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First Edition: January 18, 2012

In today's headlines, a report about the number of people in the U.S. who live in households receiving government benefits.

18 Jan 2012

Will the health law's future be decided by the high court or the election?

Media outlets weigh the various scenarios and where the ultimate muscle exists to advance or undo the health law.

18 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Health care is a civil right; A Medicare strategy based on Lenin

Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy is one of progress toward a better life for every American, including equal opportunity in voting, housing, education, and employment. Reflecting on his legacy also means recognizing the steps we must take to address the inequalities that persist. Many of these involve health care. Poor and minority Americans suffer from more preventable diseases on average, lower-quality care, fewer treatment options, and less health insurance coverage.

18 Jan 2012

S.D., Wisc. wrestle with health exchange implementation

While Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker faces a dilemma regarding his state's Early Innovator Grant, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced his state wouldn't try to pass health exchange legislation because "there is too much uncertainty."

18 Jan 2012

PCORI to meet this week to release national priorities for medical effectiveness research

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, an independent board established by the health law, will meet this week to set priorities for "comparative effectiveness research." In other news related to the health law, the News Hour reports on how the overahul has impacted pediatric cancer patients and the New York Times reports on the law's provisions related to screening kids for obesity and providing them counseling.

18 Jan 2012

Safety nets in Australia’s Medicare questioned while expert claims $3 billion inappropriate use

In a scathing article for the Medical Journal of Australia published on Monday, GP Dr Tony Webber has described the Medicare scheme as a “monster”. He wrote, “I estimate that $2 billion to $3 billion are spent inappropriately each year.” As former chief of the Professional Services Review - set up to police Medicare - he said he gained insight into how dysfunctional the system had become.

16 Jan 2012

Doctors need more incentives to remain committed to rural Australia: AMA

According to the Australian Medical Association (AMA) every rural GP and specialist should be paid tens of thousands of dollars per year in extra incentives to encourage more to commit to country practice, warning that “urgent intervention” is required to tackle a workforce crisis.

15 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: GOP moving away from compassionate conservatism; Competing strategies for fighting obesity

Romney asserts that President Obama wants to "fundamentally transform America," turning the country "into a European-style entitlement society." In fact, (Mitt) Romney and his Republican presidential rivals have a far more radical transformation in mind. They envision a dramatically shrunken federal government and a dangerously unraveled social safety net.

13 Jan 2012

Despite pending state health law legal challenge, some legislators take opposite stand

Media outlets from Connecticut, Texas and Iowa report on how a Supreme Court brief, which was filed by the Progressive States Network and signed by hundreds of state officials, is shaking up some state-level policy discussions.

13 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Renewing the call for a public option; Keep all justices on health law case

In Washington, the three major health insurers - Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield and Group Health Cooperative - are sitting on a total of more than $2.4 billion above and beyond what they expect to ever pay out in claims.

11 Jan 2012

DOJ lays out health law defense in SCOTUS brief

Just as the Justice Department reiterated its main argument supporting the health law's individual mandate, briefs offering an opposing view were filed by the case's plaintiffs and by 36 Republican senators.

10 Jan 2012

GOP presidential debates touch on various health care issues

News outlets offer analysis and fact-checking after the weekend's two GOP debates. Some coverage looks ahead to South Carolina, and even further into the future.

9 Jan 2012

Justice Department, lawmakers file SCOTUS health suit briefs

The Obama administration on Friday told the Supreme Court that the requirement to buy insurance in its health reform law is well within Congress's constitutional boundaries - and insisted that legally, the law doesn't break any new ground. The 130-page brief is the first the Justice Department has filed since the court agreed to review the law.

7 Jan 2012

Research roundup: New ethics guidelines for doctors urge cost consideration; HIV testing in teens

Today's research comes from the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, George Washington University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

7 Jan 2012

Candidates jockey for position, messages in post-Iowa landscape

News outlets report on how GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is being targeted by Republican rivals and the Obama campaign. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann exits the primary race, and Rick Santorum, fresh from his Iowa caucus finish, draws headlines.

6 Jan 2012

HHS denies MLR waiver requests from two more states

The Department of Health and Human Services denied requests from Kansas and Oklahoma to allow them to adjust the health law's medical-loss ratio provisions. That brings to eight the number of states who will not receive such exemptions.

6 Jan 2012

Longer looks: The body's fight against losing weight; Rick Santorum's contraception, anti-abortion records analyzed

For years, the advice to the overweight and obese has been that we simply need to eat less and exercise more. While there is truth to this guidance, it fails to take into account that the human body continues to fight against weight loss long after dieting has stopped. ... it's clear, from a public-health standpoint, that resources would best be focused on preventing weight gain. The research underscores the urgency of national efforts to get children to exercise and eat healthful foods.

6 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 5, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that health law opponents want to add plaintiffs to their lawsuit as well as dispatches from the GOP primary election compaign trail.

5 Jan 2012

Health insurance fee draws GOP attacks

The health care law tacks on a fee of $1 per year to private insurance plans. The money will fund comparative effectiveness research - studies into which treatments work best for particular conditions. The Senate Republican Policy Committee contrasted the fee with Obama's opposition, during the 2008 campaign, to taxing employer-based health benefits.

5 Jan 2012

Congress returns to 'same old health fights' in 2012

Congress starts 2012 facing the same old health policy fights, including the GOP push to pay for a more permanent Medicare "doc fix" with cuts to health law programs or Medicare. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., has been pivotal in Republican efforts to undermine the health overhaul law.

5 Jan 2012

Health Reform News and Research

First Edition: January 18, 2012

Will the health law's future be decided by the high court or the election?

Viewpoints: Health care is a civil right; A Medicare strategy based on Lenin

S.D., Wisc. wrestle with health exchange implementation

PCORI to meet this week to release national priorities for medical effectiveness research

Safety nets in Australia’s Medicare questioned while expert claims $3 billion inappropriate use

Doctors need more incentives to remain committed to rural Australia: AMA

Viewpoints: GOP moving away from compassionate conservatism; Competing strategies for fighting obesity

Despite pending state health law legal challenge, some legislators take opposite stand

Viewpoints: Renewing the call for a public option; Keep all justices on health law case

DOJ lays out health law defense in SCOTUS brief

GOP presidential debates touch on various health care issues

Justice Department, lawmakers file SCOTUS health suit briefs

Research roundup: New ethics guidelines for doctors urge cost consideration; HIV testing in teens

Candidates jockey for position, messages in post-Iowa landscape

HHS denies MLR waiver requests from two more states

Longer looks: The body's fight against losing weight; Rick Santorum's contraception, anti-abortion records analyzed

First Edition: January 5, 2012

Health insurance fee draws GOP attacks

Congress returns to 'same old health fights' in 2012

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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