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States continue to wrestle with public employee health benefits

Reports from Connecticut and Oregon detail ongoing negotiations between the state and unionized state employees. Proposed changes to health benefits play major roles in both situations.

8 Jul 2011

Overhaul opponents find traction in Ohio

They say enough signatures have been gathered to bring a ballot question before the state's voters this fall to decide whether the state constitution should be amended so that Ohio residents are not required to buy insurance.

8 Jul 2011

Longer looks: Shortage of HIV doctors; Oregon program builds on British model

Of the 3,155 U.S.-based members of the HIV Medicine Assn., 45% are older than 50, according to a March 17 Institute of Medicine report on HIV screening and access to care.

8 Jul 2011

Study finds large state disparities in progress against colorectal cancer mortality rates

Improvements in colorectal cancer mortality rates are concentrated in the northern part of the United States, while southern states continue to fall behind, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

7 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 7, 2011

Today's news highlights include reports about signs of progress in the debt-reduction talks and details of a new study that finds Medicaid makes a big difference in people's lives.

7 Jul 2011

Some states slow in implementing health insurance exchanges

The Hill reports that the delays taking place in many states could put their legislatures at risk of handing over this aspect of the health overhaul to the federal government. Meanwhile, in a pair of articles, Politico revisits key political messages of the reform debate — "repeal and replace" as well as "death panels."

7 Jul 2011

Rate review issue faces key vote in Calif.; veto in Conn.

A bill that would allow state officials to reject rate increases proposed by health insurers is under intense lobbying pressure as it faces a key committee vote this week. Groups representing insurers, doctors and hospitals are trying to have the California bill weakened or killed, although for different reasons.

7 Jul 2011

Medicaid expands access to care, improves health for low-income adults

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and Providence Health & Services have found that expanding low income adults' access to Medicaid substantially increases health care use, reduces financial strain on covered individuals, and improves their self-reported health and well-being.

7 Jul 2011

State roundup: Health officials in Calif. draw high pay

Abortion-rights supporters worried Tuesday that regulations Kansas is trying to enact would give the state health department unfettered access to patient medical records and suggested it could endanger the privacy of women who have terminated pregnancies.

7 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Preserving Medicaid; drug risks, headlines; health law flaw

The poor and disabled people who rely on Medicaid to pay their medical bills could be in grave jeopardy in this sour I've-got-mine political climate. Older Americans, a potent voting bloc, have made clear that they won't stand for serious changes in Medicare. Medicaid, however, provides health insurance for the most vulnerable, who have far less political clout.

7 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 6, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about how budget pressures and the deficit reduction negotiations are having an impact on Medicare and Medicaid.

6 Jul 2011

Dems to CMS: Hold firm on Medicaid 'MOE' requirements

Meanwhile, a Government Accountability Office report finds that, although most physicians still accept some new Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program patients, a majority of primary care docs say they have difficulty finding specialists to provide care for young low-income patients.

6 Jul 2011

Wis. school districts and insurers feud over federal dollars

Wis. school districts that have switched insurers are seeking to get health insurance company affiliated with Wis. teachers' union to release federal funds designed to help cover early retirees, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

6 Jul 2011

State roundup: Calif. weighs bill to curb premium increases

Assembly Bill 52 … would give the state the authority to approve, deny or modify excessive health insurance rate hikes - much as regulators do now with auto insurance. The bill is a lightning rod for many of the Capitol's most influential interest groups, pitting consumer, labor, small business and health care advocacy groups against the California Chamber of Commerce and hospital, physician and health insurance associations.

6 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: 'Imaginary' mandates, premium hikes, Medicare leadership

Liberals are taking a victory lap since a federal appeals court upheld President Obama's health care plan last week, but not so fast. This is an idiosyncratic and flawed opinion, and we trust the Supreme Court, however it rules, will hold itself to a higher standard of jurisprudential reasoning.

6 Jul 2011

Closer look at the effect military deployment has on children

Children with a parent who was deployed in the U.S. military efforts Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) for longer periods were more likely than children whose parents did not deploy to receive a diagnosis of a mental health problem, according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

5 Jul 2011

Massage therapy more effective for patients with chronic low back pain

Massage therapy helps ease chronic low back pain and improve function, according to a randomized controlled trial that the Annals of Internal Medicine will publish in its July 5 issue.

5 Jul 2011

State insurance officials' panel seeks protection for insurance brokers

By voice vote, the task force called on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to endorse legislation by Rep. Mike Rogers that would exclude fees paid to agents and brokers when calculating how much health plans are spending on administrative costs versus medical care.

2 Jul 2011

Study confirms link between delayed access to tertiary care for IPF, higher risk of death

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)―scarring and thickening of the lungs from unknown causes―is the predominant condition leading to lung transplantation nationwide. Columbia University Medical Center researchers confirmed that delayed access to a tertiary care center for IPF is associated with a higher risk of death.

2 Jul 2011

Medical practitioners can help reduce breast cancer deaths in African-American women

Wayne State University researchers believe medical practitioners can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths among low-income African-American women by more effectively educating their patients about the importance of mammography screening.

2 Jul 2011