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The dust up continues as some Republican governors reject health law's Medicaid expansion

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, however, says he is considering opting out but would like more answers -- both in terms of policy questions and the political outcome of the election -- before he makes a decision. Meanwhile, Stateline explores how the Medicaid expansion will present a tough fiscal call for many of state executives.

12 Jul 2012

Feds will waive insurance mandate for low-income people in states that opt against Medicaid expansion

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urged states to participate in the expansion, but said the administration would waive penalties against poor residents for not carrying insurance in states that opt out. Experts, meanwhile, urge the administration to "be flexible" with states regarding the Medicaid expansion. And Wall Street continues to view Medicaid as a growth opportunity.

12 Jul 2012

Roundup: Iowa union files complaint over Gov. order on insurance; Fla. denies it covered up TB outbreak

Iowa's largest public employees' union filed a complaint today with the state alleging Gov. Terry Branstad broke the law when he signed an executive order that allows state workers to voluntarily pay 20 percent of their health insurance premiums. The prohibitive practice complaint filed with the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board alleges state law bans Branstad from making unilateral changes to health insurance plans because they are collectively bargained, said Danny Homan, president Council 61 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

12 Jul 2012

GOP lawmaker unveils draft bill on contraceptive coverage rule

The measure focuses on the potential tax implications of the Health and Human Services rule that contraceptives be counted -- without cost-sharing -- among the preventive health services that most employer-sponsored health plans offer.

12 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Trouble keeping health costs down; Ignagni says law needs some revisions; Coverage is like clean water

Now that the Supreme Court has provided legal certainty on the recent healthcare reform law, the nation must turn its attention to affordability. While the law expands coverage to millions of Americans, a goal health plans have long supported, major provisions of the law need to be changed to avoid significant cost increases for consumers and employers.

12 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 11, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the scheduled House vote on repealing the health law as well as how stakeholders -- whether it be certain governors or wall street investors -- are responding to the Supreme Court's decision on the Medicaid expansion.

11 Jul 2012

Politics swirl around approaching House repeal vote

As the House proceeds toward its scheduled Wednesday vote to repeal the health law, Republicans hope to draw more Democratic votes this time around -- even though they have not offered any clear alternatives. Although the measure will die in the Senate, the White House issued a veto threat.

11 Jul 2012

Thousands of seasonal firefighters lack health insurance

They work the front lines of the nation's most explosive wildfires, navigating treacherous terrain, dense walls of smoke and tall curtains of flame. Yet thousands of the nation's seasonal firefighters have no health insurance for themselves or their families.

11 Jul 2012

States continue stand-off with health law -- or push forward

State leaders continue their grapple with how -- and if at all -- to implement the health care law, even after the Supreme Court upheld it.

11 Jul 2012

The next legal blockbuster: Health benefits and same-sex partners

Lawsuits focus questions on whether same-sex spouses should be eligible for health insurance and other benefits.

11 Jul 2012

Perry rejects Medicaid expansion, opts not to create state-run health exchange

Gov. Rick Perry's announcement that Texas will not pursue either of these two elements of the federal health law is drawing both national and regional headlines. But other GOP governors are delaying and mulling these decisions.

11 Jul 2012

Connections between daily stressors of police work and obesity, suicide

The daily psychological stresses that police officers experience in their work put them at significantly higher risk than the general population for a host of long-term physical and mental health effects. That's the overall finding of a major scientific study of the Buffalo Police Department called Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) conducted over five years by a University at Buffalo researcher.

11 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'ideological gymnastics;' Health law's promise of mental health parity; Perry's 'platitudes' on care in Texas

Mitt Romney is under fire for flip-flopping when he declared that the individual mandate is a tax, after a campaign adviser said it was not. In a front-page story, the New York Times wrote that Romney's statement "prompted renewed criticism that he was willing to adjust his views for political expediency." Bill Burton of the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA opined on what he called "Romney's ideological gymnastics."

11 Jul 2012

Bankers Life and Casualty introduces new life and health insurance product

Bankers Life and Casualty Company today announced a new addition to its portfolio of life and health insurance products, Critical Benefit.

10 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 10, 2012

Today's headlines include findings of a new Washington Post poll indicating Americans remain divided on the health law. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, cracks may be emerging in the Republican's repeal effort.

10 Jul 2012

Medicaid news: La. preps managed care cuts; Fewer Texas docs accept new patients

The Medicaid program in Louisiana is preparing to cut payments to providers who run its managed care program. In Texas, only 31 percent of doctors take new Medicaid patients, a survey says.

10 Jul 2012

Romney's stance on the health law tax is blasted by Democrats, scrutinized by GOP

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's reversal on whether the mandate is a tax has made him the target of intense Republican and Democratic scrutiny as the Supreme Court ruling on the health law proves a boon for the campaign bankrolls of both Romney and President Obama.

10 Jul 2012

Could insurance rules survive if GOP goes after health law through budget reconciliation?

Politico explores what might become of this element of the health law if Republicans win control of Congress and the White House, and attempt to unwind the law through the same budget reconciliation process that Democrats used to pass it. Other parts of the law under GOP attack include the online insurance markets where individuals and small businesses could buy coverage and the provision of federal subsidies to help some people buy coverage.

10 Jul 2012

MammaPrint more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than Oncotype DX

New research from University of the Sciences' Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy suggests that MammaPrint - a gene expression profiling (GEP) test used to identify whether women with early-stage breast cancer would benefit from chemotherapy - is the more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than the most frequently used GEP in practice in the United States today.

10 Jul 2012

Roundup: Calif. insurers to lower rate hikes for small businesses, Mass. Gov backs easing doc gift ban

Tens of thousands of small businesses in California collectively will save $48 million on their health insurance bills starting this month now that three insurers have agreed to reduce pending rate hikes.

10 Jul 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

The dust up continues as some Republican governors reject health law's Medicaid expansion

Feds will waive insurance mandate for low-income people in states that opt against Medicaid expansion

Roundup: Iowa union files complaint over Gov. order on insurance; Fla. denies it covered up TB outbreak

GOP lawmaker unveils draft bill on contraceptive coverage rule

Viewpoints: Trouble keeping health costs down; Ignagni says law needs some revisions; Coverage is like clean water

First Edition: July 11, 2012

Politics swirl around approaching House repeal vote

Thousands of seasonal firefighters lack health insurance

States continue stand-off with health law -- or push forward

The next legal blockbuster: Health benefits and same-sex partners

Perry rejects Medicaid expansion, opts not to create state-run health exchange

Connections between daily stressors of police work and obesity, suicide

Viewpoints: Obama's 'ideological gymnastics;' Health law's promise of mental health parity; Perry's 'platitudes' on care in Texas

Bankers Life and Casualty introduces new life and health insurance product

First Edition: July 10, 2012

Medicaid news: La. preps managed care cuts; Fewer Texas docs accept new patients

Romney's stance on the health law tax is blasted by Democrats, scrutinized by GOP

Could insurance rules survive if GOP goes after health law through budget reconciliation?

MammaPrint more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than Oncotype DX

Roundup: Calif. insurers to lower rate hikes for small businesses, Mass. Gov backs easing doc gift ban

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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