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Report: Overhaul will bring new customers, challenges to the insurers

A report released Tuesday by the health care consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers outlines how various changes put in place by the 2010 health law will change the insurance industry.

4 Oct 2012

Obama spending more cash than Romney on TV advertising, with new ad highlighting Medicaid

Meanwhile, GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who is also seeking reelection to his congressional seat, unveils a new health care ad in his district.

4 Oct 2012

Roundup: Individual mandate back on Fla. ballot; More Mass. doctors embrace new payment methods; Ga. hospital tax fight rages on

In a bid to remake Florida's judiciary, Republicans are asking voters to oust three state Supreme Court justices and give the Legislature greater power over Supreme Court appointments. ... In Florida, the issue is not same-sex marriage but another politically divisive matter: President Obama's health care law. In a 2010 ruling, the Florida Supreme Court removed from the ballot a nonbinding amendment allowing Floridians to refuse to buy mandatory health insurance.

4 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 3, 2012

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau reports: "Medicare's new readmission penalties for hospitals just got a bit tougher. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has discovered errors in its initial calculations in August. As a result, 1,422 hospitals with comparatively high readmission rates will lose slightly more money than they were expecting, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of the revised penalties. Fifty-five hospitals will lose less than were previously told."

3 Oct 2012

Adolescent and young cancer cost barriers: an interview with Anne Kirchhoff

According to the National Cancer Institute, almost 70,000 people ages 15-39 are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. Cancers in this adolescent and young adult (AYA) population differ quite a bit across this age span.

3 Oct 2012

Liberty University hopes to revive health law challenge

The school says its suit raises questions not answered by the Supreme Court in its June decision and is asking the high court to order an appeals court to hear the case.

3 Oct 2012

Obama administration urges states to pursue the health law's Medicaid expansion

Even as federal officials push states to expand Medicaid programs, at least a dozen states are not ready or not willing to set up state-based health exchanges -- another aspect of the health law that is key to expanding insurance coverage.

3 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: David Brooks' 'brutal truth;' What to ask the candidates at their first debate; Putting Medicare on a budget

The third big problem is Medicare and rising health care costs, which are bankrupting this country. Let me tell you the brutal truth. Nobody knows how to reduce health care inflation. There are two basic approaches, and we probably have to try both simultaneously. The first, included in Obamacare, is to have an Independent Payment Advisory Board find efficiencies and impose price controls.

3 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: A need for sacrifice on health care; Health law's conservative heritage; HSAs foster competition

Private insurance companies should be leading the way in the struggle to control health care costs. They know about every contact a patient has with the health care system and can see how much is wasteful or redundant. By altering the way they pay doctors and hospitals, they can potentially push providers to reduce costs, improve quality and even transform the whole culture of American medicine.

2 Oct 2012

Serious physical abuse on the rise among children

A new Yale School of Medicine study shows that cases of serious physical abuse in children, such as head injuries, burns, and fractures, increased slightly by about 5% in the last 12 years. This is in sharp contrast to data from child protective services agencies, which show a 55% decrease in physical abuse cases from 1997 to 2009.

1 Oct 2012

Romney 'recalibrating' health care message, Biden attacks GOP on Medicare

News outlets reported that as Mitt Romney prepares for Wednesday's debate, which will include health care, Vice President Biden campaigned in Florida, appealing to seniors by criticizing the Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare.

1 Oct 2012

Obama, Romney spar over Medicare, health reform policies

News outlets offer a variety of coverage on these issues - including how Medicare is playing in the polls and what motivates senior voters. And a new Families USA study offers a critical assessment of Mitt Romney's health policies.

29 Sep 2012

Republican Governors push HHS for health law implementation details

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, demanded information from the Obama administration. Also HHS announced $224 million in health-exchange grants to five states.

29 Sep 2012

Liberal Christians protest Hobby Lobby lawsuit over contraception coverage mandate

A group of liberal Christian activists are protesting Hobby Lobby's decision to sue the Obama administration over its contraception coverage mandate in the health law.

29 Sep 2012

Employers offer buffet of health care coverage choices -- with limit -- to employees

Some companies are offering employees a set amount to spend during the next open enrollment period for health insurance and making the employees choose coverage themselves -- instead of offering one or two plans to them.

29 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Obamacare a 'big plus'?; What happened to GOP anger over health law?

How did that happen? Partly it's because this has become such an ideological election - much more so than 2008. … And let me add a speculation: I suspect that in the end Obamacare is turning out to be a big plus, even though it has always had ambivalent polling.

29 Sep 2012

State highlights: Free Calif. health care clinic a big draw; New Calif. law could mean mammogram alternatives

Many of the 4,800 people seeking care at the annual massive free clinic this weekend will become eligible for health insurance in 2014 when the national law takes effect. Organizers said raising awareness about the health care changes is crucial.

29 Sep 2012

Wage disparities could limit success of health-care reform

A national study has found that earnings over the course of the careers of primary-care physicians averaged as much as $2.8 million less than the earnings of their specialist colleagues, potentially making primary care a less attractive choice for medical school graduates and exacerbating the already significant shortage of medical generalists.

29 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 28, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about political and policy-oriented health care developments.

28 Sep 2012

Big employers change the way they provide health benefits

The Wall Street Journal reports on developments related to the health benefits provided by two large employers. Also, The Associated Press reports on how making smart decisions will be eaiser during the current open enrollment season.

28 Sep 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

Report: Overhaul will bring new customers, challenges to the insurers

Obama spending more cash than Romney on TV advertising, with new ad highlighting Medicaid

Roundup: Individual mandate back on Fla. ballot; More Mass. doctors embrace new payment methods; Ga. hospital tax fight rages on

First Edition: October 3, 2012

Adolescent and young cancer cost barriers: an interview with Anne Kirchhoff

Liberty University hopes to revive health law challenge

Obama administration urges states to pursue the health law's Medicaid expansion

Viewpoints: David Brooks' 'brutal truth;' What to ask the candidates at their first debate; Putting Medicare on a budget

Viewpoints: A need for sacrifice on health care; Health law's conservative heritage; HSAs foster competition

Serious physical abuse on the rise among children

Romney 'recalibrating' health care message, Biden attacks GOP on Medicare

Obama, Romney spar over Medicare, health reform policies

Republican Governors push HHS for health law implementation details

Liberal Christians protest Hobby Lobby lawsuit over contraception coverage mandate

Employers offer buffet of health care coverage choices -- with limit -- to employees

Viewpoints: Obamacare a 'big plus'?; What happened to GOP anger over health law?

State highlights: Free Calif. health care clinic a big draw; New Calif. law could mean mammogram alternatives

Wage disparities could limit success of health-care reform

First Edition: September 28, 2012

Big employers change the way they provide health benefits

Event guide: 4th Extra-Hepatic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Delivery Summit eBook

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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