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Burgess to offer legislation to fund high-risk pools, reinsurance programs

Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, plans to offer the bill before the August recess. Meanwhile, after fighting back a tea-party primary challenge, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, hopes to emerge as a dealmaker on tax and budget issues.

25 Jul 2012

Ariz., Mo. officials grapple with how to tackle abortion restrictions, coverage

In Arizona, local officials are split on whether to enforce a new law restricting abortion, while Missouri lawmakers prepare for a veto override vote on allowing employers there to exclude abortion and contraception from health insurance they offer.

25 Jul 2012

Health law implementation: McDonnell wants better answers to exchange questions; GAO says some kids may miss out on coverage

Also in the news, the Boston Globe examines the possible impact of the Supreme Court's health law decision on state-federal relations.

25 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Aurora shootings show need for more aggressive psych treatment; Venture capitalist says health exchanges can curb costs

Looking at guns, looking at video games - that's starting from the wrong perspective. People who commit spree killings are usually suffering from severe mental disorders. The response, and the way to prevent future episodes, has to start with psychiatry, too. The best way to prevent killing sprees is with relationships - when one person notices that a relative or neighbor is going off the rails and gets that person treatment before the barbarism takes control. But there also has to be a more aggressive system of treatment options, especially for men in their 20s.

25 Jul 2012

Health law's under-26 provision applies to same sex partners' children

On Friday, adminstration officials published a proposed rule to this effect. Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is questioning the Obama administration's decision to allow temporary firefighters to gain access to health insurance through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

24 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 24, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the campaign season as well as reports from the international AIDS conference currently taking place in Washington, D.C.

24 Jul 2012

Roundup: Plan for new Md. hospital advances; Outsourcing of prison health care gets scrutiny; Alaska Native medical center seen as model

Maryland officials are preparing to unveil this week a detailed plan for a $600 million regional hospital to replace the ailing Prince George's Hospital Center and establish a new health-care network throughout Prince George's County. The plans are part of a broad effort to improve health care in a county where an estimated 150,000 residents lack health insurance or have insufficient coverage and often rely on hospital emergency rooms for primary care.

24 Jul 2012

Working poor at heart of Medicaid expansion debate as governors draw line in the sand

Even as state executives such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott remain firm in their opposition to the health law's Medicaid expansion, health providers such as Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tony Cosgrove express their support for it.

23 Jul 2012

CBO's updated estimate of health law costs could be released this week

Meanwhile, news outlets report on varying aspects of the implementation of state-based health exchanges -- including the assistance provided to state officials by Michael O. Leavitt, an adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and head of a health care consulting company.

23 Jul 2012

Gout independent risk factor for myocardial infarction

Gout is a significant and independent risk factor for the development of myocardial infarction, even in younger patients and those with no other cardiovascular risk factors, researchers report in Rheumatology.

23 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 23, 2012

In this Kaiser Health News video, Greg Millett, a senior policy advisor in the Office of National AIDS Policy, tells Joanne Silberner that the president's National HIV/AIDS Strategy has improved coordination among federal agencies and that the 2010 health law will improve access to care for those living with HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

Study: Fewer Americans control their HIV infections

Tens of thousands of Americans taking potent antiretroviral therapies, or ART, to keep their HIV disease in check may not have as much control over the viral infection as previous estimates have suggested, according to results of a study by AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania.

23 Jul 2012

HealthBridge Management issues update on third week of SEIU's strike

HealthBridge Management, which operates five Health Care Centers in Connecticut currently subject to a strike by the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199 SEIU (the Union), today provided an update on events as the strike, which began July 3, continued into its third week.

21 Jul 2012

State roundup: Texas Medicaid fraud probes use controversial tool

When it comes to finding cost savings in the state's unwieldy Medicaid program, the Health and Human Services Commission's Office of Inspector General gets high marks. … But OIG's dollar-recovery strategy -- which includes an increased reliance on a rule that allows investigators to freeze financing for any health provider accused of overbilling -- has enraged doctors, dentists and other providers who treat Medicaid patients.

21 Jul 2012

HHS issues final rule on essential health benefits data collection

Meanwhile, new research from the Center for Studying Health System Change indicates that more small businesses may be self-insuring -- a step that will reduce their participation in the health law's insurance exchanges.

21 Jul 2012

In Florida, Obama attacks Romney on Medicare plan

Drawing on traditional Democratic campaign themes, President Barack Obama criticized GOP plans to transform Medicare into a "voucher program" and to repeal the 2010 health law.

21 Jul 2012

Views on health reform: U.S. not getting value for its spending; Cutting doctors' school debt to curb costs

When it comes to healthcare, Americans are not getting a lot of value for their money. The United States spends 17.6% of its gross domestic product, nearly twice the average of the nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But life expectancy in the United States in 2010, at 78.7 years, is below the OECD average of 79.8 years. The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than in most developed countries - it is higher than the rates in Greece, Hungary and Slovakia.

21 Jul 2012

Frist urges state leaders - both Democrats and Republicans - to move quickly on state-based exchanges

In an op-ed published Wednesday in "The Week," former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who is also a surgeon, suggested that GOP governors rethink their rejection of the online insurance markets called for in the health law.

20 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Researchers see potential to control HIV pandemic; The 'ceaseless attacks' on women's reproductive health

We are at a moment of extraordinary optimism in the response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A series of scientific breakthroughs ... have the potential to markedly expand the available preventive tools. There is evidence of the first cure of an HIV-infected person. And most important, the finding that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy can both improve individual patient outcomes and reduce the risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners by 96% has led many to assert what had so long seemed impossible: that control of the HIV pandemic may be achievable.

20 Jul 2012

Roundup: Minn. health care spending slows; Fla. counties may reconsider Medicaid lawsuit against state; Accessing dental care in Georgia

The state Health Department reports the rate of health care spending in Minnesota has slowed to its lowest point since 1997. Health care costs are still rising, but at a much slower pace -- 2.2 percent between 2009 and 2010. State Health Economist Stefan Gildemeister said the recession was a major factor in why Minnesotans spent less on health care. He said many lost their insurance when they lost their jobs and others who kept their jobs were more cautious.

20 Jul 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

Burgess to offer legislation to fund high-risk pools, reinsurance programs

Ariz., Mo. officials grapple with how to tackle abortion restrictions, coverage

Health law implementation: McDonnell wants better answers to exchange questions; GAO says some kids may miss out on coverage

Viewpoints: Aurora shootings show need for more aggressive psych treatment; Venture capitalist says health exchanges can curb costs

Health law's under-26 provision applies to same sex partners' children

First Edition: July 24, 2012

Roundup: Plan for new Md. hospital advances; Outsourcing of prison health care gets scrutiny; Alaska Native medical center seen as model

Working poor at heart of Medicaid expansion debate as governors draw line in the sand

CBO's updated estimate of health law costs could be released this week

Gout independent risk factor for myocardial infarction

First Edition: July 23, 2012

Study: Fewer Americans control their HIV infections

HealthBridge Management issues update on third week of SEIU's strike

State roundup: Texas Medicaid fraud probes use controversial tool

HHS issues final rule on essential health benefits data collection

In Florida, Obama attacks Romney on Medicare plan

Views on health reform: U.S. not getting value for its spending; Cutting doctors' school debt to curb costs

Frist urges state leaders - both Democrats and Republicans - to move quickly on state-based exchanges

Viewpoints: Researchers see potential to control HIV pandemic; The 'ceaseless attacks' on women's reproductive health

Roundup: Minn. health care spending slows; Fla. counties may reconsider Medicaid lawsuit against state; Accessing dental care in Georgia

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) 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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