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InComm announces acquisition of Medagate

InComm, a leading prepaid product and transaction services company, announced today that it has acquired Medagate Corporation, the company that powers OTCNetwork, the only national closed loop over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare benefits payments platform.

13 Feb 2012

Some Senate Democrats split from White House on contraception rule

The White House on Thursday faced mounting pressure from Senate Democrats to amend its requirements that religious employers include contraceptives in their health insurance plans, as Republicans tried to force votes on the issue.

13 Feb 2012

President's budget to call for Medicare, Medicaid cuts - but no major changes

News organizations got a preview of the multi-trillion-dollar federal budget President Barack Obama is expected to propose on Monday.

13 Feb 2012

Permitting children to stay on parents' health insurance improves access to care

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that laws permitting children to stay on their parents' health insurance through age 26 result in improved access to health care compared to states without those laws.

13 Feb 2012

Birth control mandate is a rallying cry in presidential campaigns

Rick Santorum said Thursday that arguments against a recent federal law requiring health insurance coverage for contraception were not ignoring the rights of women. "It's the churches' money, and forcing them to do something that they think is a grievous moral wrong, how can that be the right of a woman?" Santorum asked in an interview on CNN's "John King USA".

13 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 13, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations preview President Barack Obama's budget, which will be released today, and examine the lingering controversy over mandates on contraceptive coverage.

13 Feb 2012

Health insurance exchanges stall in Kansas and Georgia

The House Appropriations Committee has voted to block Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger from spending any more federal grant dollars to plan for the implementation of the federal health reform law. ... The grants, which totaled about $2.3 million, were intended to help Kansas plan and develop a health insurance purchasing exchange and to educate consumers about the exchange.

13 Feb 2012

Health plans must provide consumer-friendly health plan summaries by this fall

Moving to implement one of the new consumer protections in the health law, the Obama administration issued regulations Thursday requiring insurers to describe costs and benefits in clear, standardized language.

13 Feb 2012

State roundup: Fraud crackdowns, searching for more doctors, immigrant health care

Illinois Democrats running state government have waited more than a year to win federal approval for a new plan to fight fraud in the health program for 2.7 million of the state's poorest residents. Facing increasing Republican pressure to put reforms in place, this week Quinn's team told the Obama administration that Illinois will wait no longer.

13 Feb 2012

Catholics choosing sides in contraception battle as bishops lead fight again Obama administration

When after much internal debate the Obama administration finally announced its decision to require religiously affiliated hospitals and universities to cover birth control in their insurance plans, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops were fully prepared for battle. Seven months earlier, they had started laying the groundwork ... the birth control mandate, issued on Jan. 20, was their Pearl Harbor.

13 Feb 2012

Obama administration signals contraception compromise

The Obama administration, seeking to rein in a runaway political furor over birth control and religious liberty, is set to announce a possible compromise on Friday that is meant to calm ire from the right about a new administration rule that would require health insurance plans - including those offered by Roman Catholic hospitals, universities and charities - to offer free birth control to female employees.

13 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Predicting the health law's effects on small business, uninsured, disparities

Using a RAND assessment tool, researchers aimed to "predict the effects of self-insurance and grandfathering exemptions on coverage and premiums available" on policies for small businesses sold in the insurance exchanges.

13 Feb 2012

Organ transplant patients can benefit from cochlear implants

Cochlear implants may be a safe, effective option for some organ transplant patients who've lost their hearing as an unfortunate consequence of their transplant-related drug regime, researchers report.

13 Feb 2012

Leavitt says exchanges are here to stay

As efforts to implement the health law move forward, Politico Pro talks to Michael Leavitt about state exchanges, and KHN examines the administration's strategy for prevention funding.

13 Feb 2012

Obama readies compromise on birth control mandate

The Obama administration Friday morning signaled a new compromise on a rule that would require even most religious employer health plans to cover contraception at no cost to employees.

13 Feb 2012

Study reveals racial disparities in renal transplant access

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that racial disparities exist in both the early and late steps in access to kidney transplantation. This study is part of the February special themed issue of the journal on racial disparity.

10 Feb 2012

Medicaid changes eyed in Georgia, California and Connecticut

State officials are creating two task forces to gather input on a consulting firm's report on the future of Georgia's Medicaid and PeachCare programs. One task force will involve medical provider groups, including representatives of hospital and physician organizations. The second grouping will review the Navigant report's recommendation to revamp services for the "aged, blind and disabled" populations.

10 Feb 2012