2013

Some states plan aggressive marketing of health exchanges

News outlets report on state implementation activities, including efforts by California and Oregon to promote new health insurance marketplaces, presentations made to New Hampshire's special commission weighing whether to expand Medicaid and a closed door meeting by Idaho exchange officials.

25 Jul 2013

Most U.S. physicians prioritize obligations to patients' best interests over health care cost concerns

A new study of attitudes about health care costs reveals that an overwhelming majority of U.S. physicians feel a responsibility to address costs, but prioritize their obligations to patients' best interests over cost concerns. Results of the random survey of 2,500 U.S. physicians are published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Jul 2013

Stopping cholesterol drugs may increase risk of Parkinson's disease

People who stop taking cholesterol drugs may be at an increased risk for developing Parkinson's disease, according to research that appears in the July 24, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Jul 2013

State highlights: Medicaid pilot project costs $32B more than expected

A selection of health policy stories from the District of Columbia, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado and California.

24 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 24, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about efforts to both advance and undo the health law's implementation.

24 Jul 2013

State highlights: DOJ sues Fla. over keeping children in nursing homes

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Florida on Monday, accusing the state of unnecessarily institutionalizing about 200 disabled children in nursing homes and cutting services that would allow them to receive care at home (7/22).

24 Jul 2013

Health benefits -- Who gets what?

Bigger businesses are better bets for offering employee benefits than smaller ones. The latest report from the Labor Department on benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans and paid vacations or sick leave found that 88 percent of employees at private-sector establishments with a workforce of 500 or more were likely to have access to health care benefits.

24 Jul 2013

Polls: Most don't support health law repeal; doctors, too, are uninformed

A majority of Americans don't want Congress to repeal the health law but believe its implementation is going poorly, according to a United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection poll. Meanwhile, a survey of physicians concludes they are unfamiliar with how the overhaul will work.

24 Jul 2013

Star power enlisted to spread the word about health law

The Obama administration is using the help of celebrities, including comedian Amy Poehler, actor Kal Penn and singer Jennifer Hudson, to educate young Americans about new insurance options under the law.

24 Jul 2013

Abortion is energizing both parties on Capitol Hill

Roll Call reports that even though no legislation is expected to pass this year on abortion, the issue is galvanizing partisans. Also in congressional news, outlets look at GOP efforts to end funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and an effort to improve VA health records.

24 Jul 2013