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State highlights: Mandatory treatment for mental illness working in NY, study finds; Ore. regulators lower insurance rates $69M

A year ago, Montana opened the nation's first clinic for free primary health care services to its state government employees. The Helena, Mont., clinic was pitched as a way to improve overall employee health, but the idea has faced its fair share of political opposition. A year later, the state says the clinic is already saving money (Boyce, 7/30).

31 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

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

UnitedHealth reports profit up 7.4 percent

The nation's largest health care insurer says membership is growing and medical costs have been lower than expected.

20 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 19, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of President Barack Obama's Thursday speech pitching the positives of the health law.

19 Jul 2013

State highlights: D.C. health care providers continue wait for payments; Ga. plans Medicaid managed care for kids; Hospital chain seeks insurer license in Calif.

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.

19 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 18, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the House vote to delay the health law's mandates as well as advance coverage of President Barack Obama's Thursday speech in which he touts the overhaul's benefits.

18 Jul 2013

States, feds continue to scramble on health exchanges, Medicaid expansion

The Obama administration hires a credit reporting agency to verify the incomes of people who apply for federal subsidies to buy health insurance. Meanwhile, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signs a bill that could make it more difficult to do enrollment outreach there, as federal officials consider ways to implement the law in states led by officials opposed to it.

18 Jul 2013

Roundup: Ore. seniors get special medical deduction, but less generous than hoped; Six fired at Calif. hospital after patient data breaches

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and Democrats wanted to do away with it. Oregonian columnist Susan Nielsen opined against it. Even AARP was OK with its demise. But when the smoke cleared this week, the Oregon Legislature merely curtailed it. Beginning this tax year, only seniors age 62 or older can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses, not their entire households (Hunsberger, 7/12).

16 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 15,2013

Today's headlines include reports about the health law's implementation and status checks on how the measure's online insurance marketplaces are taking shape.

15 Jul 2013

Research roundup: Prevention task force PSA testing recommendations often ignored; Medicaid expansion for minorities; ER and aging population

The authors examined how the growing number of elderly Americans would affect the large and increasing part of non-catastrophic outpatient care. Using Census Bureau and nationally representative survey data, researchers quantified the number of ED visits that would occur if the demographic structure of the U.S. population changed, but everything else remained the same. "We observed that it is actually infants and young adults, not the elderly, who account for the largest number of ED visits," the authors write, and conclude: However, the data do predict increases in visit lengths and the likelihood of hospitalization.

12 Jul 2013

Advocates raise concerns about how states handle Medicaid managed care

Patient advocates are urging greater oversight of the private programs. In other news, a Philadelphia couple details their struggle to get health insurance for their son.

9 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news about a new ad campaign against the health law, more reaction to the administration's delay of the employer mandate provision and states efforts to restrict abortions.

8 Jul 2013

State highlights: Dartmouth joins N.H. Medicaid managed care

New Hampshire's largest health care provider signed contracts Monday with three health care plans to join the state's managed care network for Medicaid -- a key to getting the network operating. Dartmouth-Hitchcock announced it will work with Well Sense Health Plan, Granite State Health Plan and Meridian Health Plan of New Hampshire to provide coordinated care for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries (Love, 7/1).

3 Jul 2013

Research roundup: 'Welcome-mat' effect of Medicaid expansion; Setting up shops; California's transition to Medicaid managed care

The number of people eligible for Medicaid who remain uninsured varies from state to state, according to the authors. But the federal health law is likely to increase the rate of enrollment for this group. The potential impact of this increase in Medicaid enrollment, also known as the 'welcome-mat' effect, is unclear.

2 Jul 2013

Orthopedic care: an interview with Dereesa Purtell Reid, CEO of Hoag Orthopedic Institute

Similar to other surgical procedures, orthopaedic surgery continues to progress toward more minimally invasive surgical techniques, with shorter inpatient length of stays and new opportunities for some procedures to shift to the outpatient care setting.

27 Jun 2013

State highlights: Ore. targets waste with uniform credentialing; Managed care lessons from Calif.

The Oregon House passed a bill with unanimous support Monday that supporters say could save the economy $150 million in administrative waste by crafting a single credentialing process that all insurers, hospitals and coordinated care organizations can share for thousands of health care providers. If Gov. Kitzhaber signs Senate Bill 604 into law, Oregon will also be the first state to have a uniform, electronic credentialing database where each provider can be quickly accessed.

27 Jun 2013

State highlights: Texas pharmacists want Medicaid price transparency

Pennsylvania is joining about 20 other states in limiting coverage of abortions under health care insurance policies offered in a federally-run insurance marketplace starting next year under a sweeping federal law. The office of Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican who opposes abortion rights, said he signed the bill Monday, without offering any comment (6/17).

19 Jun 2013

State highlights: States urge using life insurance for long-term care

State lawmakers are encouraging elderly residents to use life insurance as a way to pay for long-term care -- and lower the Medicaid tab in the process. The strategy marks a tacit endorsement of so-called life settlements, a practice in which policyholders sell their policies at a discount in the secondary market and the buyer takes over premiums and consequently collects the death benefit (Greene, 6/16).

18 Jun 2013

Federal officials give final OK for Florida's Medicaid managed care plan

Approval by the Obama administration was expected after it gave its initial go-ahead just hours before Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced his support for the health law's Medicaid expansion.