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First Edition: April 23, 2012

Today's headlines feature advance information about what the trustees who oversee Medicare and Social Security will say about the financial well-being of these massive programs when they release their annual report later today.

23 Apr 2012

Consumer-directed health plans surge, get boost from health law

The concept is also central to Republican-backed market-based reforms. Also in the news, media outlets analyze what's a stake as the Supreme Court considers challenges to the health law, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reiterates the administration's confidence that the law will be upheld.

21 Apr 2012

Research roundup: Caring for dual eligibles; Antitrust policy and the health law

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this report notes a systematic difference in life expectancy across region and race. "Within in each sex-race group, there are striking geographical differences in the probability of survival to age 70. ... These differences are larger for males than females within each race and larger for blacks than whites within each sex."

21 Apr 2012

Health law implementation news: Most red states slow walk health exchanges

Politico reports that most GOP-controlled states are holding off on building insurance exchanges until the Supreme Court issues its decision. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service's ability to enforce the health law is the topic of a Capitol Hill hearing and a former White House advisor offers his views during a Madison speech.

20 Apr 2012

Survey: Gaps in health insurance coverage, knowledge persist

A Commonwealth Fund survey found that many U.S. adults ages didn't have health insurance over the course of a year.

20 Apr 2012

Obama and Romney start long-distance debate over Medicare

President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney have started a long-distance, health care debate, fighting over how to reform the Medicare system. Other politicians are getting in on the act too, as Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Mass. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren give their two cents on the health reform law.

20 Apr 2012

Many Americans struggle to regain health insurance after losing or changing jobs

One of four (26%) working-age U.S. adults experienced a gap in health insurance coverage during 2011, often because they lost or changed jobs, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report that also shows how difficult it is for people to regain health insurance on their own after losing employer-sponsored coverage.

20 Apr 2012

Vatican rebukes group of nuns on support for health law

The Catholic Church hierarchy cracks down on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a group of nuns who supported the 2010 health reform.

20 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Bishops find fault with GOP budget; Pelosi on court's role in health law

In February, the Catholic Church attempted to impose its opposition to birth control on its employees, upsetting Democrats and the left. This week, the Church is criticizing Republicans, acting in the highest tradition of its social mission by speaking out against spending cuts on programs for the poor.

20 Apr 2012

Roundup: State spending drops $290 billion in 5 years; Emory hospital loses data on 315,000 patients

News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues, including articles from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Oregon.

20 Apr 2012

Health law part of budget machinations taking place on both sides of the Capitol

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is rolling out the final budget blueprint of his career. It takes a different position on the health law than the House GOP's measure.

19 Apr 2012

Post-SCOTUS scenario: Could health law-created jobs go away?

News coverage and Republicans are noting the number and type of jobs that have been added to the federal payroll as part of the health law.

19 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Insurance regulation a 'special interest'?; Washington's wrong health care battle; Will the health law turn us into part-time employees?

It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to name a group that opposes government oversight of health insurance premiums "Californians Against Higher Healthcare Costs." Especially when the group includes the trade associations for doctors and hospitals, two sets of Californians who've contributed mightily to the high cost of health care.

19 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 18, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the latest Capitol Hill developments related to the budget.

18 Apr 2012

Rep. Frank says Obama's push for health law was 'mistake'

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said in a magazine interview that President Obama made a "mistake" pushing for health reform and that he urged Obama to take up financial system reform instead. In the meantime, Rep. Dennis Kucinich said a single-payer health care system is the only "obviously constitutional" health care plan.

18 Apr 2012

U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds small business owners wary of health law regs

The survey finds that the regulations rank at the top of small business owners' concerns. In other news, the National Journal examines the future of accountable care organizations.

18 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: The missing debate on women; The true cost of care; Fair wages for home health aides

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just reported that the nation's teen pregnancy rate is at an all-time low. Increased contraceptive use appears to have played a significant role in the decline. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that without Title X services, hundreds of thousands more teenagers would become pregnant every year. Why does GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney think eliminating the federal money for family planning - $327 million annually - is wise?

17 Apr 2012

Study says Mass. health reform not 'budget buster;' Some struggling cities opt out of state's health law

A study from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says that the commonwealth's health law has amounted to only a small increase in spending on health care. In the meantime, some struggling municipalities in Massachusetts have opted out of a new law that reduces local government's share of health care costs for employees.

17 Apr 2012

Health law implementation questions include impact of Medicaid expansion, subsidies for buying insurance

News outlets report on how a range of health law provisions are taking shape, including the proposed rule on federal subsidies to buy insurance, Medicaid expansion and accountable care organizations.

17 Apr 2012

States roundup: Calif. mental health system grapples with controversy, shortage; Texas issues new stem cell rules

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state, alleging that it was violating patients' rights by heavily drugging and improperly restraining them and failing to provide appropriate treatment. The state settled, agreeing to an extensive court-supervised improvement plan at four hospitals with more than 4,000 patients. But a Times investigation found that the plan has failed to achieve the Justice Department's main objective: to raise the level of care so patients could control their violent tendencies and would not be institutionalized any longer than necessary.

17 Apr 2012

Health Reform News and Research

First Edition: April 23, 2012

Consumer-directed health plans surge, get boost from health law

Research roundup: Caring for dual eligibles; Antitrust policy and the health law

Health law implementation news: Most red states slow walk health exchanges

Survey: Gaps in health insurance coverage, knowledge persist

Obama and Romney start long-distance debate over Medicare

Many Americans struggle to regain health insurance after losing or changing jobs

Vatican rebukes group of nuns on support for health law

Viewpoints: Bishops find fault with GOP budget; Pelosi on court's role in health law

Roundup: State spending drops $290 billion in 5 years; Emory hospital loses data on 315,000 patients

Health law part of budget machinations taking place on both sides of the Capitol

Post-SCOTUS scenario: Could health law-created jobs go away?

Viewpoints: Insurance regulation a 'special interest'?; Washington's wrong health care battle; Will the health law turn us into part-time employees?

First Edition: April 18, 2012

Rep. Frank says Obama's push for health law was 'mistake'

U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds small business owners wary of health law regs

Viewpoints: The missing debate on women; The true cost of care; Fair wages for home health aides

Study says Mass. health reform not 'budget buster;' Some struggling cities opt out of state's health law

Health law implementation questions include impact of Medicaid expansion, subsidies for buying insurance

States roundup: Calif. mental health system grapples with controversy, shortage; Texas issues new stem cell rules

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