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First Edition: December 23, 2010

Today's headlines include stories that look back and examine the role of the health overhaul in creating the 2010 political climate, as well as reports that look forward to what changes are in store for 2011.

23 Dec 2010

Dieting trends in 2011

As the hectic holiday season comes to a close and a new year approaches, many consumers are once again vowing to adopt weight loss goals to shed those unwanted pounds. But with obesity increasing at alarming levels across the globe, a number of health experts are urging a new approach to help fight the nation's burgeoning weight problem.

23 Dec 2010

New Regs: Health insurers will be required to justify large rate increases

New, proposed regulations — which result from the health overhaul — were issued yesterday by the Department of Health and Human Services and would require health insurers to justify proposed double-digit premium increases. In addition, administration officials signaled their plan to step-up their reviews of insurance rates if state regulators are not adequately protecting consumers.

23 Dec 2010

In State budgets, Medicaid goes under the knife; Costs high for Florida Medicaid's doctor-immunity plan; N.J. practices to launch ACOs

Governors nationwide are taking a scalpel to Medicaid, the jointly run state and federal health-care program for 48 million poor Americans, half of whom are children. The single biggest expense for states, Medicaid consumes about 22 percent of their total $1.6 trillion in expenditures, more than what is allocated to elementary and secondary education, according to a National Governors Association report.

23 Dec 2010

Today's Opinions: Congressional funding vote leaves out health law; Price controls on health; Tough choices in Washington State

The Senate passed the Continuing Resolution 79-16 this afternoon. Another way of saying that: The Senate voted to defund the implementation of both health-care reform and financial-regulation reform.

23 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 22, 2010

Today's headlines include a number of reports regarding a new proposed rule by the Department of Health and Human Services that will require insurers to justify large premium hikes.

22 Dec 2010

Global Business Forum on health care at University of Miami

The University of Miami will bring together some of the most influential leaders in business and government, along with hundreds of professionals from across industries, Jan. 12 - 14, 2011 for a Global Business Forum entitled "The Business of Health Care: Defining the Future."

22 Dec 2010

Proposed Affordable Care Act regulations will bring transparency to proposed insurance rate increases

New proposed Affordable Care Act regulations announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will bring new transparency and scrutiny to proposed health insurance rate increases. These proposed rules allow HHS to work with states to require insurers to publicly disclose and justify unreasonable rate increases.

22 Dec 2010

Funding, antitrust suit pose tests for health law

News outlets are reporting on various policy developments — whether it's the Senate's effort to fund the federal government, ongoing legal challenges to the overhaul or a Michigan antitrust suit — that create tests for the sweeping health law. Meanwhile, however, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius touts the law's benefits and warns against another challenge — that of repeal.

22 Dec 2010

Today's Opinions: The collective benefits of the new health law; Patient safety; Legalizing marijuana

If President Obama's reform package remains intact, [cancer patient Michelle] Mindlin will be able to shop for potentially more affordable coverage in an insurance "exchange" where companies will be prevented from turning people away because of their medical history. But that doesn't go into effect until 2014. And it might not happen at all if the courts overturn a requirement that nearly everyone buy health insurance (David Lazarus, 12/21).

21 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 21, 2010

Today's headlines reveal the health law challenges presented by the Senate's current deal to fund the federal government and from a antitrust suit in Michigan.

21 Dec 2010

Aetna's ACO model improves health care quality, lowers cost of care

Three years ago Aetna began working with doctor groups, specialists and health care facilities to create a more personalized, connected and accountable way to provide health care. Today, Aetna's early accountable care organization model is improving health care quality and lowering the cost of care.

21 Dec 2010

Priority Health launches health insurance plans for Michigan residents

Priority Health has launched MyPriority, a package of health insurance plans for individuals and families throughout Michigan. The plans feature comprehensive coverage for prevention services and are designed specifically for individuals ages 18 to 64 who are looking to purchase affordable health insurance.

21 Dec 2010

Health-care coverage program for kids ends in Ariz.; Florida Medicaid patient information may be at risk

A new audit criticizes the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and a contractor for failing to properly control access to computer systems that include sensitive information about Medicaid beneficiaries (Saunders, 12/17).

20 Dec 2010

Requirements set for grant program to inform seniors about new health law provisions

The CMS has announced new requirements for state health insurance assistance program, or SHIP, grants to help make Medicare beneficiaries aware about certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

20 Dec 2010

Monday's opinions: Justice Anthony Kennedy may hold key to health care outlook; Minn.'s Medicaid plans; Improving food choices

Unless someone can drop into Anthony Kennedy's dreamspace and, "Inception"-style, either figure out what he thinks of the individual mandate or simply tell him what to think of the individual mandate, it's not worth spending much time speculating on the ultimate legal fate of the provision. The case will eventually make its way to the Supreme Court, and when it does, Kennedy will decide which side has the majority, and until that happens, the various legal decisions are little different from op-ed columns (Ezra Klein, 12/18).

20 Dec 2010

Health overhaul roundup: Analyzing the individual mandate, watching the politics around reform

While last week's biggest news focused on the court action surrounding the health law, some reports now analyze the controversial provision at the heart of these cases and what the future could look like if it did or did not survive. But reform news also translates into political news, as PolitiFact pinpoints its "Lie of the Year" and the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports on how federal reforms could influence the state's gubernatorial election.

20 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 20, 2010

Today's headlines include more analysis on the continuing legal challenges to the health law and the path they might take to the Supreme Court.

20 Dec 2010

PwC: Top Health Industry Issues of 2011

Health organizations will undergo a strategy makeover in 2011 as they react to new rules and payment models, continuing cost pressures and new customer demands, according to the Top Health Industry Issues of 2011, published today by PwC's Health Research Institute. But in a recent nationwide survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, PwC found that consumers don't fully understand or buy-in to all the changes.

20 Dec 2010

Americans' confidence in ability to obtain, afford healthcare continues to decline

Americans' confidence in their ability to obtain and afford healthcare continued its decline in November, falling another point according to a consumer sentiment index produced by Thomson Reuters.

20 Dec 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

First Edition: December 23, 2010

Dieting trends in 2011

New Regs: Health insurers will be required to justify large rate increases

In State budgets, Medicaid goes under the knife; Costs high for Florida Medicaid's doctor-immunity plan; N.J. practices to launch ACOs

Today's Opinions: Congressional funding vote leaves out health law; Price controls on health; Tough choices in Washington State

First Edition: December 22, 2010

Global Business Forum on health care at University of Miami

Proposed Affordable Care Act regulations will bring transparency to proposed insurance rate increases

Funding, antitrust suit pose tests for health law

Today's Opinions: The collective benefits of the new health law; Patient safety; Legalizing marijuana

First Edition: December 21, 2010

Aetna's ACO model improves health care quality, lowers cost of care

Priority Health launches health insurance plans for Michigan residents

Health-care coverage program for kids ends in Ariz.; Florida Medicaid patient information may be at risk

Requirements set for grant program to inform seniors about new health law provisions

Monday's opinions: Justice Anthony Kennedy may hold key to health care outlook; Minn.'s Medicaid plans; Improving food choices

Health overhaul roundup: Analyzing the individual mandate, watching the politics around reform

First Edition: December 20, 2010

PwC: Top Health Industry Issues of 2011

Americans' confidence in ability to obtain, afford healthcare continues to decline

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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