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HHS approves new round of waivers

The Obama administration granted another 106 waivers last month from part of the health care reform law - the first round of three-year waivers the Health and Human Services Department has approved. The new approvals bring the total number of waivers to 1,472, according to HHS. Those figures cover waivers granted through the end of July.

22 Aug 2011

Decline in HT use could lead to lower mammogram rates among women

A new analysis has found that a decline in hormone therapy (HT) use among women aged 50 to 64 years is linked with lower mammogram rates among these women.

22 Aug 2011

States grow anxious for federal exchange guidance

State policymakers are growing increasingly anxious in the face of administration signals that key guidance on federal exchanges may not be coming until late 2011 or early 2012 — if they're coming at all. The administration appears to have decided that it does not need to issue a rule outlining the operation of a federal fallback exchange, according to sources familiar with the administration's thinking.

20 Aug 2011

Medicare cost growth slows

Medicare costs grew at their slowest pace in six years, according to Standard & Poor's Healthcare Economic Indices.

20 Aug 2011

Report: Major gains in effort to enroll children in public health care programs

The report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the number of children eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program fell. Meanwhile, HHS also awarded $40 million in grants for more outreach.

20 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Tea party & Medicare; Minn. health exchange politics; fixing drug shortages

Unlike the Florida district court that earlier found ObamaCare unconstitutional, the 11th Circuit did not invalidate the entire law. But it likewise reaffirmed the fundamental constitutional rule that our federal government is one of enumerated powers with judicially enforceable limits.

20 Aug 2011

Research roundup: Majority of Docs face malpractice claims; colonoscopies in older adults; 'overwhelming' Medicare advantage choices

The authors "analyzed malpractice data from 1991 through 2005 for all physicians who were covered by a large professional liability insurer with a nationwide client base" and found that "by the age of 65 years, 75% of physicians in low-risk specialties had faced a malpractice claim, as compared with 99% of physicians in high-risk specialties." Most of those claims did not result in a pyament.

20 Aug 2011

News highlights: Calif. ruling limits medical damages; appeal filed in case challenging Ariz. Medicaid cuts

The state Supreme Court handed insurers and business groups a major legal victory -- and personal injury lawyers an equally big setback -- on Thursday by imposing limits on medical damages in one of the era's closest watched civil cases. The issue in the case, Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, was whether an injured party could collect the full medical care costs billed by doctors and hospitals, or the lesser amount that the medical providers accepted from an insurance company.

20 Aug 2011

Cost is only one barrier to getting timely medical care, finds study

Cost is only one barrier to getting timely medical care, a new study finds. Just getting to the doctor, making appointments and taking time off from work or other responsibilities are also major hindrances for some people to getting the medical care they need.

19 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 19, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Susan Jaffe writes: Shopping for health insurance next year will be easier when hundreds of health insurers and employers use the same simple forms unveiled Wednesday by the Obama administration, consumer advocates and government officials say. But the new materials, required by the 2010 health law, are still a work in progress.

19 Aug 2011

New rules would help consumers comparison shop for health plans

The proposed regulations, issued Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to make sure insurers and employers provide consumers with "plain English" information about health insurance coverage to empower them to make informed choices.

19 Aug 2011

HHS announces $40M in grants to identify and enroll eligible children for Medicaid, CHIP

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced $40 million in grants for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

19 Aug 2011

The Perry record on reform, Medicaid and HPV vaccinations

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's high-profile launch of his campaign for the GOP nomination for president means fresh scrutiny on his record and platform regarding health issues.

19 Aug 2011

State roundup: Opposition to Calif. health insurance regulation bill

Supporters of controversial legislation to give state regulators power to approve, deny or modify changes in health insurance rates have returned from their summer recess to find added opposition as they push for its passage before the session wraps up. Gov. Jerry Brown's finance officials came out against Assembly Bill 52 at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing this week, raising concerns about the costs of the rate-regulation proposal.

19 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: 'Judicial restraint' and health law; mental health parity; perspectives from JAMA and NEJM

A Supreme Court decision to throw out health-care reform on Commerce Clause grounds could open up hundreds of other federal laws to legal challenge -- starting with the Civil Rights Act. It's hard to believe that this court really wants to relitigate the second half of the 20th century, but we'll have an answer soon enough.

19 Aug 2011

Australian youth mostly ignorant about sexual health

The survey found that most of the young people do not know about Pap smears, sexually transmitted infections and how the contraceptive pill works.

18 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 18, 2011

"The SSI program for children is rapidly expanding, with the biggest increase among kids with mental, behavioral and learning disorders, including ADHD, speech delays, autism, and bipolar disorder. But as it pulls in children like Hulston, the program is sparking criticism in Congress.

18 Aug 2011

Long-delayed forms to provide coverage details likely to be released today

Part of the health law, these rules will lay out, among other things, a new standard form that will provide consumers who are shopping for health coverage with policy details, such as deductibles and specific costs for certain medical circumstances.

18 Aug 2011

Medicare Advantage plans may be counter-productive for the elderly

In health care, more choice may not always lead to better choices, particularly for the elderly. In a new study, researchers from Harvard Medical School's Department of Health Care Policy found that the large variety of managed care plans offered by the Medicare Advantage program may be counter-productive.

18 Aug 2011

While most docs are sued few pay up: Study

A new study revealed that more than three in four US doctors will face a malpractice suit at some point in their careers, but cash is paid in only about 20 percent of cases. The analysis by researchers at several major US medical schools and the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research group, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

18 Aug 2011