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Controlling blood pressure and cholesterol may reduce risk of heart attack or stroke in diabetics

For people with diabetes, meeting the recommended guidelines for blood pressure and cholesterol is even more important than meeting the guidelines for blood sugar control in reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

29 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Gov. Jindal calls Medicaid an 'outdated model;' GOP's opposition to 'Big Government' hurts effort to revamp entitlements

As the implementation of Obamacare unfortunately nears, every governor must decide whether to expand Medicaid. This is not a simple question. Expanding Medicaid will significantly burden state budgets across the country.

29 Jan 2013

The emergency department: middle-man for pediatric referrals

Specialists are more willing to see publicly insured pediatric patients if they are referred from an emergency department rather than directly from a primary care physician, according to research findings from the USA.

29 Jan 2013

Building health insurance exchanges

News outlets report on small business concerns, the potential impact of immigration reform and how some medical device makers are passing on new fees to their customers.

29 Jan 2013

How the Medicaid expansion is playing in certain states

In New Jersey, advocates are making a case for the state to pursue this part of the health law, but Wisconsin's governor is pointing to its complexity as an argument against it. The Washington state legislature is also giving an expansion a long look.

29 Jan 2013

Oklahoma pushes back against feds' rebuttal in state's health law challenge

The Oklahoma attorney general argued that the Internal Revenue Service does not have the power to implement the health overhaul.

29 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Debating P4P; ‘Tactical retreat' by GOP; The virtues of across-the-board spending cuts

Instead of granting automatic pay increases, N.Y. City's public hospital system will pay them based on how well they reduce costs, increase patient satisfaction and improve the quality of care. The Health and Hospitals Corporation, which runs the city's 11 public hospitals, deserves praise for an ambitious proposal that will need to be refined as it is put into practice.

28 Jan 2013

Poll: 6 in 10 oppose cutting Medicare to lower deficit

A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that most of the public wants deficit reduction, but they want it without cutting major social programs like Medicare and Medicaid. On health care, the public favors requiring drug makers to give the government 'a better deal' on medications for low-income seniors and making higher-income seniors pay more for coverage to reduce the deficit. Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Foundation.

28 Jan 2013

Health law's Medicaid expansion raises possibilities, problems for states

California Gov. Jerry Brown describes implementing the expansion as "incredibly complex," while Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder sees it an opportunity to address gaps in the mental health system. In Arizona, meanwhile, the expansion is framed as an immigration issue.

28 Jan 2013

First Edition: January 25, 2013

Today's headlines include various state-level reports about how budget issues are impacting health policy decisions.

28 Jan 2013

State highlights: N.Y. plans for big budget hole after Medicaid cuts; Texas bill would give contraception coverage tax break to some employers; Vt. details tax bill to pay for single-payer

New York state is drawing up plans for a budget shortfall almost twice as large as the $1.35 billion gap described by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, as the federal government seeks to reduce how much it pays for health care to some of the state's most severely disabled people.

27 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: GOP's hope to end deficits in 10 years will mean 'dramatic cuts' in entitlements; Mass. health overhaul brings need for more taxes

Ryan has a daunting new assignment that may make that message even more difficult to sell. He's been charged by House Speaker John A. Boehner with drawing up a new budget that will erase the federal deficit within 10 years (the first Ryan budget, written in 2011, needed 30 years) solely through spending cuts

25 Jan 2013

Snoring may indicate future health risks

Here's a wake-up call for snorers: Snoring may put you at a greater risk than those who are overweight, smoke or have high cholesterol to have thickening or abnormalities in the carotid artery, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

25 Jan 2013