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Viewpoints: Tea party & Medicare; Minn. health exchange politics; fixing drug shortages

Unlike the Florida district court that earlier found ObamaCare unconstitutional, the 11th Circuit did not invalidate the entire law. But it likewise reaffirmed the fundamental constitutional rule that our federal government is one of enumerated powers with judicially enforceable limits.

20 Aug 2011

New rules would help consumers comparison shop for health plans

The proposed regulations, issued Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to make sure insurers and employers provide consumers with "plain English" information about health insurance coverage to empower them to make informed choices.

19 Aug 2011

Longer looks: Doctors advocating less care; addiction as a 'disease'

These physicians are not anti-medicine. They are not trying to save money on their copayments or deductibles. And they are not trying to rein in the nation's soaring health-care costs, which at $2.7 trillion account for fully one sixth of every dollar spent in the U.S. They are applying to their personal lives a message they have become increasingly vocal about in their roles as biomedical researchers and doctors: more health care often means worse health.

19 Aug 2011

State roundup: Opposition to Calif. health insurance regulation bill

Supporters of controversial legislation to give state regulators power to approve, deny or modify changes in health insurance rates have returned from their summer recess to find added opposition as they push for its passage before the session wraps up. Gov. Jerry Brown's finance officials came out against Assembly Bill 52 at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing this week, raising concerns about the costs of the rate-regulation proposal.

19 Aug 2011

Long-delayed forms to provide coverage details likely to be released today

Part of the health law, these rules will lay out, among other things, a new standard form that will provide consumers who are shopping for health coverage with policy details, such as deductibles and specific costs for certain medical circumstances.

18 Aug 2011

Medicare Advantage plans may be counter-productive for the elderly

In health care, more choice may not always lead to better choices, particularly for the elderly. In a new study, researchers from Harvard Medical School's Department of Health Care Policy found that the large variety of managed care plans offered by the Medicare Advantage program may be counter-productive.

18 Aug 2011

Timing for Supreme Court's health law review unclear

The Wall Street Journal reports that the high court is likely to decide by January whether a ruling on the health law will come before or after the 2012 election. Meanwhile, Politico reports that a "conservative gadfly" has won a round in his battle against the Obama administration's health overhaul effort.

18 Aug 2011

States move forward with creating health exchanges

In Minnesota, though, party-based challenges are emerging to Gov. Dayton's exchange plan. Also, Politico reports that, even though the health law allows for a federal exchange as a fallback plan if states don't develop their own, no funding exists for these federal activities. On the other hand, the law provides almost unlimited resources to support states' efforts.

18 Aug 2011

Obama expresses confidence that SCOTUS will uphold health law

Days after a federal appeals court overturned the measure's individual mandate, President Barack Obama said the Supreme Court will uphold the law if it follows legal precedents when considering it.

17 Aug 2011

Worries in Neb. about exchange deadlines; federal grant for Conn.

Nebraska officials raised concerns Monday about the state's ability to meet upcoming federal health care reform deadlines. At a briefing for state lawmakers, the officials said they face challenges with the amount of work to be done and the lack of answers on key matters.

17 Aug 2011

Multistate plans should face 'level playing field,' insurance regulators urge

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners expressed concern about a provision of the health law that could allow multistate insurance plans an advantage over smaller plans operating in health insurance exchanges.

17 Aug 2011

State roundup: Health insurance ruling reverberates; Fla. to accept some health law funds; California's aging issues

The state has returned millions in health reform dollars for child and elder care programs, among other things. But on Monday, HHS awarded the Sunshine State $1.26 million in ACA money to bolster efforts to report and combat infectious diseases.

17 Aug 2011

Latest health law decision adds momentum as challenges move toward Supreme Court

In one of the main legal challenges against the health care reform passed last year, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta declared the law's "individual mandate" unconstitutional, calling it an "unprecedented exercise of congressional power."

16 Aug 2011

Anti-health law measure secures place on Ohio ballot; mental health improvements hit snags in Milwaukee

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would block implementation of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law can appear on the ballot this fall. The ruling came on the same day that a federal appeals court in Atlanta struck down the requirement in the law that Americans either carry health insurance or face penalties.

16 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Health reform 'tax' vs. 'penalty'; super committee forecast; boomer tsunami

In a foolhardy indulgence of partisan ideology, Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas is returning a $31.5 million federal grant that would have made his state a leader in technology development for the new federal health care law. … He joins other Republican governors willing to sell their constituents short in grandstanding against the health care law from statehouse pulpits.

16 Aug 2011

Feds offer more exchange details, money to encourage states in developing these insurance marketplaces

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $185 million in grants to 13 states. The government also clarified how states will be expected to determine who is eligible to participate in exchanges under the health law.

16 Aug 2011

Accenture gets Australia’s e-health contract

An Accenture-led consortium has won the pivotal contract to deliver a national IT infrastructure for the Gillard government's $500 million personally controlled e-health records system. The team including Oracle and Orion Health also won $146m contract to deliver Singapore's e-health records program last year.

16 Aug 2011

GOP presidential candidates spar over health overhaul plans, individual mandate and more

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney defended parts of the state's health overhaul he signed into law as the chief executive, while Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty also exchanged health policy barbs.

12 Aug 2011

Sebelius talks health insurance exchanges

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took questions from PBS Newshour viewers about these new health insurance marketplaces that were envisioned in the health law. Also in the news, analysis of the recess appointment of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Donald Berwick and more about what implementation activities are happening at the state level.

12 Aug 2011

What will the panelists bring to the 'super committee' negotiations?

News outlets report on the personalities and records of the people who have been named to the deficit panel, and attempt to handicap how their politics could play into the deficit-reduction dynamics.

12 Aug 2011

Health Reform News and Research

Viewpoints: Tea party & Medicare; Minn. health exchange politics; fixing drug shortages

New rules would help consumers comparison shop for health plans

Longer looks: Doctors advocating less care; addiction as a 'disease'

State roundup: Opposition to Calif. health insurance regulation bill

Long-delayed forms to provide coverage details likely to be released today

Medicare Advantage plans may be counter-productive for the elderly

Timing for Supreme Court's health law review unclear

States move forward with creating health exchanges

Obama expresses confidence that SCOTUS will uphold health law

Worries in Neb. about exchange deadlines; federal grant for Conn.

Multistate plans should face 'level playing field,' insurance regulators urge

State roundup: Health insurance ruling reverberates; Fla. to accept some health law funds; California's aging issues

Latest health law decision adds momentum as challenges move toward Supreme Court

Anti-health law measure secures place on Ohio ballot; mental health improvements hit snags in Milwaukee

Viewpoints: Health reform 'tax' vs. 'penalty'; super committee forecast; boomer tsunami

Feds offer more exchange details, money to encourage states in developing these insurance marketplaces

Accenture gets Australia’s e-health contract

GOP presidential candidates spar over health overhaul plans, individual mandate and more

Sebelius talks health insurance exchanges

What will the panelists bring to the 'super committee' negotiations?

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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