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Longer looks at Supreme Court battle: Interactions of justices are key to decision; Creating 'Zombie Obamacare'

Welcome to the world of the law, Supreme Court edition, where after Tuesday's remarkable hearing the five conservative justices appeared eager, or at least willing, to defend an unworkable status quo that rewards people who choose to blow off health insurance coverage knowing that they will be treated anyway if they show up ill at a hospital.

30 Mar 2012

Perspectives on court's political fallout: A loss could boost Obama; Mandate could be replaced with large tax credits

The heart of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the requirement that every American purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. Justice Anthony Kennedy - widely considered the "swing vote" on cases that divide the Supreme Court evenly along ideological lines - raised concerns on Tuesday that this individual mandate "changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in the very fundamental way."

30 Mar 2012

Perspectives on the court and the health law: Is this judicial activism?; Decision could define Roberts; Health economics 101

The ideological nature of the health care case was obvious on the last day of oral argument. By the time the proceedings were over, much of what the conservative justices said in court seemed like part of a politically driven exercise - especially because the issues addressed on Wednesday were not largely constitutional in nature.

30 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 29, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports detailing Wednesday's Supreme Court oral arguments on severability as well as the Medicaid expansion. News coverage also sums up the week's high court activity and looks forward to what might happen next.

29 Mar 2012

State roundup: Georgia's child-only insurance policies; N.Y. exchange impasse

The Senate's Republican majority refused to agree to create a "health exchange," or state-based health insurance market required under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, for individuals and small businesses to insure more Americans.

29 Mar 2012

Court wonders which parts of law -- if any -- can stand without the mandate

In exploring the severability question, the justices will ponder whether other parts of the health law can go forward if they void the individual mandate, considered the measure's central element. News outlets examine the "contingency plans" being explored by the law's supporters in case the mandate falls.

29 Mar 2012

AP examines whether health law debate is muted if Romney is GOP nominee

In other campaign news, James Carville says a loss at the Supreme Court will help Democrats politically.

29 Mar 2012

Skeptical justices ask tough questions about the insurance mandate

In yesterday's oral arguments, the grilling aimed at the Obama administration's lawyer by the court's conservatives raised the prospect that the law's centerpiece could be overturned.

29 Mar 2012

BHECN designs new online training modules to treat mental health issues

It's estimated that more than half of all U.S. mental health care takes place at the primary care level and that percentage jumps considerably in rural areas where there often are no mental health practitioners for hundreds of miles. New online training modules have been designed by the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) to help primary care providers better treat patients with mental health issues.

29 Mar 2012

High court's Medicaid ruling could have significant ripple effects

A ruling against Medicaid could touch a variety of federal statutes and reshape the federal-state legal framework.

29 Mar 2012

A double dose of arguments -- severability, Medicaid expansion on today's docket

In the final day of debate, the justices consider whether the entire law must be thrown out if the mandate is overturned. That issue will get 90 minutes, while the challenge to the expansion of Medicaid is on for 60 minutes.

29 Mar 2012

Outside the court: Roaring rallies, rhetoric and reviews

The second day of the momentous Supreme Court hearing on President Obama's health law ended almost exactly at noon. By 12:03, many conservative lawmakers and television commentators who had been in the packed chambers stood on the marble steps outside, saying the health insurance mandate at the heart of the law appeared to be in deep trouble.

29 Mar 2012

Justices explore merits of preserving parts of the health law if mandate is overturned

On the third day of the Supreme Court's consideration of the health law, justices sparred over whether some parts of the measure could proceed even if the court decides to void its insurance mandate.

29 Mar 2012

States offer mixed legislative bag on abortion, birth control

Birth control and abortion legislation are making the rounds at state capitols. An abortion bill in Georgia was stopped Tuesday while Idaho backed away from its own pre-abortion ultrasound bill. Missouri advanced a bill to let some employers opt-out of providing coverage for contraception.

29 Mar 2012

The American Legion opposes proposed hikes in TRICARE premiums

The leader of the nation's largest veterans service organization, The American Legion, has expressed strong opposition to proposed hikes in premiums being paid by enrollees in TRICARE, the military's health insurance program. The recently released Fiscal Year 2013 federal budget plan calls for dramatically increased TRICARE enrollment fees and pharmacy co-pays.

29 Mar 2012

State experiences with insurance mandates offer cautionary tales

In Massachusetts, reforms are proceeding with an individual mandate, while Washington state and New Jersey faced hardships when they overhauled their health insurance markets without one.

29 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Why doctors find it hard to tell the truth; The fruits of biomedical research; Cheney's 'taxpayer-subsidized' benefits

Last month, an article in the journal Health Affairs made headlines in the news media - "Physicians Are Not Always Open or Honest with Patients." A vast majority of the nearly 2,000 doctors surveyed agreed that physicians should be fully open and honest in all their communications with patients. ... I suspect that the dishonesty that is being uncovered in a study such as this - and frankly, I was amazed that the number of less-than-truthful instances was so low - reveals more about the diagnosis of being human than anything else. ... I couldn't bring myself to tell this young mother that she was going to die."

29 Mar 2012

Perspectives on health law challenge: Does court recognize its own limits?; A dubious link to Civil Rights Act; The burden on young people

In ruling on the constitutionality of requiring most Americans to obtain health insurance, the Supreme Court faces a central test: whether it will recognize limits on its own authority to overturn well-founded acts of Congress.

29 Mar 2012

Amerigroup announces successful efforts at preventing premature births

Amerigroup Corporation announced its successful efforts at preventing premature births – as well its commitment to protecting access to affordable drug therapies for at-risk mothers – at the annual Norfolk/Virginia Beach March of Dimes kick-off breakfast for the March for Babies.

29 Mar 2012

UICOMP to join provider network of Coventry Health Care

Effective April 1, 2012, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria will join the provider network of Coventry Health Care of Illinois, Inc. to serve area members.

29 Mar 2012