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AHIP, BCBS say insurers willing to stop basing premiums on members' health status if all U.S. residents are required to obtain coverage

In a letter to leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees on Tuesday, America's Health Insurance Plans and the BlueCross BlueShield Association said that their memberships would be willing to end the practice of charging different premiums based on individuals' health status if all U.S. residents were required to obtain coverage, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 3/25).

25 Mar 2009

Obama advisers suggest President might not oppose taxing some employer-sponsored health benefits

The Obama administration is "signaling to Congress" that President Obama "could support taxing some employee health benefits" to help offset the cost of health care reform, a move supported by "several influential lawmakers and many economists" but "opposed by union leaders and some businesses," the New York Times reports (Calmes/Pear, New York Times, 3/15).

16 Mar 2009

House passes SCHIP reauthorization, expansion bill; Senate to act soon

The House on Wednesday voted 289-139 to approve a bill (HR 2) renewing and expanding SCHIP to about four million additional children, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 1/15).

19 Jan 2009

Be warned - there's no such thing as a hangover cure!

With the festive season in full swing in Australia and elsewhere, in the run up to Christmas, scientists in the United States have made an attempt to ascertain if there is indeed a proven cure for a hangover.

22 Dec 2008

Fatty liver disease and body shape

For years, pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen.

5 Dec 2008

Congress approves legislation that would expand Americans with Disabilities Act

The House on Wednesday gave final approval to Senate legislation (S 3406) expanding the definition of disability for people claiming discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Congressional Democrats will not vote on SCHIP expansion legislation this session amid veto threats, increased cost estimates

Congressional Democrats said they will not hold a vote on legislation to renew and expand SCHIP this year, citing an inability to override a promised veto by President Bush, among other issues, the New York Times reports.

9 Sep 2008

Bush Administration to temporarily keep Medicare physician payment rates at current levels after congress fails to pass legislation to delay scheduled cut

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Friday said that the agency will maintain the current Medicare payment rate for physicians because Congress was unable to pass legislation to avert a 10.6% cut scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday before lawmakers left for the Fourth of July recess, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, congressional aides said the freeze to payment rates could last 10 days (Kane, Washington Post, 6/28).

2 Jul 2008

House votes 355-59 to approve legislation that would delay Medicare physician fee cut

The House on Tuesday voted 355-59 to approve legislation (HR 6331) that would delay for 18 months a 10.6% reduction to Medicare physician fees scheduled to take effect on July 1, among other provisions, the Washington Post reports (Kane, Washington Post, 6/25).

26 Jun 2008

Social Security officials call for social security numbers to be removed from Medicare ID cards

Social Security Administration officials have requested that CMS take immediate action to issue beneficiaries new membership cards that do not include their Social Security numbers to address concerns regarding identity theft, the New York Times reports.

24 Jun 2008

Congressional Democrats move to impose new limits on specialty hospitals

The New York Times on Sunday examined how Democrats -- who for years "have been trying to stop the proliferation of doctor-owned hospitals in the belief that they drive up costs by encouraging doctors to order more procedures" -- have moved to "impose new restrictions on these for-profit hospitals" as part of a Senate supplemental war appropriations bill, although they have "carved out exemptions for a few institutions represented by influential senators and well-connected lobbyists."

10 Jun 2008

Senate approves $3.1 trillion FY 2009 budget resolution without proposed reductions in Medicare, Medicaid spending

The Senate on Wednesday voted 48-45 to approve a $3.1 trillion fiscal year 2009 budget resolution (S Con Res 70), which includes large increases in funds for domestic programs and excludes reductions in funds for Medicare and Medicaid proposed by President Bush, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

8 Jun 2008

SEC says companies must allow shareholders to vote on universal health coverage proposal

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a reversal of a previous position, has told companies that they cannot exclude a health care proposal from proxy materials provided to shareholders, the New York Times reports.

28 May 2008

Having a big bum may protect you from diabetes!

Researchers at Harvard Medical School in the U.S. suggest that having a big bum may be a good thing from a health perspective.

7 May 2008

Joslin researchers find certain body fat reduces insulin resistance

It has long been known that type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, particularly fat inside the belly. Now, researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have found that fat from other areas of the body can actually reduce insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity.

6 May 2008

Some states to ask Congress to regulate marketing of private Medicare plans

State officials soon will ask Congress to grant them more regulatory authority over the marketing of private Medicare drug benefit and Medicare Advantage plans to respond to continuing complaints of aggressive marketing practices, the New York Times reports. In a draft report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, state officials propose creating a set of marketing standards for private Medicare plans that states, if they adopt them, would enforce.

6 May 2008

Bush Administration directive to enroll low-income children in SCHIP before expanding coverage is unenforceable because it violates Federal law, according to GAO

The Bush administration violated federal law last year when it issued a policy directive that restricts states' ability to expand their SCHIP programs, according to a Government Accountability Office legal opinion released Friday, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 4/19).

21 Apr 2008

Developing cancer treatments directed at critical developmental pathway

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues discovered that the Notch signaling pathway, which determines the development of many cell types, and is also implicated in some cancers, is not universally essential for the maintenance of stem cells.

11 Apr 2008

Budget request from President Bush to increase spending for SCHIP by $19.7B over five years

President Bush on Monday will release a $3 trillion fiscal year 2009 budget request that would significantly reduce or eliminate spending for dozens of health and other programs but would significantly increase spending for SCHIP, the New York Times reports.

4 Feb 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report reports on Presidential campaigns related to health care

Forty-six percent of U.S. adults who responded to a recent survey conducted by Scripps Howard and Ohio University said that Democrats were more likely to improve access to health care than Republicans, Scripps Howard/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The survey, which included responses from 811 adults nationwide collected from Sept 24. to Oct. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

29 Oct 2007