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House Republicans seek details on health law implementation spending, Medicare Advantage bonus payments

Members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee are following the spending trail of Obama administration health programs.

12 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Democrats must get tough on entitlements; Fla. Gov. Scott says feds should stay out of state Medicaid decisions

Democrats nurtured entitlements, which provided a bedrock of security for Americans. But we never said no to entitlement expansion or benefit increases. We haven't supplied enough discipline, and they are out of control. Conversely, we've ignored the New Frontier investment programs, bragging about them but meting out only subsistence rations. They're now stunted and need higher rations. We have one more chance. The fiscal cliff was designed to force tough choices.

12 Aug 2012

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Federal safety monitors produced a harsher critique of Parkland Memorial Hospital's reform efforts than recently portrayed by the hospital, finding ongoing dangers to patients from a botched surgery, medication errors and emergency care failures. Those problems, cited in a June compliance report obtained by The Dallas Morning News, were not disclosed in a Parkland summary released to The News two weeks ago.

12 Aug 2012

States set standards, continue health insurance exchanges fight

State officials in California are moving to define standards for insurers hoping to participate in the insurance exchanges, while a legislative committee in Colorado gives the state permission to continue building its exchange.

10 Aug 2012

Health insurer rebates: Where has the money gone?

The New York Times reports that many consumers who get health coverage through their employers wonder what happened to the insurer rebates that were part of "the great health insurance giveback" under the health law. Also in the news, The Associated Press details who will be hit the hardest by the health law's tax provisions.

10 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Romney campaign's response to ad incites conservatives; Opponents of law should give back their rebates

The Romney people are trying a little jujitsu on an ad from Obama backers that implies Mitt Romney is responsible for the death of an Indiana woman who lacked health insurance.

10 Aug 2012

State roundup: Calif. officials near deal on workers' health costs

Hopes for a last-minute agreement to overhaul the state's $11-billion workers' compensation system are growing as the end of the 2012 legislative session approaches.

10 Aug 2012

GOP governors respond to CMS signs of flexibility regarding Medicaid expansion

CQ HealthBeat reports that some Republican state executives were not impressed with the decision by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials to allow states that proceed with expansion plans now to scale back their Medicaid programs later.

10 Aug 2012

As flap continues over pro-Obama PAC's ad, Romney aide praises Mass. health law

The ad, which highlights the death of a steelworker's wife after Bain closed his plant, triggered criticism from Republicans. But a Romney aide's comments about how that family would have benefited from the Massachusetts health reforms signed into law by then-Gov. Mitt Romney was not well received in conservative circles.

10 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 10, 2012

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with The Washington Post, Susan Jaffe writes: "Concerned that a growing number of seniors have been unexpectedly forced to pay thousands of dollars for nursing home care after a stay in a hospital, Medicare has launched a pilot project to test whether relaxing its hospital payment rules could help beneficiaries".

10 Aug 2012

Longer looks: Waking up to the need for sleep

Among the more than 11,000 dearly departed inhabitants of Southeast Portland's Multnomah Park Cemetery, friends Eric Cordingley and David Anderson have their favorites: a reputed French madam, a young Norwegian institutionalized for being gay, and Louis Napoleon Lepley -- or, as they call him, "Louis the cannibal." Intriguing as their individual stories may be, together they help tell a bigger, darker tale

10 Aug 2012

Should 'health exchanges' be renamed?

The Wall Street Journal reports that the phrase confuses consumers in focus groups. Meanwhile, Papa John's CEO and founder John Schnatter, who is a fundraiser for Mitt Romney, told shareholders last week that the health care law is going to raise the company's costs, which he vowed to pass onto consumers.

9 Aug 2012

HHS says billing rule will cut red tape for doctors, save up to $9B

Officials say the interim rule, published Tuesday, will streamline electronic billing for doctors and save time and money.

9 Aug 2012

Super PACs, AARP and Catholic church among groups trying to influence candidates, campaigns

In an inflammatory new television spot, the pro-Obama "super PAC" Priorities USA Action attempts to link the closing of a Bain Capital-owned steel mill to the death of a wife of one of the former steelworkers, who lost his health insurance when he was laid off. … Meanwhile, CNN reported Tuesday that after Joe Soptic lost his job at the steel mill, his wife continued to have her own health insurance for a few years through her job at a local thrift store.

9 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Dubious ad on Romney's role in cancer death; British health plan has problems of its own

He sits at a kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee, talking about what happened after Bain Capital closed down his steel plant in 2001. He lost his job; his family lost its health insurance. His wife felt lousy but didn't go to the doctor, to spare the family worry and expense. When she finally ended up in the hospital, the diagnosis was cancer. She had 22 days to live.

9 Aug 2012

AbilTo, Aetna announce new program to help members with diabetes combat depression

The combination of depression and diabetes is common and potentially dangerous. People with depression can find it hard to make the lifestyle changes needed to manage diabetes. If not well managed, diabetes often leads to additional health issues, like heart, circulatory and kidney disease. Today, Aetna and AbilTo are announcing a new program to help members with diabetes combat depression and take control of their diabetes.

9 Aug 2012

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

It may not seem like big news, but if you've followed the long-running, stubborn and mostly dug-in debate over reforming medical malpractice in the U.S., you know that when doctors and lawyers issue a joint news release, something is really going on. ... Formally, it's called "Disclosure, Apology and Offer" and it's a key provision of the new state health cost law. Massachusetts doctors and lawyers have agreed to work side by side on this less hostile (and potentially cost-saving) approach to dealing with medical errors and malpractice.

9 Aug 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

House Republicans seek details on health law implementation spending, Medicare Advantage bonus payments

Viewpoints: Democrats must get tough on entitlements; Fla. Gov. Scott says feds should stay out of state Medicaid decisions

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

States set standards, continue health insurance exchanges fight

Health insurer rebates: Where has the money gone?

Viewpoints: Romney campaign's response to ad incites conservatives; Opponents of law should give back their rebates

State roundup: Calif. officials near deal on workers' health costs

GOP governors respond to CMS signs of flexibility regarding Medicaid expansion

As flap continues over pro-Obama PAC's ad, Romney aide praises Mass. health law

First Edition: August 10, 2012

Longer looks: Waking up to the need for sleep

Should 'health exchanges' be renamed?

HHS says billing rule will cut red tape for doctors, save up to $9B

Super PACs, AARP and Catholic church among groups trying to influence candidates, campaigns

Viewpoints: Dubious ad on Romney's role in cancer death; British health plan has problems of its own

AbilTo, Aetna announce new program to help members with diabetes combat depression

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

First Edition: August 8, 2012

Medicaid and CHIP succeed in providing health insurance coverage for children

Presidential candidates use tough ads to court single women voters

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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