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Health insurance fee draws GOP attacks

The health care law tacks on a fee of $1 per year to private insurance plans. The money will fund comparative effectiveness research - studies into which treatments work best for particular conditions. The Senate Republican Policy Committee contrasted the fee with Obama's opposition, during the 2008 campaign, to taxing employer-based health benefits.

5 Jan 2012

Michigan opts not to appeal feds' MLR rule

The state was one of 13 seeking an exemption from the health law's medical-loss ratio requirement that insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Others, however, get a 30-day extension. Also in the news, the Department of Health and Human Services named 73 advisers to work with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

5 Jan 2012

ACP's Medical Home Builder 2.0 tool available free to PCMH practices

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) today announced that it has joined with the American College of Physicians (ACP) to make available the ACP's Medical Home Builder- 2.0 (MHB 2.0) tool to participating CareFirst Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) practices.

5 Jan 2012

State roundup: Mass. insurance co-ops to launch; Fla. hospital commission ponders nonprofits

A federal appeals court will review a judge's decision to temporarily block the state of Texas from enforcing a law requiring doctors to show sonograms to patients and describe the images before an abortion. In August, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin, Texas, ruled that several provisions of the law violated the free-speech rights of abortion-performing doctors.

5 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Sebelius on 'essential benefits'; WSJ columnist on Democrats' 'Mediscare' argument - is it a lie?

Insurance needs and health systems vary state to state, and experience tells us that the best way forward is not to mandate a one-size-fits-all answer. Instead, our approach gives states the flexibility to take their own paths, while ensuring they all end up in the best place possible: with an Affordable Insurance Exchange that offers access to comprehensive, quality, affordable health insurance to small business owners and individuals who currently have few good choices in an expensive and broken market.

5 Jan 2012

Medtronic introduces mySentry Remote Glucose Monitor in the U.S.

Today, Medtronic, Inc. announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and U.S. market launch of the first-of-its-kind mySentry Remote Glucose Monitor, which allows a parent or caregiver to monitor from another room a patient's MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time Revel System.

From Medtronic 4 Jan 2012

States find flexibility with essential benefits

Stateline offers an explanation of how the Obama administration's approach to the health law's essential benefits package will work. In California, a push to extend health coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions has led to more than 6,000 patients gaining insurance. Also, some new health regulations take effect.

4 Jan 2012

GOP plan to reclaim White House will turn Obama's words against him

The Washington Post reports on the Republican battle plan, which will undoubtedly include Obama's past claims about lowering the cost of insurance premiums. The Associated Press reports on how the GOP primary race has yet to "fully test" candidate Mitt Romney's health care record. Also, The Hill reports that the Republican presidential field appears to be "moving to the right" on abortion issues.

4 Jan 2012

State roundup: Texas health assistance program closing; Florida's dangerous assisted living facilities

A reduction in prescription drug coverage under last year's state budget cuts means 292,000 New Yorkers will now be paying more at the pharmacy.

4 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Giving states responsibility for 'essential benefits'; The cost of proton beam treatment; Health spending in 2012

The Obama administration surprised supporters and critics when it decided to let states define the "essential health benefits" that must be provided to their citizens under health care reform. ... Federal health officials will need to monitor developments during the transition period to make sure consumers and employers can easily compare the benefit packages offered by private insurers.

3 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 3, 2012

In today's headlines, reports that New York seniors are experiencing reduced prescription coverage and more California patients are being added to the health insurance rolls.

3 Jan 2012

Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 gets US approval for adults

Health authorities of United States have approved the expansion of Pfizer Inc's Prevnar vaccine for use in adults 50 and older to fight pneumonia, meningitis and other diseases cause by pneumococcus bacteria. The vaccine, which had been approved for children in the United States, is already one of Pfizer's biggest brands and an expanded population of adults could generate more than $1.5 billion in annual sales.

2 Jan 2012

2012 & health care: Medicare faces big changes, new state laws include abortion issues

News outlets began 2012 by looking ahead at what is promising to be a busy health care year, especially because of the 2010 federal health law.

2 Jan 2012

CATCH Healthy Habits program will come to Albany in early 2012

Remember riding your bicycle all over town until dark and then coming home to a hot, healthy meal your mom prepared? Lots of adults do, and now many of them are volunteering to help the next generation – and in the process themselves – get and stay healthy through an innovative program called CATCH Healthy Habits.

31 Dec 2011

Romney defends Mass. mandate; Gingrich once supported that plan

GOP presidentical candidate Mitt Romney said the insurance mandate included in the Massachusetts healthcare law he signed is fundamentally a conservative principle.

29 Dec 2011

States awarded over $296M for ensuring more children have health coverage

More than $296 million was awarded to states for ensuring more children have health coverage, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

29 Dec 2011

Faulty PIP breast implant fears deepen

After the scare that some French breast implants may be faulty and may need removal at the government's expense the national health insurance agency will file a criminal complaint. The implants, made by now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), were pulled from the market last year in countries around Europe and South America amid fears they could rupture and leak silicone into the body.

28 Dec 2011

Roundup: HIV staff to be cut in Ga.; Abortion news in N.J., Mo.; Wis. Medicaid coverage in limbo

A loss of $3.7 million in federal funds is forcing Georgia to reduce its workforce for HIV prevention. After an inquiry by Georgia Health News, the Department of Public Health this week acknowledged that 20 people in state health districts have been notified they will probably lose their jobs in January, and that an unspecified number of staffers at the department level have received the same notification.

23 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Picking the 'right fights'; Sebelius's 'special place' in history

Republicans do need to fight for their priorities, but it helps to pick the right fights. They should return in 2012 ready to make their differences clear on taxes, health care, regulation, and how to grow an economy (12/23).

23 Dec 2011

Research roundup: Unraveling why elderly men are tested for prostate cancer; Difficulty paying medical bills

Medical Center Characteristics Associated With PSA Screenings In Elderly Veterans With Limited Life Expectancy -- Medical guidelines recommend against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings for prostate cancer in men with limited life expectancy, but studies have shown that many elderly men still get the test.

23 Dec 2011