Health Insurance News and Research

RSS

CDC: Medical bills present hardship to many families

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on the financial stress caused by high medical costs.

9 Mar 2012

Contraception, abortion issues crop up in state legislatures, political races

The debate over the birth control mandate is seeping into West Virginia's governor race as reproductive-rights supporters assess their place amid losses in state legislatures.

9 Mar 2012

Some House GOP lawmakers threatening to walk away from last year's budget pact

Conservative Republicans are seeking deeper cuts in both discretionary and mandatory spending. The White House and Democratic lawmakers are "crying foul" and some GOP veterans caution it could produce gridlock. In the background, three key departures from the Senate Finance Committee could make that panel, which oversees Medicare and much of the health law, less centrist.

9 Mar 2012

State legislatures take on ultrasound mandate costs, employee health plans, Medicaid reform, malpractice

Democrats in the state Senate have sent Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell a list of conditions they want addressed before allowing a new state budget necessary to fund state services and operations to pass. … They want the state to pay for the ultrasound exams now mandated for women seeking abortions under a bill McDonnell signed Wednesday. ... And they want Medicaid eligibility restored for about 4,500 nursing home residents.

9 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Wilensky on bipartisan Medicare reform; Mass. 2006 health law and 2012 GOP politics; Reinstating advanced care planning

The Super Tuesday exit polls yielded a mountain of data in 10 states, but the most telling single statistic may have been in Massachusetts, which Mitt Romney won in a largely uncontested rout. Yet believe it or not, he still lost on health care. The exit poll asked voters their opinion of the "Massachusetts Health Care Law," with the options of Did Not Go Far Enough, About Right and Went Too Far. Remarkably, 51% said the bill went too far, while only 37% said it was about right, and 6% said not far enough.

9 Mar 2012

NCCN issues new guidelines for AYA oncology patients

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network announces that it has issued new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology. AYA patients are defined in the guidelines as individuals 15 to 39 years of age at initial cancer diagnosis.

9 Mar 2012

States use retiree health care, Medicaid cuts to stare down budget gaps

State budget cuts are targeting health care and retiree health care programs in states around the U.S. In Maryland, a "doomsday" budget scenario could reduce Medicaid spending by $101 million while advocates push for reinstatement of Medicaid dollars in Idaho and Arizona.

8 Mar 2012

Obama fields questions on Limbaugh, 'war on women'

During his "Super Tuesday" press conference, the president talked about contraception coverage and the Rush Limbaugh flap, saying that Democrats have "a better story to tell women."

8 Mar 2012

Tavenner: Final exchange rule release just weeks away

Modern Healthcare and CQ HealthBeat report that the final rule on health insurance exchanges will be out "very soon."

8 Mar 2012

House GOP slows down efforts to pass legislation aimed at Obama contraception coverage rule

In related news, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is reportedly having "voter's remorse" regarding her decision last week to vote for similar Senate legislation - the Blunt amendement.

8 Mar 2012

Romney claims Ohio victory on Super Tuesday but Santorum continues to press health reform issues

Santorum uses election night speech to again assail the former governor's support of a Massachusetts health overhaul that some say was a template for the federal law.

8 Mar 2012

Health insurance: More covered young adults in Minn.; Mass. wonders if insured rate has hit ceiling

Health insurance coverage rates are making news in Minnesota and Massachusetts, where officials wonder if their 98 percent coverage rate is the best they can do.

8 Mar 2012

Young adults, school health centers and cost-cutting: Examining elements of the health law's implementation

News outlets report on various provisions of the health law and their impact on the marketplace and access to care.

8 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 7, 2012

Reporting for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, Susan Jaffe writes: "In the latest effort to enlist seniors in the fight against Medicare fraud, federal officials have overhauled Medicare billing statements to make it easier to find bogus charges without a magnifying glass."

7 Mar 2012

Minn. GOP offers premium savings accounts as alternative to exchanges

Minnesota Republicans are offering state-based health premium savings accounts as an alternative to a health care exchange that Democrats in the state want to implement as part of the federal health reform law.

7 Mar 2012

Research team identifies preventive care guidelines relevant to young adults

With no specific clinical preventive care guidelines targeting young adults, health care providers are missing key opportunities to improve the health of this population through preventive screening and intervention.

7 Mar 2012

HHS: 105 million people no longer face health insurance lifetime limits

A Department of Health and Human Services report released Monday quantified the number of Americans with health insurance who no longer face these benefit limits.

7 Mar 2012

Oregon seeks federal approval of 'coordinated care plan,' approves exchange bill

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is looking for federal approval of a recently signed law there that provides care for Medicaid patients through new "coordinated care organizations." The Oregon Legislature also approved a health insurance exchange bill before it adjourned.

7 Mar 2012

Despite controversy, report says young Catholic women support birth control use

According to the report by the Guttmacher Institute, these women perceive the recent debate surrounding contraception coverage as a political one. Meanwhile, analysis continues about Rush Limbaugh's comments on the subject.

7 Mar 2012

Supreme Court swing votes; The Medicaid challenge; And how other rulings might help handicap the action

On the last of three days of arguments on the Affordable Care Act later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will turn to the sleeper issue that could have the biggest impact on federal power -- Congress' authority under its spending power to require a big expansion of state Medicaid programs.

7 Mar 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

CDC: Medical bills present hardship to many families

Contraception, abortion issues crop up in state legislatures, political races

Some House GOP lawmakers threatening to walk away from last year's budget pact

State legislatures take on ultrasound mandate costs, employee health plans, Medicaid reform, malpractice

Viewpoints: Wilensky on bipartisan Medicare reform; Mass. 2006 health law and 2012 GOP politics; Reinstating advanced care planning

NCCN issues new guidelines for AYA oncology patients

States use retiree health care, Medicaid cuts to stare down budget gaps

Obama fields questions on Limbaugh, 'war on women'

Tavenner: Final exchange rule release just weeks away

House GOP slows down efforts to pass legislation aimed at Obama contraception coverage rule

Romney claims Ohio victory on Super Tuesday but Santorum continues to press health reform issues

Health insurance: More covered young adults in Minn.; Mass. wonders if insured rate has hit ceiling

Young adults, school health centers and cost-cutting: Examining elements of the health law's implementation

First Edition: March 7, 2012

Minn. GOP offers premium savings accounts as alternative to exchanges

Research team identifies preventive care guidelines relevant to young adults

HHS: 105 million people no longer face health insurance lifetime limits

Oregon seeks federal approval of 'coordinated care plan,' approves exchange bill

Despite controversy, report says young Catholic women support birth control use

Supreme Court swing votes; The Medicaid challenge; And how other rulings might help handicap the action

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News