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After McDonald's flap, White House says it will exercise 'discretion' on medical loss ratios

The Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration said Thursday that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will "exercise her discretion" in enforcing the medical loss ratio requirement of the health law. The comment comes after a report in The Journal Thursday that "McDonald's warned federal regulators it could drop its health-insurance plan for nearly 30,000 restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the health overhaul.

1 Oct 2010

BUSM to create Center for Health Insurance Reform, Cardiovascular Outcomes and Disparities

Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been awarded a four year, $5.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for investigators from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) to create the Center for Health Insurance Reform, Cardiovascular Outcomes and Disparities.

1 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 1, 2010

In this morning's headlines -- Medicaid enrollment spikes and the interplay between the federal government and McDonald's gets more attention.

1 Oct 2010

Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease established by Vanderbilt and Meharry

A Vanderbilt-Meharry Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease has been established by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College. The Center will seek to bring high quality care to people with sickle cell disease (SCD) that is seamless and lifelong.

1 Oct 2010

Neb. insurer launches pilot program to cut costs, improve health; W.Va. Medicaid official defends no-bid contract

Lincoln Journal Star: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, the state's largest health insurer, is establishing a new pilot program that seeks to give doctors better patient information so that they can deal more effectively with patients' needs and help lower costs. The pilot will use a web-based program that officials hope can take disparate medical records and produce "tailored patient checklists" that doctors can use.

1 Oct 2010

House passes health bill for 9/11 workers, grandfathering resolution fails in Senate

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: The House Wednesday approved a bill to cover the health care costs for emergency workers who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "The tally was 268 to 160, with 17 Republicans supporting the measure and three Democrats voting against it. … House passage followed months of contentious debate over whether the federal government has an obligation to pay emergency workers sickened by the smoke, debris and toxic fumes caused by the attacks of 9/11.

1 Oct 2010

McDonald’s says reform law provision threatens employee health coverage

The Wall Street Journal: "McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers' health plans as the law ripples through the real world.

1 Oct 2010

Health law's boost for ACOs gains momentum but faces possible legal hurdles

News outlets report on possible obstacles to the formation of accountable care organizations - hospitals and physicians working together to improve the quality of patient care while controlling costs.

1 Oct 2010

New reports underscore a litany of health law implementation obstacles

Obstacles to the implementation of the health overhaul abound, including lawsuits, regulatory issues, concerns about patients' choice, and, of course, costs.

1 Oct 2010

Health reform law bubbling up as campaign issue

The Associated Press: Lawmakers have left Washington to campaign and focus on their messages regarding the economy and health care. "Majority Democrats facing significant losses in the wake of unpopular bills to stimulate the economy and overhaul the nation's health care laws sought to do their party no further harm on Capitol Hill" (Kellman and Abrams, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

First Edition: September 30, 2010

In today's news, McDonald's may stop providing employee health benefits unless a new health law requirement is waived.

30 Sep 2010

New report addresses difficult issues for design of health insurance exchanges

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund provides recommendations for state and federal policymakers as they design and implement the new health insurance exchanges which are a key element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

30 Sep 2010

State Watch: Health insurance advocate proposed in Penn., Calif. OKs medical parole for incapacitated inmates

A bill that would create a state office of health insurance consumer advocacy, representing consumers interests on any insurance matter before the courts or any state department or agency has been introduced in the state House in hopes of passage before the end of the 2009-2010 legislative session. The bill is aimed at helping consumers navigate the new federal health law

30 Sep 2010

Senate Democrats defeat GOP effort to reopen health care debate over HHS regulation

"Senate Democrats held together and beat back an attempt from Republicans to begin a piece-by-piece repeal of the healthcare law, defeating a resolution that would roll back an HHS rule on how new regulations apply to health insurance plans that existed before the overhaul bill was signed into law," Congress Daily reported.

30 Sep 2010

Health law's medical loss ratios, exchanges scrutinized

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which is working with the Department of Health and Human Services on implementing key parts of the health law, is still considering how to determine the kinds of insurers' expenses that are considered medical care.

30 Sep 2010

Stress-factors leading to mental problems and burnout in IT-industries

According to health insurances, employees in IT-industries are very fit. By using an online-survey, Technische Universität Dortmund monitored this statement in cooperation with some freelancer-networks. Results indicate that this is due to the phenomenon "presentism"- meaning IT-employees do not appear in health insurance statistics as they continue to work even when they are ill. Actually, the sample reported on distinct health problems- predominantly musculoskeletal problems and mental afflictions.

30 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Health law leaves children behind; growing fear of accountable care organizations

The child only market is used mostly by poor families who can't afford to insure everybody in their household, or whose peculiar circumstances make it inconvenient for them to cover a child under a parent's plan.

30 Sep 2010

AACR to host Third Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities

The American Association for Cancer Research will host its Third Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities at the Loews Hotel in Miami from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, 2010.

29 Sep 2010

Some Democrats, including Reid, embrace health law as fall campaign battles continue

Politico: Some House Democrats are touting the new health law — and their support of it — as a positive in their fights to keep their seats in midterm elections this fall. The Democrats are "framing key provisions as a 'Patient's Bill of Rights.' Spurred by last week's release of a series of rigid insurance rules, the lawmakers are defying this election season's conventional wisdom placing by health care front and center." Among them are Reps. Dina Titus and Shelley Berkley or Nevada.

29 Sep 2010

Enzi targets HHS regulations, House will consider medical debt relief legislation

CongressDaily reports that Senate Republicans are trying to stop the health care law "one rule at a time." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to table the resolution from Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., regarding the law's "grandfathering" rule, "which allows plans that existed before March 23, 2010 — the date the healthcare law was signed — to be exempt from certain consumer protections enacted in the law, as long as plans do not significantly reduce benefits or raise consumer costs.

29 Sep 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

After McDonald's flap, White House says it will exercise 'discretion' on medical loss ratios

BUSM to create Center for Health Insurance Reform, Cardiovascular Outcomes and Disparities

First Edition: October 1, 2010

Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease established by Vanderbilt and Meharry

Neb. insurer launches pilot program to cut costs, improve health; W.Va. Medicaid official defends no-bid contract

House passes health bill for 9/11 workers, grandfathering resolution fails in Senate

McDonald’s says reform law provision threatens employee health coverage

Health law's boost for ACOs gains momentum but faces possible legal hurdles

New reports underscore a litany of health law implementation obstacles

Health reform law bubbling up as campaign issue

First Edition: September 30, 2010

New report addresses difficult issues for design of health insurance exchanges

State Watch: Health insurance advocate proposed in Penn., Calif. OKs medical parole for incapacitated inmates

Senate Democrats defeat GOP effort to reopen health care debate over HHS regulation

Health law's medical loss ratios, exchanges scrutinized

Stress-factors leading to mental problems and burnout in IT-industries

Today's Opinions: Health law leaves children behind; growing fear of accountable care organizations

AACR to host Third Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities

Some Democrats, including Reid, embrace health law as fall campaign battles continue

Enzi targets HHS regulations, House will consider medical debt relief legislation

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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