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New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Two years after the reauthorization and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, a new Commonwealth Fund state-by-state scorecard evaluating how the health care system is working for children finds that federal and state action on behalf of children has helped preserve, and even expand, health coverage for this group, despite the severe recession.

2 Feb 2011

Cognitive behavioral therapy more effective than antidepressant medications for bulimia nervosa

A new evidence report by ECRI Institute comparing the effectiveness of various treatments for bulimia nervosa indicates that cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective than antidepressant medications and supportive therapies in improving eating disorder symptoms.

2 Feb 2011

Steps to protect security and privacy of protected health information

Gaps in the security and privacy of healthcare data still exist, even though the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act's (HIPAA) rules for security and privacy safeguards were extended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

2 Feb 2011

What happens next: The decision's immediate impact

Even as it becomes increasingly clear that challenges to the health law are on a straight course for the Supreme Court, yesterday's lower court decision has muddied the waters around the overhaul — in terms of congressional action, political posturing and state-level implementation activities.

2 Feb 2011

Study: Obese women may avoid mammograms because of pain

Obese women may avoid mammograms because of pain and women under 60 may avoid the test because they are too busy, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research published online in the Journal of Women's Health. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the study was one of the largest to examine why insured women fail to complete mammograms.

2 Feb 2011

Roundup: Medicaid worries in Texas, Ill., Pa.; California insurance exchanges; Kansas controversy on health law

The current state House and Senate budget proposals include a 10 percent cut in the rate that the state will pay Medicaid providers. Some health care lobbying groups say that when you add in the loss of the enhanced federal Medicaid match paid for by stimulus dollars that have now dried up, you get a 33 percent reduction overall.

2 Feb 2011

Federal judge in Florida rules health law unconstitutional

With this decision, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson issued the first opinion to strike down the entire health overhaul as various legal challenges to the sweeping measure continue to wind their way to the Supreme Court.

2 Feb 2011

In-depth analysis of health law decision

News outlet examine how constitutional issues, most notably the Commerce Clause, are central to the health law and its journey to the nation's highest court. Meanwhile, the Associated Press offers insights into Judge Vinson's own experiences with the health system.

2 Feb 2011

Some insurers join forces for health law lobbying efforts

Top executives from UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. are meeting almost monthly with their counterparts from Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp. and Humana Inc. in an informal lobbying alliance aimed at blunting parts of the health-care law, say people with knowledge of the sessions.

2 Feb 2011

Kensey Nash second quarter revenue decreases to $17.4 million

Kensey Nash Corporation, a medical device company primarily focused on regenerative medicine for a wide range of medical procedures, today reported the results for its second quarter ended December 31, 2010.

1 Feb 2011

First Edition: February 1, 2011

Today's health policy news focuses on analysis of Monday's ruling in which a federal court judge in Florida struck down the health law.

1 Feb 2011

Sensitive and confidential patient health records not adequately protected: Survey

The survey findings are being published today in a new report by the Ponemon Institute titled, Health Data at Risk in Development: A Call for Data Masking. The survey was sponsored by Informatica Corporation, the world's number one independent leader in data integration software.

1 Feb 2011

Roundup: Tenn. community health centers feel budget pinch; Minn. faces struggles with costs of inmate care

Originally created to care for destitute urban dwellers or dirt-poor sharecroppers, health centers today serve a much wider segment of America. A prolonged recession and a shortage of primary care physicians have expanded their patient base. Going forward, they are expected to meet the needs of millions more Americans. But getting there could be a challenge.

1 Feb 2011

CAM therapies are more pronounced among whites than racial and ethnic minorities

The use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies experienced a significant growth in the United States in the last decade, and a new analysis finds that CAM use becomes more likely when access to conventional care has been restricted.

1 Feb 2011

High-risk pools, hospital readmissions among health law topics in the news

Health reform's high-risk pools, so far plagued with lackluster enrollment, are showing signs that they are starting to turn around - just as House Republicans are launching an investigation into the program (Kliff, 1/31).

1 Feb 2011

Health premium costs: Hot topic in partisan debate

Just as President Obama and members of his administration assert that health insurance premiums will go down under the health overhaul, GOP lawmakers argue these claims are overstated. Ultimately, how this issue shakes out will be central to the public's perception of the new law.

1 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: Insurance data mining and Medicaid reform in Illinois

IMS Health Inc. operates in the shadows of the healthcare industry, gathering data that drug makers can use to sell medications more effectively. The data, however, are taken from the prescriptions that doctors write for their patients. That information is at the heart of a dispute over how far states can go to protect privacy — a dispute that has reached the Supreme Court, and one that could broaden the reach of the 1st Amendment in troubling ways (1/31).

1 Feb 2011

First Edition: January 31, 2011

KHN staff writers Marilyn Weber Serafini and Julie Appleby report: "Financially strapped governors, Congress and the Obama administration could be headed for a showdown over the Medicaid health care program that covers 48 million poor, disabled and elderly people nationwide".

31 Jan 2011

In California, Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna and PacifiCare agree to 60-day rate hike delay

Blue Shield of California has still not agreed to the state health insurance commissioner's request to delay the planned hikes.

29 Jan 2011

President Obama rallies health overhaul supporters; Reports by Dems and GOP offer very different views on law's impacts

In a Friday morning speech, Obama was expected to offer a message to "fire up" health law supporters. Reports indicate a White House report will detail the positive effect the health law will have on health insurance premiums. Meanwhile, however, Republicans are citing a report of their own that shows the law's negative repercussions for child-only health plans.

29 Jan 2011

Health Insurance News and Research

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Cognitive behavioral therapy more effective than antidepressant medications for bulimia nervosa

Steps to protect security and privacy of protected health information

What happens next: The decision's immediate impact

Study: Obese women may avoid mammograms because of pain

Roundup: Medicaid worries in Texas, Ill., Pa.; California insurance exchanges; Kansas controversy on health law

Federal judge in Florida rules health law unconstitutional

In-depth analysis of health law decision

Some insurers join forces for health law lobbying efforts

Kensey Nash second quarter revenue decreases to $17.4 million

First Edition: February 1, 2011

Sensitive and confidential patient health records not adequately protected: Survey

Roundup: Tenn. community health centers feel budget pinch; Minn. faces struggles with costs of inmate care

CAM therapies are more pronounced among whites than racial and ethnic minorities

High-risk pools, hospital readmissions among health law topics in the news

Health premium costs: Hot topic in partisan debate

Viewpoints: Insurance data mining and Medicaid reform in Illinois

First Edition: January 31, 2011

In California, Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna and PacifiCare agree to 60-day rate hike delay

President Obama rallies health overhaul supporters; Reports by Dems and GOP offer very different views on law's impacts

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

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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