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Study finds increase in inpatient medical procedures after Mass. health reform implementation

Researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health (BUSM, BUSPH), along with the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, have found inpatient medical procedures increased more among non-elderly, lower- and medium- income populations, Hispanics and whites, after health care reform went into effect in Massachusetts.

14 Jun 2012

Sebelius touts health law for 'bolstering' Medicare

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' comments were made during a White House-sponsored town hall meeting for senior citizens. Meanwhile, new figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicate that some Medicare beneficiaries are not taking advantage of some of the new benefits.

13 Jun 2012

Key dynamics in play in long-awaited health law decision

News outlets report on the key issues and underlying statutes that might shape the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on the health law, and how stakeholders and politicians are planning their next steps.

12 Jun 2012

Capsules: 'Health reform bracketology' offers roadmap to ACA's future

"When is the Supreme Court like the NCAA? When health care consultant Mike Leavitt works up an interactive PDF bracket to lay out many of the possible scenarios that could result from the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the health law, combined with the outcome of November elections".

11 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 11, 2012

Today's headlines feature reports that UnitedHealthcare plans to honor some health law provisions regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.

11 Jun 2012

States hold off on insurance exchanges; Medicare ACOs confront challenges

Marilyn Tavenner, the acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said Thursday that about 30 states will not move forward with state-based exchanges until after the Supreme Court rules and the November elections are finished. She also said her agency is working to streamline the process for early participants in Medicare ACOs.

8 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Bipartisanship on medical device tax; 'Overreach' in contraception fight

Bipartisanship arrived in Washington on Thursday, not that many in the media will hail it. That's because the sweet harmony involved a 270-146 House vote to repeal ObamaCare's 2.3% excise tax on medical devices.

8 Jun 2012

Implementing the health law: HHS has missed nearly half of its deadlines

The Hill reports that, according to an analysis by the American Action Forum, the Department of Health and Human Services has missed many implementation deadlines in the last two years. Meanwhile, Politico Pro examines issues related to the health law's Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies.

8 Jun 2012

Hand-wringing continues regarding the Supreme Court's much-awaited health law decision

Elected officials, policy-makers and advocates discuss the possible twists and turns that could result from a high court ruling. News outlets also report on how the decision could impact a variety of health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and disease prevention efforts.

7 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 4, 2012

Today's headlines include the latest news on implementation of the health law, on the pending Capitol Hill effort to repeal the medical device tax and reports from the states.

4 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 1, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the latest health policy developments on Capitol Hill and news on the health insurance marketplace.

1 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Bishops' request for contraception exemption may push legal precedent; Maine's experiment on health care

43 Roman Catholic organizations have filed lawsuits challenging a ... regulation that requires employers or their health insurers to offer birth control coverage to workers. The plaintiffs say that complying with the regulation would violate their religious freedom.

1 Jun 2012

State roundup: Federal judge rejects Calif. request to end oversight of prison health care; States push prescription drug databases; Medicare drug benefit at issue in Utah Senate race

A federal judge rejected a request by California prison officials Wednesday to regain control of inmate health care, which has been under court-supervised receivership for six years, and said the state must first show it can provide adequate medical treatment. ... The current receiver, Clark Kelso, has reported improvements in the prisons' medical staff and facilities, and said a "turnaround plan" he proposed for the system in 2008 is about 80 percent complete.

1 Jun 2012

State exchanges and health IT could be hurdles to health law implementation

It seemed like a good idea at the time. But a health insurance tax credit for small businesses, part of President Barack Obama's health care law that gets strong support in public opinion polls, has turned out to be a disappointment. Time-consuming to apply for and lacking enough financial reward to make it attractive, the credit was claimed by only 170,300 businesses out of a pool of as many as 4 million potentially eligible companies in 2010.

31 May 2012

House to vote on bill banning abortions based on sex of fetus

According to rules governing the vote, the GOP will have to pick up about 50 Democrat votes to pass the bill. The vote may not be the end of abortion controversies on the Hill this year, however, as several measures have been inserted into national security bills, Politico Pro reports.

31 May 2012

Specialty doctor groups ask feds to delay managed care move for dual eligibles

Several organizations have asked the federal government to slow down implementation of a health law provision that would move people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid into managed care.

30 May 2012

Overdiagnosis: harming the healthy

Overdiagnosis poses a significant threat to human health by labelling healthy people as sick and wasting resources on unnecessary care, warns Ray Moynihan, Senior Research Fellow at Bond University in Australia, in a feature published on bmj.com today.

30 May 2012

House GOP plans new votes repealing parts of health law ahead of Supreme Court ruling

The two bills would repeal a tax on medical devices and ease restrictions on health savings accounts, both parts of the Democrats' health care reform law.

30 May 2012

Health law opinions: 'Improvised explosive' device tax; Iowa legislators force role for brokers on insurance exchanges

"Taxmageddon" isn't only about the half-trillion-dollar blow to the economy that arrives in 2013 on the end of the Bush-Obama tax rates. Several of the Affordable Care Act's worst tax increases kick in too, such as the new excise tax on medical devices. The 2.3 percent levy applies to the sale of everything from cardiac defibrillators to artificial joints to MRI scanners. The device tax is supposed to raise $28.5 billion from 2013 to 2022, and it is especially harmful because it applies to gross sales, not profits.

30 May 2012

FDA reauthorization bill sails through Senate

Showing unusual bipartisan spirit, the Senate passed a massive FDA user-fee reauthorization bill Thursday designed to prevent drug shortages and speed federal approval of medicines, including lower-cost generic versions.

25 May 2012

Health Reform News and Research

Study finds increase in inpatient medical procedures after Mass. health reform implementation

Sebelius touts health law for 'bolstering' Medicare

Key dynamics in play in long-awaited health law decision

Capsules: 'Health reform bracketology' offers roadmap to ACA's future

First Edition: June 11, 2012

States hold off on insurance exchanges; Medicare ACOs confront challenges

Viewpoints: Bipartisanship on medical device tax; 'Overreach' in contraception fight

Implementing the health law: HHS has missed nearly half of its deadlines

Hand-wringing continues regarding the Supreme Court's much-awaited health law decision

First Edition: June 4, 2012

First Edition: June 1, 2012

Viewpoints: Bishops' request for contraception exemption may push legal precedent; Maine's experiment on health care

State roundup: Federal judge rejects Calif. request to end oversight of prison health care; States push prescription drug databases; Medicare drug benefit at issue in Utah Senate race

State exchanges and health IT could be hurdles to health law implementation

House to vote on bill banning abortions based on sex of fetus

Specialty doctor groups ask feds to delay managed care move for dual eligibles

Overdiagnosis: harming the healthy

House GOP plans new votes repealing parts of health law ahead of Supreme Court ruling

Health law opinions: 'Improvised explosive' device tax; Iowa legislators force role for brokers on insurance exchanges

FDA reauthorization bill sails through Senate

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