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The health law and the states

Stateline reports that some GOP governors are moving very slowly on health insurance exchanges. Also in the news, a bill in the Georgia House would restore child-only plans.

2 Mar 2012

House Subcommittee OKs IPAB repeal

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee voted 17 to 5 to do away with a Medicare cost-cutting panel derided by Republicans as a "rationing board."

2 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Ryan and Medicare; Va. ultrasound bill 'overreaches'?; NEJM on patient-centered care

Over the past year, an entitlement revolution has taken place on Capitol Hill. ... The revolution involves Medicare, the health-care program for the elderly and the single biggest cause of America's looming debt crisis. Reform of Medicare would be achieved by a policy known as "premium support." It would bring consumer choice and spending restraint to the beleaguered program.

1 Mar 2012

Dept. of Justice lawyers strategize on how to win key SCOTUS votes

Media outlets report on this and other health law implementation developments, including news about health exchanges and the measure's pre-existing condition insurance plan.

1 Mar 2012

State roundup: Mass. Gov. says state health reform easing cost increases; N.J. localities overpay on health coverage; Pa. cuts raise ire

At a speech to the American Cancer Society, Gov. Deval Patrick says that Massachusetts health reform has led to significant improvements in cancer screening. ... Patrick also calculates that current health care cost control efforts are enabling the state to "avoid nearly a billion dollars in cost increases in this fiscal year and another several hundred million more next year."

1 Mar 2012

Senate Republican reintroduces measure to repeal health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board

Meanwhile, on the House side, a top Democrat has said he will support efforts to undo the panel created to curb Medicare spending growth. The American Medical Association also reiterated its support for repeal.

29 Feb 2012

Actuarial value, health disparities draw attention as part of health law implementation

The Department of Health and Human Services offered a bulletin last week to provide guidance on how insurers should calculate actuarial value. Also, some health policy experts are beginning to question whether the health law's quality provisions might exacerbate the nation's health disparities.

28 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Santorum on repeal; Ariz. Republic endorses Romney; How Catholic church almost accepted birth control

I'll submit legislation to repeal ObamaCare, and on day one issue an executive order ending related regulatory obligations on the states. I'll work with Congress to replace ObamaCare with competitive insurance choices to improve quality and limit the costs of health care, while protecting those with uninsurable health conditions.

28 Feb 2012

State roundup: State tobacco funds scrutinized; More allegations against Calif.'s Prime Healthcare; Ore. CCOs get green light

A U.S. Surgeon General's report due to be released March 8 will come down hard on states that have cut anti-smoking funds in tough fiscal times, said Terry Pechacek, who oversees the report as director for Science in the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report can't result in sanctions, but it has proven to move public opinion in the past to force changes by tobacco companies in how they sell cigarettes, how states fund efforts and how the federal government regulates the trade.

27 Feb 2012

New poll finds public opinion sharply divided on health law repeal

Politico reports on a new poll that shows the nation is almost evenly split on whether, if elected, a Republican president should repeal the health law. Meanwhile, in related news, The Hill reports that House GOP lawmakers will renew their attacks on the overhaul to correspond with the Supreme Court review of the measure.

27 Feb 2012

Abortion, contraception politics still on front burner as primaries loom

The political furor around abortion and contraception shows no sign of abating, according to news outlets.

27 Feb 2012

State health insurance exchanges moving in fits and starts

Vermont, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Texas and California are grappling with various aspects of implementing the health law.

24 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Elizabeth Warren on contraception mandate, comparison shopping for drugs, 'dismantling' Illinois

In this Kaiser Health News Different Takes feature, The University Of Maryland's Dr. E. Albert Reece and The Heritage Foundation's Stuart Butler discuss how health enterprise zones, a new take on an old economic development idea, might be used to improve the health of the state's minority populations (2/23). Read the commentaries by Reece and Butler.

24 Feb 2012

Senate contests touch on contraception, health reform issues

Media outlets report on how these issues are being debated in Senate campaigns in Massachusetts and Texas.

24 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Use Of Preventive Services Could Be Better Aligned With Clinical Recommendations -- This report looks at Medicare patients' use of eight specific preventive services, which have "the potential to improve health outcomes and lower health care expenditures," according to the authors. Use of cardiovascular and cervical cancer screenings "generally aligned with clinical recommendations, ... but use of other cancer screenings" did not.

24 Feb 2012

High-risk pools expand coverage for people with serious conditions, but at greater cost than predicted

The Washington Post reports that per patient costs will likely be more than double the initial projections.

24 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 24, 2012

Today's headlines include reports detailing what becomes of the deficit -- particularly at this time of rising Medicare costs for the aging population -- under the plans being advanced by the GOP presidential candidates.

24 Feb 2012

Calorie listings on fast-food chain restaurant menus do not benefit consumers

Calorie listings on fast-food chain restaurant menus might meet federal labeling requirements but don't do a good job of helping consumers trying to make healthy meal choices, a new Columbia University School of Nursing (CUSON) study reports.

24 Feb 2012

Vt., Okla. lawmakers mull creating health insurance exchanges

Lawmakers in Vermont and Oklahoma are the latest to grapple with creating a state health insurance exchange. In Vermont, the governor is defending his proposal for an exchange for small businesses while Oklahoma lawmakers are mulling creating their own so the federal government doesn't do it for them.

24 Feb 2012

Feds award health exchange grants to 10 states

The Department of Health and Human Services is sending $229 million in exchange establishment grants to 10 states -- half of which are receiving this funding for a second time around. However, an Associated Press analysis found that progress among states in setting up these health insurance marketplaces remains uneven.

24 Feb 2012

Health Reform News and Research

The health law and the states

House Subcommittee OKs IPAB repeal

Viewpoints: Ryan and Medicare; Va. ultrasound bill 'overreaches'?; NEJM on patient-centered care

Dept. of Justice lawyers strategize on how to win key SCOTUS votes

State roundup: Mass. Gov. says state health reform easing cost increases; N.J. localities overpay on health coverage; Pa. cuts raise ire

Senate Republican reintroduces measure to repeal health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board

Actuarial value, health disparities draw attention as part of health law implementation

Viewpoints: Santorum on repeal; Ariz. Republic endorses Romney; How Catholic church almost accepted birth control

State roundup: State tobacco funds scrutinized; More allegations against Calif.'s Prime Healthcare; Ore. CCOs get green light

New poll finds public opinion sharply divided on health law repeal

Abortion, contraception politics still on front burner as primaries loom

State health insurance exchanges moving in fits and starts

Viewpoints: Elizabeth Warren on contraception mandate, comparison shopping for drugs, 'dismantling' Illinois

Senate contests touch on contraception, health reform issues

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

High-risk pools expand coverage for people with serious conditions, but at greater cost than predicted

First Edition: February 24, 2012

Calorie listings on fast-food chain restaurant menus do not benefit consumers

Vt., Okla. lawmakers mull creating health insurance exchanges

Feds award health exchange grants to 10 states

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

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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