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Kohl, Grassley press CMS on long-delayed physician payment sunshine rule

In other hearings, Republican lawmakers pressed the IRS about the regulatory costs of the health law and criticized the requirement that all insurance plans cover birth control.

14 Sep 2012

Weekly campaign highlights: Races in Penn., Iowa, Miss., and Mich.; Reports on voter-access issues

As election day approaches, Kaiser Health News' Sarah Barr will sample news coverage each week from swing states around the country – how health policy developments, and other political issues, are playing in this year's vote.

14 Sep 2012

Report: Risk pools extend insurance coverage now, but are 'unsustainable' as alternative to health law

The health reform law's high-risk insurance pools, one of the first pieces of the law to be enacted, are operating at a loss and prohibitively expensive - but they also provide needed coverage to a small group of people, according to a new report out Thursday.

14 Sep 2012

Mo. lawmakers override veto of bill that would allow employers to refuse to cover abortion, contraceptive services

Missouri lawmakers voted Wednesday to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto and allow employers to refuse to provide health insurance coverage for birth control if doing so violates their religious convictions. But almost immediately after the vote, a Kansas City firefighter and the Greater Kansas City Coalition of Labor Union Women filed a lawsuit asking a judge to throw the new law out.

14 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Medicaid's role in lowering uninsured rate; Need to protect physicians 'compelled by conscience' to provide abortions

The number of Americans who lack health insurance declined last year, the first drop since 2007. This is, in large part, the result of the health care reform law and better coverage under public programs like Medicaid. This also shows why repealing the health care law or revamping and shrinking Medicaid, as many Republicans want to do, would be disastrous moves.

14 Sep 2012

First Edition: Sept. 13, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the Census Bureau that, although record numbers of poor people persist, the number of uninsured Americans dropped by 1.3 million.

13 Sep 2012

Job-based insurance costs rose 4% in 2012

If you get health insurance on the job, chances are it cost more again this year. Annual family health insurance premiums rose about 4 percent to $15,745 in 2012, according to the latest survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. Now that's a fairly modest increase by historical standards, and well down from last year's 9 percent. Still, it's more than double the 1.7 percent increase in average wages and way above the 2.3 percent rate of general inflation this year.

13 Sep 2012

HHS details consumer savings from lower premiums, rebates

A Health and Human Services Department analysis estimated that consumers have saved an estimated $2.1 billion from the health law's consumer protections, resulting in lower premiums and rebates.

13 Sep 2012

Drugs to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase risk of driving accident

Drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase patients’ risk of being involved in motor vehicle accidents, according to a recent study, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Based on the findings, the researchers suggested doctors should consider advising patients not to drive while taking these drugs.

13 Sep 2012

ACO 'predecessor' saved Medicare money, according to JAMA study

The study, found that the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration resulted in health care savings.

13 Sep 2012

Exploring the presidential campaign's health policy buzzwords, proposals

The NewsHour compares the policies advanced by the Obama administration and the Romney campaign. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News offers an analysis on how GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney proposes to change Medicaid.

13 Sep 2012

Federal judges end challenge to Idaho's 'fetal pain' law that bans some abortion

The appeals panel says the woman bringing the suit didn't have standing to stop the law since she wasn't charged with a crime. In the meantime, however, the judges also found that the law places an "undue burden" on women seeking abortions.

13 Sep 2012

House subcommittee votes to separate insurance agents' payments from health law's MLR rules

On a largely party-line vote, the subcommittee voted to modify the provision of the 2010 health law. A vote by the full Energy and Commerce Committee is expected next week.

13 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Questions Obama, Romney not likely to answer in debates; Disturbing news on tests for ovarian cancer

New evidence that women are more likely to be harmed than helped by screening tests for ovarian cancer is disturbing. The tests do nothing to prevent healthy women from dying from the usually fatal disease. Yet they often lead doctors to perform needless surgeries that cause serious complications in many patients.

13 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 12, 2012

Today's headlines include news about former President Bill Clinton's role on the presidential campaign trail as well as reports from Capitol Hill and details of a new survey regarding health insurance costs.

12 Sep 2012

Romney's shifting stance on health law makes policy, political waves

The GOP presidential nominee's comments Sunday that he would keep parts of the health law triggered questions about how he would cover those with pre-existing conditions, and reinforced doubts within his own party about his commitment to repealing the overhaul. Campaign aides attempted to clarify the comments.

12 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's whiplash on health law; Clinton's mistaken argument about Medicare savings

At first glance, it looked like Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had once again altered his position on healthcare reform. "I'm not getting rid of all of healthcare reform," he said on "Meet the Press" over the weekend.

12 Sep 2012

Campaigns dispute impact of Medicare 'voucher-type' plan; Some Dem advisers reportedly favor increasing private options

Republican proposals to replace Medicare insurance benefits with vouchers that seniors could use to buy insurance would drive up healthcare costs for the nation's elderly, said a newly released report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, an advocacy arm for the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress. The vouchers would not grow as quickly as healthcare costs and seniors would be required to pay the difference for plans that exceed the vouchers, the authors said.

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

Health Insurance News and Research

Kohl, Grassley press CMS on long-delayed physician payment sunshine rule

Weekly campaign highlights: Races in Penn., Iowa, Miss., and Mich.; Reports on voter-access issues

Report: Risk pools extend insurance coverage now, but are 'unsustainable' as alternative to health law

Mo. lawmakers override veto of bill that would allow employers to refuse to cover abortion, contraceptive services

Viewpoints: Medicaid's role in lowering uninsured rate; Need to protect physicians 'compelled by conscience' to provide abortions

First Edition: Sept. 13, 2012

Job-based insurance costs rose 4% in 2012

HHS details consumer savings from lower premiums, rebates

Drugs to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase risk of driving accident

ACO 'predecessor' saved Medicare money, according to JAMA study

Exploring the presidential campaign's health policy buzzwords, proposals

Federal judges end challenge to Idaho's 'fetal pain' law that bans some abortion

House subcommittee votes to separate insurance agents' payments from health law's MLR rules

Viewpoints: Questions Obama, Romney not likely to answer in debates; Disturbing news on tests for ovarian cancer

First Edition: September 12, 2012

Romney's shifting stance on health law makes policy, political waves

Viewpoints: Romney's whiplash on health law; Clinton's mistaken argument about Medicare savings

Campaigns dispute impact of Medicare 'voucher-type' plan; Some Dem advisers reportedly favor increasing private options

First Edition: September 11, 2012

In Florida, Obama talks Medicare

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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