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Santorum's message: Romney would face trouble against Obama on health issues

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum continues to attack rival Mitt Romney's Massachusetts' health reform record, arguing that it weakens his ability to run against President Barack Obama, and candidate Newt Gingrich also is not escaping the criticism.

13 Mar 2012

HHS releases exchange rules, highlights 'state flexibility'

The Department of Health and Human Services today released the final rule for health insurance exchanges, which reportedly includes specifics about state functions and responsibilities.

13 Mar 2012

Supreme Court health law action: Analyzing the arguments and who will be making them

News outlets report on the key issues, dynamics and personalities that will be in play when the Supreme Court takes up the health law.

13 Mar 2012

State roundup: Business health care tax credits; Wash. state insurers' surplus cash; Calif. million dollar bills

A relatively new tax credit is available to certain small businesses and charities to help offset the cost of providing health insurance to their workers. But tens of thousands of businesses in Minnesota and across the nation are leaving money on the table, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

13 Mar 2012

Views on Supreme Court case: Both sides stage assault on the Constitution; Obama overreached; Law provides basic needs

As the date of the high court arguments grows nearer, news outlets have a number of editorials and opinions about the health law case.

13 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: America's mixed views on health; Contraception and political 'excesses'; Colorado Medicaid debate

Most people tell pollsters they like the parts of the law that have gone into effect: health insurance for people with preexisting conditions, a clause that allows children to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26 and discounts for prescription drugs on Medicare. And, as time goes by, Americans seem less worried that the law will have a negative effect on their own medical care ... But the law itself isn't any more popular than the day it passed.

12 Mar 2012

Overcoming challenges to health law implementation at federal, state levels

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is central to implementing the health law, which leads to questions about its capabilities and resources. Meanwhile, states await a final rule on health exchanges.

12 Mar 2012

State abortion bills keep coming

Some call such legislation an "overreach," but at least some of the proposals are getting political traction, including a push in Washington State this week to require insurance plans to cover abortion.

12 Mar 2012

Zynex announces acquisition of NeuroDyne Medical

Zynex, Inc., a provider and developer of non-invasive medical devices for electrotherapy and stroke rehabilitation, neurological diagnosis and cardiac monitoring, announced the acquisition of substantially all the assets of NeuroDyne Medical, Corp., through its subsidiary Zynex NeuroDiagnostics, Inc., with an effective date of March 9, 2012.

12 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 12, 2012

Today's health policy headlines focus significant attention on key issues, dynamics and even personalities that will be in play when the Supreme Court takes up the health law later this month.

12 Mar 2012

Santorum, others say Romney won't be able to campaign against Obama's health law

As Mitt Romney moves closer to locking up the Republican presidential nomination, the questions about his ability to attack President Obama on healthcare are only getting louder. Conservatives have long been uneasy with Romney's record on healthcare.

12 Mar 2012

Farzad Mostashari: Focusing on moving doctors into the digital age

New York hookers spreading HIV. Killer mosquitos. An anthrax-toting terrorist. An urban-scape rife with the sick and poor. These are just some of the challenges tackled by Farzad Mostashari, a Yale-educated physician, epidemiologist and self-confessed computer nerd. His current mission: moving doctors from the Age of Gutenberg into the 21st century. For starters, he'd like them to use e-mail at the office.

11 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: The fight against IPAB; Chinks in GOP armor on health care law

As part of their broader campaign to repeal health care reform, House Republicans are determined to kill off an independent board that is supposed to help rein in federal spending on Medicare. Their rhetoric is predictably distorted: charging that "15 unelected bureaucrats" should not be able to "ration care." In truth, the independent payment advisory board of nongovernmental experts is specifically precluded from rationing care, and Congress, not the board, has the final say on what cuts should be made.

11 Mar 2012

Grassley sends letter to Minnesota questioning Medicaid 'donation'

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday questioning if the federal government should receive a portion of a "donation" a nonprofit health insurer made to Minnesota's Medicaid program and why Minnesota classified the payment as such.

11 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Confusing high priced for high quality care; Expanding digital records to all hospitals; Veterans and opiod use

An Experiment Shows That A Well-Designed Report On Costs And Quality Can Help Consumers Choose High-Value Health Care -- Researchers conducted an experiment with more than 1,400 people to see if the way information on quality and cost of care is displayed affects consumers' decision to choose a high value health care plan. The group was shown different presentations of the same information and was asked to pick their preferred plan.

10 Mar 2012

State legislatures split on forming health insurance exchanges

Oregon and California are moving forward with creating health insurance exchanges called for in the health reform law while lawmakers in New Hampshire pass legislation barring the state from creating an exchange.

10 Mar 2012

Health care politics: Contraception issues shift women to Dems, GOP contenders on Medicare's future

News outlets covered a poll on the health law and also analyzed Republican positions on abortion, contraception and Medicare.

10 Mar 2012

Exchanges, high risk pools grab headlines

News outlets also continue to explore issues related to the development of state-based health exchanges as well as the costs and enrollment numbers associated with high-risk insurance.

10 Mar 2012

Consumer coalition sues drugmakers over coupon programs

The lawsuit claims that these popular programs, which appear to save money for patients, actually increase costs and conceal information about the discounts from health plans.

9 Mar 2012

Obama administration: Mandate is respectful of individual rights

The Department of Justice argues that the individual mandate is more protective of individual choices than programs such as Medicare. In other news related to the health law, the clashes between consumer and business groups over the measure's required benefit summaries don't appear to be over.

9 Mar 2012