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Cantor schedules (yet another) health law repeal vote

The vote, which is likely to take place next week, will be the first one in 2013. There have been more than 30 votes to repeal all or parts of the health overhaul since its passage in 2010.

10 May 2013

Longer looks: A wife's Alzheimer's, Obamacare and workers' hours, doctors and drug companies

When his wife got Alzheimer's disease, lawyer Ken Chiate invested all his hopes in an unorthodox treatment. Nothing, it seems, could make him give up on it. ... Jeannette's difficulties seemed to emerge out of nowhere. She couldn't grasp the rules of a dice game. She kept asking questions her husband had just answered. ... in 2001, at age 58, she was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. As months and years passed, she fell into an angry haze that was determined to be Alzheimer's disease.

10 May 2013

Will the health law ease job lock?

The Wall Street Journal writes how the health law's coverage expansions could provide entrepreneurs with a new source for health coverage.

10 May 2013

New data help explain hospital pricing, but experts caution that Medicare and insurers get much lower rates

Although the government releases a list of what hospitals across the country charge for common procedures in an effort to make health costs more transparent, few patients or their insurers pay that.

10 May 2013

California's health exchange board given unusual degree of secrecy over contracts

The Associated Press reports that a California state law created a state agency to oversee implementation of the health law and gave it authority to keep what it spent on contractors a secret.

10 May 2013

USF, Aetna to examine influence of genetic testing on breast cancer treatment

The University of South Florida and Aetna are launching a ground-breaking study that will examine the influence genetic testing may have on clinical treatment decisions among breast cancer patients and their doctors.

10 May 2013

First Edition: May 9, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the politics surrounding the health law, both in terms of the latest GOP push for repeal and the Obama administration's implementation efforts.

9 May 2013

Harkin lifts hold on Tavenner nomination to lead CMS

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the timing for a Senate vote on her confirmation as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is unclear.

9 May 2013

People enroll in fitness program to qualify for lower out-of-pocket health care costs

It was a controversial move when a health insurer began requiring people who were obese to literally pay the price of not doing anything about their weight - but it worked, a new study finds.

9 May 2013

People with medical debt more likely to avoid medical care, finds new study

People with outstanding credit card or medical debt were more likely to delay or avoid medical or dental care, finds a new study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

9 May 2013

Calif. Senate leader readies mental health service expansion

The California Senate leader is proposing increasing mental health services to reduce how many end up in jail or ERs. In Massachusetts, officials plan greater scrutiny of how insurers cover mental health care.

9 May 2013

Studies suggest slowdown in health care costs may last

The two studies in Health Affairs suggest that recent decreases in the rate of growth of health care spending may be a result of changes in how consumers pay for care and greater efficiency in how it is delivered and, therefore, may continue after the economy recovers.

8 May 2013

Viewpoints: Medicaid's effect on health debated; Young adults central to lowering anxiety about online marketplaces

A study comparing low-income people in Oregon who received access to Medicaid over the past two years with those who did not, found that those on Medicaid visited doctors and hospitals more often, suffered less from depression and were more financially secure.

8 May 2013

Premium hikes or not? That is the question

An analysis by the New York Health Benefits Exchange projects that in New York, unlike in many other states, the health law will likely lead to lower health premiums next year.

8 May 2013

HHS takes first steps in outreach effort to enroll consumers in health exchanges

CQ HealthBeat reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is now collecting contact information for consumers so the agency can provide updates. Meanwhile, Illinois opened a competitive grant process to award funds to community groups to help with the state's consumer education effort.

8 May 2013

National Transitions of Care Coalition cites patient education as key component of post hospital health management, disease prevention framework

The National Transitions of Care Coalition has cited patient education as a required component of post hospital health management and disease prevention framework. Today's technologies and digital delivery options allows health providers to target reductions in re-admissions, and emergency department visits, while improving patient compliance and patient safety within the hospital.

7 May 2013

Survey shows rising rates of treated disease prevalence increase health care costs in U.S

The increasing proportion of the population that received treatment for a specific medical condition - called "treated disease prevalence" -- along with higher spending per treated case accounted for most of the rise in health care spending in the U.S. between 1987 and 2009, according to a recent analysis.

7 May 2013

First Edition: May 7, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about two new studies exploring whether the slowdown in the nation's health spending growth rates is, in fact, due more to structural changes in the health ystem than to the economy.

7 May 2013

Health exchange marketing, consumer assistance efforts take center stage

News outlets report on the steps being taken by state governments, as well as by insurers, to raise awareness and market plans that will be available from the new online health insurance marketplaces.

7 May 2013

Do children's health concerns fall through the health law's cracks?

The final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be bad news for re-authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a congressional staffer said. … Authorization for the program, which provides health coverage to families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford costly health insurance, expires at the end of September 2013.

7 May 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

Cantor schedules (yet another) health law repeal vote

Longer looks: A wife's Alzheimer's, Obamacare and workers' hours, doctors and drug companies

Will the health law ease job lock?

New data help explain hospital pricing, but experts caution that Medicare and insurers get much lower rates

California's health exchange board given unusual degree of secrecy over contracts

USF, Aetna to examine influence of genetic testing on breast cancer treatment

First Edition: May 9, 2013

Harkin lifts hold on Tavenner nomination to lead CMS

People enroll in fitness program to qualify for lower out-of-pocket health care costs

People with medical debt more likely to avoid medical care, finds new study

Calif. Senate leader readies mental health service expansion

Studies suggest slowdown in health care costs may last

Viewpoints: Medicaid's effect on health debated; Young adults central to lowering anxiety about online marketplaces

Premium hikes or not? That is the question

HHS takes first steps in outreach effort to enroll consumers in health exchanges

National Transitions of Care Coalition cites patient education as key component of post hospital health management, disease prevention framework

Survey shows rising rates of treated disease prevalence increase health care costs in U.S

First Edition: May 7, 2013

Health exchange marketing, consumer assistance efforts take center stage

Do children's health concerns fall through the health law's cracks?

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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