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Report: Employer-based health insurance shows decline

A new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that employment-based health coverage has taken steps back after a brief uptick.

24 May 2012

State roundup: Labor unions continue Wis. Governor recall push; 'Affordability gap' in Minn.

Democrats and unions hoping to turn Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker out of office over his efforts to tame the power of organized labor are finding it tough going with only two weeks to go before a historic recall election. … Walker pushed through the legislature a law requiring public sector union members to pay part of the cost of health insurance and pensions, limited pay rises, made paying union dues voluntary and forced unions to be recertified every year.

24 May 2012

Viewpoints: The promise and perils of prostate screening; Presidential candidates shy away from frank discussion of spending

After an exhaustive process, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has announced its final recommendation on PSA-based prostate cancer screening. It finds that the known harms of screening outweigh the potential benefits for men who have no cancer symptoms. It notes that all screening studies have demonstrated considerable harms associated with screening, but only one major study found evidence that screening saves lives -- and that study has some internal inconsistencies.

24 May 2012

First Edition: May 23, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the CBO's dire predictions about a possible recession as well as details about how health policy is handled in new presidential campaign ads.

23 May 2012

Article examines reasons why people are so reluctant to give up PSA test

The uproar that began last year when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stated that doctors should no longer offer regular prostate-cancer tests to healthy men continued this week when the task force released their final report. Overall, they stuck to their guns, stating that a blood test commonly used to screen for prostate cancer, the PSA test, causes more harm than good - it leads men to receive unnecessary, and sometimes even dangerous, treatments.

23 May 2012

Progress report on health law's risk adjustment rule; Status check on state-based exchanges

News outlets offer updates regarding state progress related to developing the health law's insurance exchanges, the timing for risk adjustment rules and the release of the final federal rule on the health insurance premium tax credit.

23 May 2012

Congress weighs change in survey for Medicaid payments; Expansion of Colo. program slower than expected

Also in state Medicaid news is a report on a proposal to cut Illinois' costs and the controversy over funding in Minnesota's program.

23 May 2012

First Edition: May 22, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about a lawsuit brought by Catholic organizations against the Obama administration's contraception coverage rule and a new recommendation on PSA screening by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

22 May 2012

Viewpoints: A gamble on Alzheimer's research; Hidden costs of insurance rebates

The Obama administration has announced a bold research program to test whether a drug can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease well before any symptoms appear. It is a long shot, but the payoff could be huge.

22 May 2012

USPSTF issues final recommendation statement against PSA testing

The Prostate Cancer Roundtable expressed deep disappointment today as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued its final recommendation statement against the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in the detection of prostate cancer.

22 May 2012

Socioeconomic factors associated with skin cancer screening

When it comes to getting screened for skin cancer, only one in 14 U.S. Hispanic adults is shown to have ever gone through the process, compared to one in four non-Hispanic white adults. Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows socioeconomic factors such as lack of health insurance and poorer access to healthcare serve as barriers for Hispanics who might otherwise receive this potentially lifesaving check-up.

22 May 2012

Some states taking federal funds are still hesitant about building health exchanges

Health and Human Services officials dispatched $181 million in grants to six states this week to help establish health insurance exchanges. But some state officials who are about to receive checks aren't rushing to create the new marketplaces.

21 May 2012

Two health care nonprofit co-ops receive health law loans

These two co-ops, located in Nevada and Michigan, received a total of $135 million in loans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

21 May 2012

First Edition: May 21, 2012

Today's headlines includes reports on a new poll that explores what it is like to be sick in America.

21 May 2012

Poll: 70% of Americans oppose efforts by insurance companies to deny payment for ER visits

Seventy percent of Americans oppose efforts by insurance companies to deny payment for emergency visits when patients believe they are having medical emergencies, but after examination are diagnosed with non-urgent medical conditions, according to the results of a new poll conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

21 May 2012

HCCI's report shows facility prices outpaced general inflation for the privately insured under 65

Rising prices for care were the chief driver of health care costs for privately insured Americans in 2010, according to the first report from the newly formed Health Care Cost Institute.

21 May 2012

Survey: Healthcare marketers should target insured Hispanic women ages 25-35

A new national survey commissioned by Cultur Health shows healthcare marketers should target insured Hispanic women ages 25-35. These young Latinas, representing a rapidly growing Hispanic demographic, are key healthcare gatekeepers – managing their own health needs and frequently those of their families, parents, grandparents and other relatives as well.

19 May 2012

Research roundup: Electronic health records don't seem to improve diabetes care; Beefing up adult vaccination rates

Federal officials and health policy experts believe that electronic health records (EHRs) will improve patient care. Researchers measured adherence to diabetes care guidelines as well as patient outcomes over three years at 16 practices using EHRs and 26 practices using paper records. Practices with EHRs did not show signs of better care and providers using them "have not made the necessary changes to both work processes and ways of thinking about care that would lead to improvements in chronic illness management."

19 May 2012

Viewpoints: VA failing to provide timely care; Roll up your sleeves to help fight AIDS; Primary care doctors' uncertain future

Those who have served know the military rules: Be on time, do it now. Once they file disability claims with the Department of Veteran Affairs, however, veterans wait, and wait longer…. Delay is not without consequences for the individual or the community…. We sent these young men and women off to battle. We owe them timely care.

19 May 2012

First Edition: May 18, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that congressional conservatives are fighting amongst themselves over health law strategies.

18 May 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

Report: Employer-based health insurance shows decline

State roundup: Labor unions continue Wis. Governor recall push; 'Affordability gap' in Minn.

Viewpoints: The promise and perils of prostate screening; Presidential candidates shy away from frank discussion of spending

First Edition: May 23, 2012

Article examines reasons why people are so reluctant to give up PSA test

Progress report on health law's risk adjustment rule; Status check on state-based exchanges

Congress weighs change in survey for Medicaid payments; Expansion of Colo. program slower than expected

First Edition: May 22, 2012

Viewpoints: A gamble on Alzheimer's research; Hidden costs of insurance rebates

USPSTF issues final recommendation statement against PSA testing

Socioeconomic factors associated with skin cancer screening

Some states taking federal funds are still hesitant about building health exchanges

Two health care nonprofit co-ops receive health law loans

First Edition: May 21, 2012

Poll: 70% of Americans oppose efforts by insurance companies to deny payment for ER visits

HCCI's report shows facility prices outpaced general inflation for the privately insured under 65

Survey: Healthcare marketers should target insured Hispanic women ages 25-35

Research roundup: Electronic health records don't seem to improve diabetes care; Beefing up adult vaccination rates

Viewpoints: VA failing to provide timely care; Roll up your sleeves to help fight AIDS; Primary care doctors' uncertain future

First Edition: May 18, 2012

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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