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AHRQ, CMS announce new children's EHR format

The benefits of electronic health records (EHRs) may become more widely available to children through an EHR format for children's health care announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

10 Feb 2013

NGOs document thousands of cases of Indian women undergoing unnecessary hysterectomies, C-sections

"Thousands of women in India are being given hysterectomies and caesareans that they do not need by doctors and hospitals that can make substantial sums of money out of the operations," Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

10 Feb 2013

Roundup: Assisted suicide legalization urged; Abortion bill tensions in Wash., Ore.; Budget squeezes in Ga., Conn.

A push for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is under way in a half-dozen states where proponents say they see strong support for allowing doctors to prescribe mentally competent, dying individuals with the medications needed to end their own lives. ... Groups such as Compassion & Choices, a national end-of-life advocacy organization, have been working to advance the cause.

10 Feb 2013

Research roundup: 'Shared decision making' can reduce costs, improve care; Effects of mental health parity

With shared decision making, patients and their clinicians collaboratively review the risks and benefits of available treatments options while also considering the patients' preferences and values.

10 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Brewer's stance on Medicaid expansion may signal important shift in GOP; A shrinking government--except for health care

Jan Brewer, Arizona's feisty Republican governor, is better known for wagging her finger at President Obama than for linking arms with him. That's why Brewer's recent announcement that her state intends to join the expansion of Medicaid central to Obama's health care law may represent an important shift. If even Brewer, who has battled repeatedly with Obama, finds the case for expansion compelling, other Republican governors now resisting may also reconsider.

10 Feb 2013

Health care action at state capitols: Hospital fees, abortion, nurses' power to write prescriptions

Lawmakers around the country consider a bevy of bills related to health policy.

10 Feb 2013

Roundup: Conn. governor's budget proposal would shed thousands from Medicaid; Insurance rates to rise 2.7% in Mass.; Calif. group wants tighter doc narcotic control

Gov. Dannel Malloy said he would close Connecticut's $1.2 billion budget gap with a mix of spending cuts, including to hospitals and programs for the poor, and new revenues, including the extension of some business taxes that were scheduled to expire.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Medicaid expansion, health exchanges tempt some GOP governors

Politico reports that certain Republican governors are going forward with the implementation of these health law provisions without facing a backlash within their states.

9 Feb 2013

Budget office report's info nugget: More employers than previously estimated will drop health coverage

About 7 million people, nearly double the earlier estimates, will no longer get health insurance from their employers because of changes to the tax code made by the health law, according to CBO projections.

7 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Iowa 'botched' high risk pool; Clinton praises Family and Medical Leave Act; HHS contraceptive policy's 'sensible balance'

The health reform law will get millions of Americans coverage in 2014. Until then, Congress offered Iowa up to $35 million to provide temporary insurance for people whose health prevent them from buying coverage on their own. Iowa botched the entire concept behind the high-risk pool, and state and federal officials stood by and failed to take corrective action.

7 Feb 2013

Genpact announces acquisition of JAWOOD

Genpact Limited, a global leader in business process management and technology services, today announces that it has acquired JAWOOD, a leading provider of business services to the healthcare payer industry.

6 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. 'Healthy Families' deficit at $100M

The Healthy Families program has run out of money, according to state health officials. The deficit currently stands at almost $100 million and will keep rising every month, according to Janette Casillas, executive director of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which oversees Healthy Families. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration is pursuing two ideas for refilling the coffers: reinstitution of a recently expired tax on managed care organizations and an appropriation bill if the MCO tax isn't revived.

6 Feb 2013

Ramipril puts spring in step of patients with intermittent claudication

Six months of treatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril produces notable improvements in the walking ability of patients with peripheral artery disease and intermittent claudication, shows a large randomized trial.

6 Feb 2013

Insurance exchange 'navigators,' new payment models claim roles in health law implementation

The Washington Post reports on the challenges involved in fielding a team of health exchange navigators to help people work through their choices and the process. Meanwhile, MedPage Today reports on comments made by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the "obligation" providers have to try new payment models.

5 Feb 2013

Oregon Health Insurance Experiment wins HSR Impact Award from AcademyHealth

AcademyHealth today awarded its Health Services Research (HSR) Impact Award to work that used for the first time a randomized, controlled study design to answer questions about how access to public insurance affects health, health care use, and other outcomes.

5 Feb 2013

White House restarts birth control coverage debate with religious groups

The rule, which was issued Friday, proposed a way for women who work at nonprofit religious institutions to get free birth control without requiring their employers to pay for it.

5 Feb 2013

In upcoming budget battles, Democrats appear unlikely to cut Medicaid funding

News outlets report that the health care program for the poor seems secure in upcoming fiscal fights. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says efforts to fix the fiscal problems will have to include new revenues and can't just be cuts in spending.

5 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Obama's 'olive branch' on birth control coverage; Sen. Kirk recounts his stroke therapy; Nurses oppose mandatory flu shots

The Obama administration released the final details Friday of the exemption it will provide religious-affiliated employers from the requirement to include free birth control in employees' insurance policies. Not surprisingly, the announcement didn't seem to mollify any of the critics who'd been arguing that the exemption was inadequate.

4 Feb 2013

Democrats appear unlikely to cut Medicaid funding

Los Angeles Times reports that healthcare programs for the poor seem secure in any upcoming budget battles. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says efforts to fix the fiscal problems will have to include new revenues and can't just be cuts in spending.

3 Feb 2013

Health Insurance News and Research

AHRQ, CMS announce new children's EHR format

NGOs document thousands of cases of Indian women undergoing unnecessary hysterectomies, C-sections

Roundup: Assisted suicide legalization urged; Abortion bill tensions in Wash., Ore.; Budget squeezes in Ga., Conn.

Research roundup: 'Shared decision making' can reduce costs, improve care; Effects of mental health parity

Viewpoints: Brewer's stance on Medicaid expansion may signal important shift in GOP; A shrinking government--except for health care

Health care action at state capitols: Hospital fees, abortion, nurses' power to write prescriptions

Roundup: Conn. governor's budget proposal would shed thousands from Medicaid; Insurance rates to rise 2.7% in Mass.; Calif. group wants tighter doc narcotic control

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Medicaid expansion, health exchanges tempt some GOP governors

Budget office report's info nugget: More employers than previously estimated will drop health coverage

Viewpoints: Iowa 'botched' high risk pool; Clinton praises Family and Medical Leave Act; HHS contraceptive policy's 'sensible balance'

Genpact announces acquisition of JAWOOD

State roundup: Calif. 'Healthy Families' deficit at $100M

Ramipril puts spring in step of patients with intermittent claudication

Insurance exchange 'navigators,' new payment models claim roles in health law implementation

Oregon Health Insurance Experiment wins HSR Impact Award from AcademyHealth

White House restarts birth control coverage debate with religious groups

In upcoming budget battles, Democrats appear unlikely to cut Medicaid funding

Viewpoints: Obama's 'olive branch' on birth control coverage; Sen. Kirk recounts his stroke therapy; Nurses oppose mandatory flu shots

Democrats appear unlikely to cut Medicaid funding

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