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Democratic governors see political advantage in efforts to implement the health law

News coverage of issues related to state health exchange readiness and premium costs could boost Democrats in some states.

6 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 5, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau reports: "Medicare will levy $227 million in fines against hospitals in every state but one for the second round of the government's campaign to reduce the number of patients readmitted within a month, according to federal records released Friday" (Rau, 8/2).

5 Aug 2013

Lawmakers' aides fret over requirement to buy Obamacare coverage

The New York Times explores how congressional staffs are anxious about a health law provision requiring them to buy coverage in online insurance markets because the federal government may no longer pay a share of their premiums.

31 Jul 2013

Researchers fabricate nanotweezers that could be used to control and regulate enzymes

In new research, Hao Yan and his colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute describe a pair of tweezers shrunk down to an astonishingly tiny scale. When the jaws of these tools are in the open position, the distance between the two arms is about 16 nanometers-over 30,000 times smaller than a single grain of sand.

5 Jul 2013

Nano-biosensors along with new imaging techniques can improve drug targeting in pancreatic cancer

UK and Australian scientists have been able to show ways in which we can markedly improve drug targeting of solid tumours, using tiny 'biosensors' along with new advanced imaging techniques.

12 Jun 2013

Spherical nanoparticles transform into netlike structures at site of cancer

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have designed tiny spherical particles to float easily through the bloodstream after injection, then assemble into a durable scaffold within diseased tissue. An enzyme produced by a specific type of tumor can trigger the transformation of the spheres into netlike structures that accumulate at the site of a cancer, the team reports in the journal Advanced Materials this week.

29 May 2013

The president's impassioned health law speech: 'We're going to keep fighting'

President Barack Obama was unusually detailed in his defense of the law, emphasizing the scope of insurance coverage for many Americans.

13 May 2013

Longer looks: The timely trauma response in Boston; Problems with aging doctors; Transplants from donors with HIV

The bombs at the Boston Marathon were designed to maim and kill, and they did. Three people died within the first moments of the blast. More than a hundred and seventy people were injured. They had their limbs blown off, vital arteries severed, bones fractured, flesh torn open by shrapnel or scorched by the blasts' heat. Yet it now appears that every one of the wounded alive when rescuers reached them will survive.

19 Apr 2013

Study sheds light on role of retinoic acid in tissue development

In a ground-breaking study, researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan report a new technique that allows them to visualize the distribution of retinoic acid in a live zebrafish embryo, in real-time.

9 Apr 2013

New molecular sensor technique for cancer therapy detects lactate levels in individual cells

Cancer cells break down sugars and produce the metabolic acid lactate at a much higher rate than normal cells. This phenomenon provides a telltale sign that cancer is present, via diagnostics such as PET scans, and possibly offers an avenue for novel cancer therapies.

16 Mar 2013

Ryan's budget plan -- to be released today -- reprises 2012 election issues with Medicare, Medicaid changes

Early reports on the budget being advanced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., suggest the blueprint will score savings by proposing to turn Medicaid into a block grant program, repealing much of the 2010 health law and applying a premium support model to Medicare.

13 Mar 2013

Is avoiding sequestration possible?

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., told the Wall Street Journal that he would consider a tax increase if it is accompanied by reductions in entitlement spending.

27 Feb 2013

Roundup: Ariz. Gov. proposing hospital tax for Medicaid expansion as Nev. ponders options; Vt. hospitals form ACO

Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer, who has become something of a conservative icon for her aggressive opposition to Mr. Obama's policies, surprised many Legislature watchers at her State of the State address last week by saying she wanted to expand the state's Medicaid program to include anyone who makes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or $14,856 for an individual.

23 Jan 2013

Researchers identify how RecA protein helps broken DNA find way to bridge the gap

Every time a human or bacterial cell divides it first must copy its DNA. Specialized proteins unzip the intertwined DNA strands while others follow and build new strands, using the originals as templates. Whenever these proteins encounter a break - and there are many - they stop and retreat, allowing a new cast of molecular players to enter the scene.

14 Dec 2012

New light-based technique demonstrates that toxic proteins build up gradually in blood cells

A new light-based technique for measuring levels of the toxic protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD) has been used to demonstrate that the protein builds up gradually in blood cells. Published today (17th) in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the findings shed light on how the protein causes damage in the brain, and could be useful for monitoring the progression of HD, or testing new drugs aimed at suppressing production of the harmful protein.

18 Sep 2012

Vmersion-Health introduces Gluco-Share app for people with diabetes

Vmersion-Health introduces Gluco-Share, a mobile smart device application that connects people living with diabetes with their family and friends through a private and secure social media network. The Gluco-Share app is a free download available at the Apple iTunes store.

26 Jul 2012

As nation awaits the High Court's decision, health issues grab some voters' attention

The National Journal reports that health policies have become voters' number 2 concern -- edged out only by the economy. On the ground in Tennessee, though, many people who don't have insurance and were seeking care at a free clinic were not aware of of how what they had at stake in the law's future.

19 Jun 2012