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Medicaid expansion a good deal for states, study finds

The RAND Corp. study looks at 14 states refusing to expand the federal-state program for the poor under the health law and concludes their share of the costs would be lower than providing uncompensated care to uninsured residents.

5 Jun 2013

D.C. officials, CareFirst clash over insurance offerings

The Washington Post reports that D.C. officials have criticized the insurer for cutting the number of small business plans it will offer in the city's online insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports the city council is considering a measure that would require all individual and small business plans to be sold through that marketplace by 2015.

5 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 4, 2013

Today's headlines include a report about what the Democrats' health law strategy might be as the 2014 mid-term elections approach.

4 Jun 2013

Diaxonhit, XDx agree to market and perform AlloMap Molecular Expression Testing in Europe

Diaxonhit, the leading French provider of specialty diagnostic solutions, and XDx, Inc., a U.S. molecular diagnostics company focused on non-invasive tests for transplantation and autoimmune disease, announced today that they have entered into a memorandum of agreement for the exclusive license to market and perform AlloMap Molecular Expression Testing (AlloMap) in Europe.

4 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Current insurance was made cheaper by turning away the sick; Even in Obama's Illinois, implementing changes is tough

Some people will find the new rules make insurance more expensive. That's in part because their health insurance was made cheap by turning away sick people. The new rules also won't allow for as much discrimination based on age or gender. The flip side of that, of course, is that many will suddenly find their health insurance is much cheaper, or they will find that, for the first time, they're not turned away when they try to buy health insurance (Ezra Klein, 6/1).

4 Jun 2013

State highlights: Calif. bill would fine big employers with employees on Medi-Cal; Abortion fight set in N.Y. Senate

For years, politicians and labor unions have pilloried Wal-Mart and other large employers for paying workers so little that many qualify for government health insurance at taxpayers' expense. Now critics fear the public will get stuck with an even bigger tab as California and other states expand Medicaid as part of the federal health care law.

4 Jun 2013

Chances for deficit deal diminish as Medicare's outlook improves

Last week's report on Medicare projected that the program's hospital trust fund would be solvent until 2026 -- two years longer than the last prediction. That slowing of health care costs, combined with shrinking near-term federal deficits and partisan gridlock are making a congressional deficit deal unlikely, at least until after the 2014 elections.

4 Jun 2013

Medicaid expansion deepens GOP intraparty rifts

The different positions taken by various Republican governors on the health law's Medicaid expansion underscore the political divisions in play.

4 Jun 2013

Court challenges, congressional charges and questions about key health law initiatives

The success of the healthcare law "depends on reaching everyone who is uninsured, but particularly young people who may feel like they don't need insurance," said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Convincing them to spend money on insurance, he said, will be a "marketing challenge" (Gorman, 6/2).

4 Jun 2013

HHS limits Obamacare options for small businesses

A final rule released Friday confirms that a provision of the health law aimed at helping small businesses provide insurance to their employees will be limited until 2015.

4 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 3, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from major news organizations, including a number of stories detail health law implementation developments.

3 Jun 2013

State highlights: Mo. Gov. worried tax cut bill raises prescription drug sales tax; deadline day for bonus for Fla. Medicaid docs

St. Louis Beacon: Nixon Says Tax Cut Bill Removes Missouri's Sales Tax Break For Prescription Drugs. Gov. Jay Nixon has upped the ante in his criticism of a broad-based tax cut bill awaiting his decision, saying Thursday that it removes a sales tax exemption for prescription drugs that will raise taxes for millions of Missourians. One sponsor of the bill says there's plenty of time for the legislature to correct what he deemed a drafting error (Rosenbaum, 5/30).

1 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Scalia's 'boost' to Obamacare; California small biz and insurance exchange; Health law's hidden tax

[L]ast week, a divided court decided Arlington v. FCC, an important victory for Barack Obama's administration that will long define the relationship between federal agencies and federal courts. ... In a powerful and convincing opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court's majority ruled that even when the agency is deciding on the scope of its own authority, it has the power to interpret ambiguities in the law.

1 Jun 2013

Research roundup: Questioning money-saving value of kids' preventive dentistry, weight loss

Although early preventive dental visits are widely recommended for children, it is unclear whether they reduce future dental visits or costs.

1 Jun 2013

Miss. governor gives $1M to health law call center

Despite his opposition to the law, Gov. Bryant supports a new facility that will be located in Hattiesburg. Also, in state exchange news, websites look at the seven plans competing in Georgia and the 13 plans that have submitted proposals in Colorado.

1 Jun 2013

Medicaid expansion: Maine looks at another plan; Advocates lobby N.H., Missouri lawmakers

States wrestle with the issue of expanding their Medicaid programs under the federal health law.

1 Jun 2013

Administration says online insurance marketplaces will have robust competition

The new health care law is injecting more competition into health insurance markets nationwide, drawing additional insurance companies into states long dominated by a few carriers, Obama administration officials said Thursday. Such competition offers the prospect of more choices for millions of consumers who will be shopping for insurance this fall. Companies entering the market could also put downward pressure on prices, partly offsetting factors that tend to increase premiums (Pear, 5/30).

1 Jun 2013

First Edition: May 31, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from the administration about the number of insurers that will be offering policies on the new online marketplaces.

31 May 2013

State highlights: Calif. counties stand to lose $2.5B as state shifts Medicaid costs; Odd bedfellows push for hospital payment equity in Mass.

California counties may lose as much as $2.5 billion in state funding over the next three years for indigent health care as the state assumes responsibility under the federal Affordable Care Act, Gov. Jerry Brown said. The most populous U.S. state plans to cut $300 million this year from counties as its [Medicaid] program expands, Brown told local officials yesterday in Sacramento. The governor projected that figure will grow to $900 million next year and $1.3 billion in the year beginning in July 2015 (Nash, 5/29).

31 May 2013

Viewpoints: Obamacare is already working; George W. Bush on 'personal responsibility'; Medicaid expansion and the mentally ill

The Affordable Care Act has been under siege since before it even had a name. Some on the right saw it as government overreach. Some on the left considered it better for insurance companies than for consumers. As many of the law's provisions take effect over the next year, we're hearing from both sides all over again. This time the theme is that the law is too complex. ... Read the discussion (5/29).

31 May 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

Medicaid expansion a good deal for states, study finds

D.C. officials, CareFirst clash over insurance offerings

First Edition: June 4, 2013

Diaxonhit, XDx agree to market and perform AlloMap Molecular Expression Testing in Europe

Viewpoints: Current insurance was made cheaper by turning away the sick; Even in Obama's Illinois, implementing changes is tough

State highlights: Calif. bill would fine big employers with employees on Medi-Cal; Abortion fight set in N.Y. Senate

Chances for deficit deal diminish as Medicare's outlook improves

Medicaid expansion deepens GOP intraparty rifts

Court challenges, congressional charges and questions about key health law initiatives

HHS limits Obamacare options for small businesses

First Edition: June 3, 2013

State highlights: Mo. Gov. worried tax cut bill raises prescription drug sales tax; deadline day for bonus for Fla. Medicaid docs

Viewpoints: Scalia's 'boost' to Obamacare; California small biz and insurance exchange; Health law's hidden tax

Research roundup: Questioning money-saving value of kids' preventive dentistry, weight loss

Miss. governor gives $1M to health law call center

Medicaid expansion: Maine looks at another plan; Advocates lobby N.H., Missouri lawmakers

Administration says online insurance marketplaces will have robust competition

First Edition: May 31, 2013

State highlights: Calif. counties stand to lose $2.5B as state shifts Medicaid costs; Odd bedfellows push for hospital payment equity in Mass.

Viewpoints: Obamacare is already working; George W. Bush on 'personal responsibility'; Medicaid expansion and the mentally ill

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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