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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Roundup: Mass. voters to consider 'right-to-die'; Texas Planned Parenthood hearing contentious; Calif. kids' palliative care

On Election Day, voters in the Bay State will consider whether to approve the "Death With Dignity Act," a measure that would make Massachusetts just the third state in the country to formally approve physician-assisted suicide. The proposal, identified as Question 2 on the ballot, is nearly identical to laws passed in Oregon in 1994 and in Washington in 2008. But the politics is very different. The looming vote has split the state's medical community and mobilized opposition from the politically powerful Catholic Church.

12 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 11, 2012

Today's headlines explore how, based on his recent comments, Mitt Romney's health law replacement goals could become tricky.

11 Sep 2012

In Florida, Obama talks Medicare

President Barack Obama promised to fight GOP efforts to "privatize" the health insurance program for senior citizens, charging that the plan advanced by Republican nominee Mitt Romney would cost seniors more.

11 Sep 2012

State roundup: N.C.'s mental health housing issues

Temporary lapses in insurance coverage and increasingly common plans with high deductibles and copayments have contributed to medical debt, leaving some people struggling to pay bills for hospitals, doctors, and ambulance companies. Rising health costs and the recession also probably played a role. Although the law has failed to cut medical debt, some analysts say it may have prevented an increase in Massachusetts.

11 Sep 2012

Big profits for Minn. HMOs despite Medicaid money give-back

Minnesota HMOs recorded another year of healthy operating profits in 2011 despite agreeing to cap income on state Medicaid underwriting programs, a new analysis of state plans shows. Four HMOs returned $103 million in 2011 to the state after agreeing to limit their income on Medicaid underwriting business to 1 percent of their premiums.

11 Sep 2012

Mont. ballot initiative banning individual mandate could be powerful message

In the meantime, programs in Missouri and Minnesota are being held up as examples of how provisions of the health law could unfold across the nation.

11 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Home health workers need better pay; Is there a better solution than Medicaid to cover seniors' long-term care?

[F]or the stay-at-home elderly to have so-called "independent living" they must be highly dependent on the home care aides who look after medication schedules, cook meals, assist with bathing and generally keep them happy and healthy. And yet these workers are anything but well cared for. The vast majority are dreadfully overworked and woefully underpaid. The average hourly wage of a home care worker in the United States is less than $10.

11 Sep 2012

Argus introduces integrated care management solution

Argus Health Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of DST Inc., and a leading independent transparent pharmacy benefit administrator, announced today the availability of CareConnect to their customers. This integrated care management solution provides care teams with a comprehensive view of a member, including retrospective and prospective data to guide the best utilization of benefits and services to help drive improved outcomes.

10 Sep 2012

Increased use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat publicly insured children

A national study conducted by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shows increased use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat publicly insured children over the last decade. The study, published today in the journal Health Services Research, found a 62 percent increase in the number of Medicaid-enrolled children ages 3 to 18 taking antipsychotics, reaching a total of 354,000 children by 2007.

10 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 10, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the presidential campaign trail, including reports detailing how GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, if elected, he would retain some parts of the 2010 health law.

10 Sep 2012

Dynamic mapping could potentially help fill gaps in influenza research

Influenza outbreaks in the United States typically begin with the arrival of cold weather and then spread in seasonal waves across geographic zones. But the question of why epidemics can vary from one season to the next has baffled scientists.

10 Sep 2012

Schumer seeks to put GOP Senators on defensive regarding Ryan Medicare plan

Sen. Chuck Schumer says he wants the Senate to vote soon on the Ryan budget to put Republicans, including presidential running mates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, on the defensive.

7 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'talk of tough choices'; Championing personal responsibility

And he clearly laid out a vision for governing squarely at odds with the one that Mr. Romney has, but was hidden from view at last week's Republican convention in Tampa, Fla. He promised deficit reduction "without sticking it to the middle class"; to enact a reformed tax code that raises rates on income above $250,000 to where it was under Mr. Clinton; to preserve middle-class deductions; to "never turn Medicare into a voucher."

7 Sep 2012

Health law among Obama's accomplishments as he makes case for second term

During the final night of the Democratic convention, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pledged to protect Medicare from GOP proposals to turn it into what they called a voucher program and extolled the benefits of the health law.

7 Sep 2012

DOJ joins whistle-blower case against Fla. hospice

The Department of Justice is joining a case against a hospice provider in Orlando accused by a former executive of admitting Medicare patients who did not qualify for care to collect the payments. Meanwhile, state officials announce Medicaid fraud settlements, with GlaxoSmithKline in North Carolina, and Planned Parenthood in Illinois.

7 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Reducing risk in shared savings programs

The Design And Application Of Shared Savings Programs: Lessons From Early Adopters --"Shared savings programs reward providers for holding spending below specific targets, thus introducing a level of financial accountability not present in strictly volume-based payment models, such as fee-for-service," researchers write.

7 Sep 2012

IOM report: Estimated $750B wasted annually in health care system

The Institute of Medicine offers an analysis of how the money is misspent and some steps that might address these trouble spots.

7 Sep 2012

How Medicaid reaches into the middle class

The New York Times details how Medicaid plays an important safety-net role regarding long-term care costs. Meanwhile, some states are wrestling with ways to cut the program's eligibility.

7 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 7, 2012

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Sarah Varney reports on California Gov. Jerry Brown, his absence from the Democratic convention and efforts to implement the health law: "California's Jerry Brown, the governor of the most populous state in the union, a state that has aggressively pushed ahead with the Affordable Care Act even when it wasn't the "in-thing," is sitting out this year's Democratic National Convention.

7 Sep 2012

Clinton skewers GOP on Medicare, offers strong defense of Obama on health law

In former President Bill Clinton's speech to nominate Barack Obama for re-election, he made a point-by-point case to return Obama to a second term, lauding his efforts to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid and to pass the health law.

7 Sep 2012