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Michigan surpasses Medicaid enrollment goal in 4 months

More people have enrolled in Medicaid's expansion in less than four months than were expected to sign up in the entire first year of the program, the Snyder administration announced Thursday.

13 Jul 2014

Those with mental illness face 80% unemployment

But, the report says that while 60 percent of those with mental illnesses want to work, only 2 percent of people in the public mental health system get help to find work.

11 Jul 2014

Eligibility for subsidies not properly checked, audit finds

The HHS inspector general issues two reports concluding the federal health marketplace and some state exchanges had inadequate safeguards to stop people who were ineligible from getting tax credits to help pay for premiums.

3 Jul 2014

Justices rule home health care aides can't be forced to pay union dues

The high court's ruling will make it more difficult for unions in some states to continue organizing the aides, a rapidly growing segment of the workforce.

1 Jul 2014

Inaccurate doctor lists hurt access for low-income Californians

Meanwhile, confusion over limited providers also has led to unforeseen bills for enrollees in private plans in California, reports The Los Angeles Times. Other stories look at the growing number of insurers who want to participate in the online marketplaces and how 19 states have passed laws restricting the workers who help consumers sign up, despite a new federal rule eliminating many such restrictions.

1 Jul 2014

Patients kept in the dark on costs of tests, treatments

The CT Mirror examines the difficulties patients face when trying to comparison shop or simply figure out how much they might have to spend on medical treatments.

27 Jun 2014

Chicago hospitals see little change in ER visits; Calif. probes Anthem's provider lists

The Chicago Sun-Times examines the health law's effect on local emergency rooms, while the Los Angeles Times reports that state officials are investigating whether Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California violated state law by posting inaccurate provider lists.

24 Jun 2014

State highlights: Illinois Medicaid digital shift delayed; N.C. hospitals fight cuts; heroin in New England

Alexian Brothers Health System is suspending its effort to launch a new Medicaid program, blaming the difficulty of connecting physicians using different electronic records systems. The Arlington Heights, Ill.-based health system was spearheading a so-called accountable care entity (ACE) to coordinate the care of about 46,000 patients on Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled. The ACEs are a form of managed care, one of Gov. Pat Quinn's initiatives to focus on preventative treatment to keep patients healthy and reduce health care costs (Schorsch, 6/17).

19 Jun 2014

Medicare faces cost tension with lawmakers, advocates

More than 130 lawmakers are urging the Obama administration to expand coverage for a lung-cancer test under Medicare that could cost the program billons, calling the screening important for vulnerable seniors. In a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lawmakers called for a timely decision on coverage for low-dose CT scans for older patients at higher risk of developing lung cancer. ... A CMS spokesman said the agency's decision will be based on whether the test is "reasonable and necessary," without regard to its cost to Medicare (Yen, 6/17).

19 Jun 2014

Protein Metrics releases freeware version of Preview software for pre-search protein analysis

Protein Metrics, Inc., a leading provider of software for rapid and thorough protein and peptide characterization, today announced the release of a freeware version of their Preview™ software for pre-search protein analysis available for download from the company's website.

16 Jun 2014

State highlights: Calif. jails face problems with inmates with mental illness; Conn. patients to get 'facility fee' notice

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said board members and their staffs were not privy to communications sent by the U.S. Justice Department to Sheriff's Department and county mental health officials regarding ongoing problems until September. That's when county officials received a letter announcing a federal civil-rights investigation of the jail system (Sewell, 6/10).

12 Jun 2014

Protein Metrics introduces top-down analysis as part of 2.0 release of Byonic proteomics search engine

Protein Metrics, Inc., a leading provider of software for rapid and thorough protein and peptide characterization, today announced the introduction of top-down analysis as part of the 2.0 release of its Byonic™ proteomics search engine.

11 Jun 2014

Antimicrobial abrasion-resistant coatings with long-term effect for killing germs reliably

Researchers at the INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials have now produced antimicrobial abrasion-resistant coatings with both silver and copper colloids with a long-term effect that kill germs reliably and at the same time prevent germs becoming established.

11 Jun 2014

Enrollees' personal information may be compromised as a result of access health CT data breach

The Connecticut health insurance exchange data breach has been traced back to an employee of the company that runs the call center.

10 Jun 2014

Insurers propose rate hikes for plans on the individual market

News reports detail the latest on insurers' efforts in Maryland and Connecticut to gain approval for increases in 2015 premiums on the state exchanges.

10 Jun 2014

Healthcare.gov to get makeover

The Wall Street Journal reports that the federal health insurance website is slated for an overhaul that will likely result in the scrapping of major parts of it that caused problems during last fall's launch. Its tight timeline is among the issues raising new concern.

6 Jun 2014

State highlights: NYC soda fight back in court; doc training slots in N.Y.; Texas inmate dialysis costs

New York City's battle over sugary drinks is entering its endgame. But much more than soda is at stake. A plan to limit the sale of large, high-calorie beverages, championed by former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as a novel way to fight obesity, went before the State Court of Appeals here on Wednesday, the city's final recourse after a lower court judge struck down the proposal last year (Grynbaum, 6/4).

6 Jun 2014

Highlights: Calif. insurance commissioner battle; food stamps and Medicaid in Calif.; Mo. and experimental drug therapies

Incumbent Democrat Dave Jones held a strong lead in Tuesday's primary election voting for state insurance commissioner, but he still faces a rematch in November against Republican challenger Ted Gaines (Lifsher, 6/3).

5 Jun 2014

Some insurers plan double-digit health exchange premium increases

The filings in Arizona and Connecticut are shedding light on what insurers might do elsewhere. News outlets also report on developments in Nevada and Maryland related to health exchange costs and coverage issues.

4 Jun 2014

State highlights: Mo.'s declining Medicaid caseload; N.C. budget would cut Medicaid rolls; Calif. paid sick leave

Missouri is seeing a bigger decline in its Medicaid rolls than nearly any other state, a ranking that the Nixon administration attributes to an improving economy and critics blame on application snafus.

31 May 2014