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IPAB opponents eye curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits as means to pay for repeal

This idea has drawn support for some GOP lawmakers seeking to get rid of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, but trial lawyers are already lining up against it. Meanwhile, a new Congressional Budget Office estimate indicates that because Medicare spending is slowing, the board may never actually have to spring into action.

14 Mar 2012

Obama administration releases rules for health exchanges, emphasizes flexibility for states

The regulations outline minimum standards that states must meet to set up and run these health insurance marketplaces by a Jan. 1, 2014, deadline.

14 Mar 2012

GOP fissures likely to emerge with efforts to revamp budget deal, Medicare

House Republicans appear divided over whether to push for deeper spending cuts in the 2013 budget plan than those agreed upon during last year's debt ceiling deal. Democrats and Republicans are also preparing for a Medicare fight. Meanwhile, some GOP senators have requested a hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to discuss revised cost estimates for the health law.

14 Mar 2012

Healthcare exchange regulations announced

The U.S. government this Monday released broad new operating rules for state-run health insurance exchanges, which form a key part of the 2010 federal healthcare reform law. The reforms would face Supreme Court hearings in just two weeks.

14 Mar 2012

Santorum's message: Romney would face trouble against Obama on health issues

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum continues to attack rival Mitt Romney's Massachusetts' health reform record, arguing that it weakens his ability to run against President Barack Obama, and candidate Newt Gingrich also is not escaping the criticism.

13 Mar 2012

Supreme Court health law action: Analyzing the arguments and who will be making them

News outlets report on the key issues, dynamics and personalities that will be in play when the Supreme Court takes up the health law.

13 Mar 2012

Majority of physicians utilize genetic testing, finds report

A new report by UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform & Modernization finds that a majority of physicians are utilizing genetic testing. The report, titled "Personalized Medicine: Trends and prospects for the new science of genetic testing and molecular diagnostics," presents new findings on how genetic tests can help diagnose disease, target prevention, and ensure that patients receive the medicines that will best treat their conditions.

12 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 12, 2012

Today's health policy headlines focus significant attention on key issues, dynamics and even personalities that will be in play when the Supreme Court takes up the health law later this month.

12 Mar 2012

State legislatures split on forming health insurance exchanges

Oregon and California are moving forward with creating health insurance exchanges called for in the health reform law while lawmakers in New Hampshire pass legislation barring the state from creating an exchange.

10 Mar 2012

AP poll: Health law remains divisive, but Americans worry less that it will undermine their own care

Attacked as a rationing scheme and praised as a lifesaver, President Barack Obama's health care law remains as divisive and confusing as ever. But a new poll finds Americans are less worried that the overhaul will undermine their own care. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the Associated Press-GfK poll shows that Americans are less concerned their own personal health care will suffer as a result of it.

10 Mar 2012

Romney claims Ohio victory on Super Tuesday but Santorum continues to press health reform issues

Santorum uses election night speech to again assail the former governor's support of a Massachusetts health overhaul that some say was a template for the federal law.

8 Mar 2012

Texas plan to defund women's health program draws protest; Other abortion and contraception news

Texas' move and subsequently imminent loss of federal Medicaid money has sparked a protest. Lawmakers in New Hampshire and Minnesota are examining the federal contraception coverage requirement.

8 Mar 2012

Young adults, school health centers and cost-cutting: Examining elements of the health law's implementation

News outlets report on various provisions of the health law and their impact on the marketplace and access to care.

8 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 7, 2012

Reporting for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, Susan Jaffe writes: "In the latest effort to enlist seniors in the fight against Medicare fraud, federal officials have overhauled Medicare billing statements to make it easier to find bogus charges without a magnifying glass."

7 Mar 2012

GOP lawmakers face strategic fits and starts in health law repeal efforts

Meanwhile, as some House Republicans push to undo the measure's cost-cutting panel, known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board, its advocates are springing to its defense.

7 Mar 2012

Minn. GOP offers premium savings accounts as alternative to exchanges

Minnesota Republicans are offering state-based health premium savings accounts as an alternative to a health care exchange that Democrats in the state want to implement as part of the federal health reform law.

7 Mar 2012

HHS: 105 million people no longer face health insurance lifetime limits

A Department of Health and Human Services report released Monday quantified the number of Americans with health insurance who no longer face these benefit limits.

7 Mar 2012

GOP Medicaid plans trigger wariness among some Republican governors

The Hill reports that the budget plan to soon be unveiled by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is likely to take a similar approach to last year's block grant proposal and is drawing some concerns. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how Medicaid waivers are helping states leverage money to pay for health reform.

6 Mar 2012

Senate rejects Blunt amendment

In a mainly party-line vote, the Senate rejected this amendment, offered by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to an unrelated transportation bill. It would have broadened religious exemptions to the Obama administration's birth control rule.

3 Mar 2012

Roundup: Iowa lawmaker urges waiting on exchange bill until court rules; Calif. group finds way to recycle medicine

Democrats and Republicans disagree about whether the Legislature needs to approve a health insurance exchange this spring. At a Statehouse forum on the issue Thursday, state Sen. Brad Zaun noted that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer on whether major portions of the health reform law are constitutional. Zaun, an Urbandale Republican who opposes the overall law, said it makes sense to wait until after that decision before deciding whether to move ahead with the exchange.

3 Mar 2012

Health Reform News and Research

IPAB opponents eye curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits as means to pay for repeal

Obama administration releases rules for health exchanges, emphasizes flexibility for states

GOP fissures likely to emerge with efforts to revamp budget deal, Medicare

Healthcare exchange regulations announced

Santorum's message: Romney would face trouble against Obama on health issues

Supreme Court health law action: Analyzing the arguments and who will be making them

Majority of physicians utilize genetic testing, finds report

First Edition: March 12, 2012

State legislatures split on forming health insurance exchanges

AP poll: Health law remains divisive, but Americans worry less that it will undermine their own care

Romney claims Ohio victory on Super Tuesday but Santorum continues to press health reform issues

Texas plan to defund women's health program draws protest; Other abortion and contraception news

Young adults, school health centers and cost-cutting: Examining elements of the health law's implementation

First Edition: March 7, 2012

GOP lawmakers face strategic fits and starts in health law repeal efforts

Minn. GOP offers premium savings accounts as alternative to exchanges

HHS: 105 million people no longer face health insurance lifetime limits

GOP Medicaid plans trigger wariness among some Republican governors

Senate rejects Blunt amendment

Roundup: Iowa lawmaker urges waiting on exchange bill until court rules; Calif. group finds way to recycle medicine

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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