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State highlights: Ruling on privatizing Fla. prison care expected soon; 7-year antitrust suit settled in Fla.; Calif. insurers seek rate hikes

A Florida judge quoted from Sherlock Holmes and conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Thursday as he questioned the state's plan to privatize prison health care services.

30 Nov 2012

Several health law provisions take effect in New Year

While health exchanges and the Medicaid expansion grab most of the headlines, media outlets explore other, lesser-known provisions soon to take effect.

30 Nov 2012

Medicare, other entitlement programs key to 'fiscal cliff' deal

Politico reports that "inside the talks," a framework for addressing the "fiscal cliff" is taking shape that includes both tax increases and entitlement cuts. Other news outlets note that publicly, President Barack Obama is playing down spending cuts, while GOP leaders demand entitlement reductions but offer few specifics.

30 Nov 2012

Uncertainty reigns as some states mull Medicaid expansion

With key details left to be sorted out, including estimates of coming tax revenue to cover the cost, Colorado, Missouri and South Carolina are confronting whether to expand Medicaid to millions -- a vital part of the health law's coverage provisions.

30 Nov 2012

First Edition: November 30, 2012

Today's headlines include news about the continuing partisan back and forth regarding "fiscal cliff" negotiations as well as reports on the health law's implementation.

30 Nov 2012

Survey: More workers gaining coverage through employers' self-insured plans

Based on 2011 data, the share of workers in self-insured company health plans increased for the fourth straight year, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

30 Nov 2012

Health insurance exchange news: Arizona looks to feds, Conn. and Colorado move ahead with state efforts

Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer has decided Arizona will not implement a key part of the health law.

30 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: GOP attack on Medicare, Medicaid could hurt critical programs; Will says Obama is repeating his overreach on health care

Congressional Republicans are insisting that big cuts to Medicare and Medicaid be on the table in the negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff and deficit reduction. That stance is largely a political move against two programs, which have been critical to the public welfare for the past half-century.

30 Nov 2012

Roundup: Conn. health care programs face $70M cut; Miss. abortion clinic again asks judge to block law that could force it to close

Connecticut's social services safety net and its public colleges and universities took the brunt Wednesday of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's first effort to whittle down a $363 million state budget deficit.

30 Nov 2012

EHS reports addition of 78,000 new members to Central Valley operations

EHS Medical Group reported today the addition of 78,000 new members to their Central Valley operations. The growth makes Central Valley the company's single largest region by membership outside of Los Angeles County.

30 Nov 2012

Aetna announced participation in New York State's managed long-term care program

Aetna Better Health of New York today announced its participation in New York State's managed long-term care (MLTC) program. Aetna Better Health of New York, an Aetna Medicaid company, will serve people eligible for the state program in three New York City boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens—as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

30 Nov 2012

States confront menu of Medicaid changes

A two-year payment hike for primary care doctors who treat Medicaid patients, called for by the health care law, might not happen without a struggle in Florida. Meanwhile, Kansas waits to hear back from the feds on its proposal to change Medicaid, and New Hampshire officials seek more money for their program.

29 Nov 2012

Politico examines lawsuits against contraception policy; Ariz.'s Brewer wants more details on exchanges

Many suits have been filed against the Obama administration's policy to require most employers to cover contraception in health plans under the health law. At the same time, there are still many questions about the exchanges that are also part of the law.

29 Nov 2012

CBO: Expanding health, other benefits for domestic partners would have little impact on federal employee program costs

Extending federal employee health insurance and retirement survivor benefits to same-sex domestic partners would have a relatively small impact on the number of people covered and on the cost of those programs, according to an analysis done for Congress.

29 Nov 2012

Roundup: Big insurance premium hikes sought in Calif., Conn.; Lawsuit alleges state regulators pad nursing home profits

California's largest for-profit health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, is seeking to raise rates an average of 18 percent for more than 630,000 individual policyholders, drawing scrutiny from regulators and the ire of consumers already struggling with soaring premiums. Some Anthem customers may see rates rise as much as 25 percent in February under the company's proposal at a time when medical inflation is running at historic lows nationwide.

29 Nov 2012

Progress check on states and health insurance exchanges

With Democrats regaining control of the New Hampshire House, lawmakers could revisit a GOP decision not to build a health insurance exchange. In the meantime, Oregon, California and Missouri officials seek to clarify their options.

28 Nov 2012

Impact of Medicaid expansion would vary by state, according to study

The analysis released Monday explored how some states would experience savings while others would see cost increases as a result of the health law's plan to expand Medicaid.

28 Nov 2012

High court OKs Liberty University's push to argue claims against the health law

The arguments, which were not considered in the earlier Supreme Court review of the overhaul, maintain that it is unconstitutional for the government to require large employers to provide health insurance to their full-time workers or pay a tax and that the law violates the school's religious freedoms.

28 Nov 2012

Novo Nordisk launches HemaGo mobile app to help individuals with hemophilia

Novo Nordisk announced today the introduction of HemaGo, a mobile application (app) to help individuals with hemophilia and their caregivers monitor the details of treatment, including medications, dosing, bleed information and the impact of hemophilia on life events.

From Novo Nordisk 28 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: WSJ suggests Norquist 'give some ground' on fiscal cliff talks; Voters aren't buying GOP obstruction on health law

The fact is that Republicans and (Grover) Norquist both face a new political reality on taxes. President Obama's re-election means that taxes for upper-income earners are going up one way or another. The Bush rates expire on December 31 unless Mr. Obama signs an extension, and he shows no inclination to do so. ... This is where Mr. Norquist can give some ground.

28 Nov 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

State highlights: Ruling on privatizing Fla. prison care expected soon; 7-year antitrust suit settled in Fla.; Calif. insurers seek rate hikes

Several health law provisions take effect in New Year

Medicare, other entitlement programs key to 'fiscal cliff' deal

Uncertainty reigns as some states mull Medicaid expansion

First Edition: November 30, 2012

Survey: More workers gaining coverage through employers' self-insured plans

Health insurance exchange news: Arizona looks to feds, Conn. and Colorado move ahead with state efforts

Viewpoints: GOP attack on Medicare, Medicaid could hurt critical programs; Will says Obama is repeating his overreach on health care

Roundup: Conn. health care programs face $70M cut; Miss. abortion clinic again asks judge to block law that could force it to close

EHS reports addition of 78,000 new members to Central Valley operations

Aetna announced participation in New York State's managed long-term care program

States confront menu of Medicaid changes

Politico examines lawsuits against contraception policy; Ariz.'s Brewer wants more details on exchanges

CBO: Expanding health, other benefits for domestic partners would have little impact on federal employee program costs

Roundup: Big insurance premium hikes sought in Calif., Conn.; Lawsuit alleges state regulators pad nursing home profits

Progress check on states and health insurance exchanges

Impact of Medicaid expansion would vary by state, according to study

High court OKs Liberty University's push to argue claims against the health law

Novo Nordisk launches HemaGo mobile app to help individuals with hemophilia

Viewpoints: WSJ suggests Norquist 'give some ground' on fiscal cliff talks; Voters aren't buying GOP obstruction on health law

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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