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Employer health plans often omit part-timer workers

Several news outlets this weekend covered work-based insurance issues, including reaction to the Wal-Mart announcement that it would be cutting back coverage for new part-timers and what workers in a number of places should expect as their bosses roll out policies for the coming year.

24 Oct 2011

Eighth Circuit hears health law arguments

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday regarding whether a health law legal challenge brought by two Missouri residents should be revived.

22 Oct 2011

States react, act on health law waivers and other implementation issues

Sen. Ron Wyden draws line in the sand about how health law waivers should be used. Meanwhile, Kansas' planning board continues its efforts toward the creation of a state-based health exchange while acknowledging that the federal government may end up in charge. Also, in Oregon, a consumer-run health plan is positioning itself to be included in the state's exchange.

22 Oct 2011

Indiana, Planned Parenthood in court on Medicaid funding; Wis. bill to prohibit abortion in private insurance

Lawyers for the state tried for a second time Thursday to convince a federal court that Indiana's law defunding Planned Parenthood should go into effect immediately and not be delayed until after a judge rules on a lawsuit challenging the law. ... Planned Parenthood is arguing that the legislature's April vote to cut off Medicaid funding to providers that offer abortions runs afoul of federal Medicaid law, which forbids the state from picking and choosing where Medicaid patients can receive services.

22 Oct 2011

Research roundup: Disparities in heart failure improvements; vets face barriers to mental health care

Hospitalization And Mortality Rates For Medicare Beneficiaries, 1998-2008 -- This report examines treatment of more than 55 million Medicare fee-for-service heart failure patients, from 1998 to 2008. The researchers found that heart failure hospitalization declined susbstantially over that time but "occurred unevenly across race-sex categories, especially for black men, who had the lowest rate of decline."

22 Oct 2011

State roundup: Wis. insurance savings; N.Y. major hospital merger possible; psychiatric hospitals' hard times

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton claimed the first major success of his drive to improve government efficiency Thursday, saying a competitive-bidding process for state health insurance programs will save $242 million in the next two years. …. Republicans, who control the state House and Senate, launched an extension of their own government-efficiency plans - labeled "Reform 2.0" - in August.

22 Oct 2011

Republican rivals' attacks on 'Romneycare' gaining traction

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's health policies are not only the target of his Republican opponents but are also drawing attention and barbs from Democrats. Also on the trail, Newt Gingrich, another GOP primary candidate, criticized the tenor of the campaign season so far.

21 Oct 2011

States take cautious approach to health law's new coverage mandates

Politico Pro reports that states are waiting to "get greater clarity" on the federal benefit package in order to minimize the extra coverage costs for which they might ultimately be responsible.

21 Oct 2011

Medicare Part B premium costs likely to cut into social security's increase

Social Security benefits will increase by 3.6 percent, but many consumers won't feel more weight in their wallets because of an expected boost in Medicare costs.

21 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: If not CLASS, then what?; House GOP abortion bill; MLK's legacy in health care

Less than 3% of Americans have private long-term care policies. As Baby Boomers age, the problem will only get worse, which was a driving force behind a provision in the new health reform law that would have created a long-term care insurance program called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act.

21 Oct 2011

Obama administration, challengers agree: Aim for late March Supreme Court hearing on health law

The administration even filed its legal briefs early - one outlining its defense of the measure's constitutionality in response to the 26-state challenge, the other responding to Liberty University's challenge. Meanwhile, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday in Missouri's official challenge.

21 Oct 2011

State roundup: Md. program poised for health reform; Calif. high-risk pool; huge insurance premium jump in La. district

Its accountable care organizations will be called coordinated care organizations. And, instead of just aiming to cut costs and increase the quality of care, Oregon wants to actually grade them.

21 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 20, 2011

In today's headlines, reports analyzing the super committee's progress, and detailing how Republican rivals' stabs at 'Romneycare' are starting to gaining traction.

20 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 19, 2011

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Capsules, Marilyn Werber Serafini reports: "Medicare might fare better than other health care programs if the congressional super committee fails to agree on a deficit-reduction package and automatic cuts kick in, but even 2 percent is a big problem when it comes on top of other recent hits, warn Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, and Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans."

19 Oct 2011

U.S. News ranks Meridian Health among 2011-2012 Best Hospitals

Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center, all members of Meridian Health, are included in the 2011-2012 Best Hospitals metro area rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.

19 Oct 2011

Canadian parents raise families with less money and time than Baby Boomer generation

Canadian parents today are raising families with less money and time than the Baby Boomer generation even though the country's economy has doubled in size since 1976, says a new study released at the University of Saskatchewan today by Paul Kershaw, a family policy expert from the University of British Columbia.

19 Oct 2011

Roundup: Mass. contemplates 'global payments'; rural hospitals struggling; Oregon liability cost studied

Although important details remain to be negotiated, the legislative leaders and Gov. Deval Patrick, all Democrats, are working toward a plan that would encourage flat "global payments" to networks of providers for keeping patients well, replacing the fee-for-service system that creates incentives for excessive care by paying for each visit and procedure.

19 Oct 2011

Effective liability reform could reduce hospital admissions

Visits to emergency departments climbed nearly 10 percent in one year to a new high of more than 136 million visits in 2009, according to preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just as emergency physicians are releasing new studies showing an association between medical liability concerns and rising hospital admissions from the emergency department.

18 Oct 2011

CLASS Act demise triggers political barbs, debate about long-term care policy

The Obama administration announced Friday afternoon that it won't proceed with the implementation of the controversial CLASS program. GOP lawmakers immediately began to question why it took so long for this decision to be made. Meanwhile, more questions emerged about how to address the nation's long-term care challenge.

18 Oct 2011

State flexibility key issue in health law implementation

The Washington Post reports on how some states want to move past the 2010 measure in advancing their own health reforms. Meanwhile, as states build their health insurance exchanges, a key variable will be the degree of competition within their own insurance marketplaces.

18 Oct 2011

Health Insurance News and Research

Employer health plans often omit part-timer workers

Eighth Circuit hears health law arguments

States react, act on health law waivers and other implementation issues

Indiana, Planned Parenthood in court on Medicaid funding; Wis. bill to prohibit abortion in private insurance

Research roundup: Disparities in heart failure improvements; vets face barriers to mental health care

State roundup: Wis. insurance savings; N.Y. major hospital merger possible; psychiatric hospitals' hard times

Republican rivals' attacks on 'Romneycare' gaining traction

States take cautious approach to health law's new coverage mandates

Medicare Part B premium costs likely to cut into social security's increase

Viewpoints: If not CLASS, then what?; House GOP abortion bill; MLK's legacy in health care

Obama administration, challengers agree: Aim for late March Supreme Court hearing on health law

State roundup: Md. program poised for health reform; Calif. high-risk pool; huge insurance premium jump in La. district

First Edition: October 20, 2011

First Edition: October 19, 2011

U.S. News ranks Meridian Health among 2011-2012 Best Hospitals

Canadian parents raise families with less money and time than Baby Boomer generation

Roundup: Mass. contemplates 'global payments'; rural hospitals struggling; Oregon liability cost studied

Effective liability reform could reduce hospital admissions

CLASS Act demise triggers political barbs, debate about long-term care policy

State flexibility key issue in health law implementation

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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