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In Wisconsin Senate race, Thompson finds old political magic hard to restore

Thompson, who served as governor for 14 years, once backed the Medicare plan advanced by Republican vice presidential pick Paul Ryan but has sinced developed his own approach to revamp the health insurance program for older people. His opponent, Tammy Baldwin, once advocated for a single-payer health system but now says she will focus instead on implementing the health law.

29 Oct 2012

Growth in Medicaid slows

A new report shows that improvement in the economy helped curb enrollment in the health care program for low-income people.

29 Oct 2012

Research roundup: Patients' unrealistic expectations for chemo; Neighborhood may affect CPR rates; Rate hike reviews working

"To make informed decisions about whether to receive chemotherapy, patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer need a realistic understanding of its likely benefits," the authors write. Researchers conducted comprehensive reviews of records.

29 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Washington Post endorses Obama; GOP Senate candidates hurting party's reach to women; 'Too much choice' in Medicare?

Mr. Obama is committed to the only approach that can succeed: a balance of entitlement reform and revenue increases. Mr. Romney, by contrast, has embraced his party's reality-defying ideology that taxes can always go down but may never go up. Along that road lies a future in which interest payments crowd out everything else a government should do, from defending the nation to caring for its poor and sick to investing in its children.

29 Oct 2012

State roundup: Surging number of high-deductible health plans; Mass. contemplates physician-assisted 'suicide'; Costs slowing in Colo.

High-deductible health insurance plans are catching on in states struggling to contain escalating costs among their own employees, according to a brief the National Governors Association released Thursday. Nationally, insurance industry figures show that 13.5 million workers -- public and private -- are enrolled in high-deductible plans, which have soared in popularity in recent years among private sector employers trying to cope with high costs. The idea is that health costs will decline because workers will have more of an incentive to look for the best value in health care.

29 Oct 2012

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

In a sign of the improving national economy, Medicaid spending growth this year slowed to 2 percent as enrollment in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor also slowed for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday. In 2011, Medicaid spending soared by nearly 10 percent, which helped put the entitlement program in the crosshairs of politicians looking to lower the federal deficit and ease pressure on state budgets.

26 Oct 2012

Swing state highlights: Sprinting to the finish line in Ohio, Virginia and Missouri

KHN's Sarah Barr samples campaign news coverage each week from swing states to see how health policy developments, and other political issues, are playing, including the Senate races in Ohio, Virginia and Missouri.

25 Oct 2012

Study: House Republican plan to block grant Medicaid would lead to $1.7 trillion spending cut

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the GOP-backed House Budget Committee plan, which would also repeal the health law, could leave between 31 million and 38 million fewer people with Medicaid coverage.

25 Oct 2012

N.Y. waits for Washington word on Medicaid changes; Penn. families booted from Medicaid to get another chance

News organizations outline changes to Medicaid programs in New York -- where proposed changes hinge on a decision in Washington -- and Pennsylvania -- where up to 100,000 households' Medicaid coverage could be reinstated after being purged from the rolls.

25 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Obama seeking 'to preserve' new spending; Medicare rule change for disabled is 'humane thing to do'

On Tuesday Mr. Obama finally tried to give the future more definition with a new plan, except it isn't new and barely qualifies as a plan. ... The pamphlet's sections on health care and entitlements show that his real budget priority is to preserve all of the government he expanded in the first term. He promises to protect the Affordable Care Act from repeal or Republican amendments.

25 Oct 2012

Roundup: States raise employee insurance contributions to save money; Minn. seeking $80M more for exchange; Selling insurance in malls

Financially strapped state and local governments are saving billions of dollars on health insurance by cutting back on free coverage for employees and raising worker contributions, a USA Today analysis finds. Government workers still enjoy more generous health benefits than privately employed workers but the advantage has narrowed from $1,523 in 2007 to $891 in 2012, adjusted for inflation, federal data show.

25 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Health law does not 'guarantee' better health; Electronic health records sound good--until you try to use them

As evidence of a need for universal health care, [New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof] cites his own friend - Scott Androes who died this month of prostate cancer after he put off seeking medical attention in part due to lack of health insurance. ... Kristof argues that President Obama's health care reform will keep others like Scott from befalling the same fate.

24 Oct 2012

Roundup: Wis. judge keeps law barring most collective bargaining on shelf; Study: Medicaid expansion could be costly after 2016; Doc shortage presaged in Las Vegas

A Wisconsin judge refused Monday to put on hold his earlier decision repealing major parts of Gov. Scott Walker's law effectively ending collective bargaining for most public workers.

24 Oct 2012

Most pediatric hospital physicians communicate through cell phone text messaging

More pediatric hospital physicians are communicating through cell phone text messaging, rather than the traditional pager method, according to research presented Oct. 21 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

23 Oct 2012

States facing, making health law decisions that could all change post-election

While next month's election will likely affect how states implement the health law's insurance exchange and Medicaid expansion provisions, state legislators are facing -- and making -- decisions on them now.

23 Oct 2012

Senate control, outcome of congressional and state races tied to presidential contest

In many battleground states, Senate contests are tracking closely the tight presidential race. News outlets are also reporting on how the federal health law is emerging as an important issue in the Massachusetts Senate campaign and the New Hampshire governor's contest.

23 Oct 2012

Roundup: Ore. says up to 200K could remain uninsured by 2019; High hopes for CO-OPs in Calif.

A 2010 report published by the Oregon Office of Health Policy Research estimates that 35 percent of currently people lacking insurance would remain uninsured by 2019, despite expanded coverage by the Affordable Care Act. The publication does not give the raw numbers of Oregonians with insurance versus those without. But comparing it with data released by Kaiser Family Foundation that same year -- which says about 565,000 Oregonians currently lack insurance -- it can be extrapolated that about 200,000 people will be uninsured in 2019.

23 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: LA Times endorses Obama; Romney, Ryan 'obfuscating their plans for Medicare, Medicaid;' Obama's health law polarizes the country

The outcome of the presidential election will determine which of two opposing paths the nation will follow on health care for all Americans. If voters re-elect President Obama, he will protect the health care reforms.

23 Oct 2012

Medicare's policy on compounded drugs under scrutiny; Lawsuits growing in meningitis outbreak

The Associated Press reports on the role Medicare plays in national drug purchasing and The Washington Post finds the "race is on" to sign up clients for lawsuits.

22 Oct 2012

Implementation update: What health law changes will be evident in 2013

The Wall Street Journal reports on how the 2010 health law might impact consumers' health coverage in 2013. In addition, CQ HealthBeat examines what might become of insurance exchanges if GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney wins the election.

22 Oct 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

In Wisconsin Senate race, Thompson finds old political magic hard to restore

Growth in Medicaid slows

Research roundup: Patients' unrealistic expectations for chemo; Neighborhood may affect CPR rates; Rate hike reviews working

Viewpoints: Washington Post endorses Obama; GOP Senate candidates hurting party's reach to women; 'Too much choice' in Medicare?

State roundup: Surging number of high-deductible health plans; Mass. contemplates physician-assisted 'suicide'; Costs slowing in Colo.

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

Swing state highlights: Sprinting to the finish line in Ohio, Virginia and Missouri

Study: House Republican plan to block grant Medicaid would lead to $1.7 trillion spending cut

N.Y. waits for Washington word on Medicaid changes; Penn. families booted from Medicaid to get another chance

Viewpoints: Obama seeking 'to preserve' new spending; Medicare rule change for disabled is 'humane thing to do'

Roundup: States raise employee insurance contributions to save money; Minn. seeking $80M more for exchange; Selling insurance in malls

Viewpoints: Health law does not 'guarantee' better health; Electronic health records sound good--until you try to use them

Roundup: Wis. judge keeps law barring most collective bargaining on shelf; Study: Medicaid expansion could be costly after 2016; Doc shortage presaged in Las Vegas

Most pediatric hospital physicians communicate through cell phone text messaging

States facing, making health law decisions that could all change post-election

Senate control, outcome of congressional and state races tied to presidential contest

Roundup: Ore. says up to 200K could remain uninsured by 2019; High hopes for CO-OPs in Calif.

Viewpoints: LA Times endorses Obama; Romney, Ryan 'obfuscating their plans for Medicare, Medicaid;' Obama's health law polarizes the country

Medicare's policy on compounded drugs under scrutiny; Lawsuits growing in meningitis outbreak

Implementation update: What health law changes will be evident in 2013

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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