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Aflac becomes the most preferred carrier for voluntary insurance among brokers

A survey of 358 brokers by business intelligence consulting firm Personified, finds Aflac is the number one preferred carrier for voluntary insurance among brokers.

18 Jan 2010

Democrats reportedly settle key issues on health bill but no final accord yet

Politico reports: "President Barack Obama and senior Democratic lawmakers closed in Friday on a final health care reform package, finishing a week of intensive negotiations on tax and coverage issues that had once threatened to derail the bill.

18 Jan 2010

Major insurers funded Chamber of Commerce ads attacking health bills

"Just as dealings with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the nation's biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or significantly modifying the major health reform bills moving through Congress," The National Journal reports.

18 Jan 2010

GOP governors say health 'deals' are being cut without their input

"Twenty Republican governors and governors-elect are accusing the White House of providing too little transparency on health care, causing worry that 'deals' are being cut without their input," Politico reports. "In a letter sent Wednesday to the Congressional leaders of both parties, the governors wrote that they are 'disappointed with the lack of transparency' as health care moves forward. … The letter comes, in part, as a response to the Obama administration's move to bring in Democratic governors to stump for the bill ahead of its expected passage" (Barr, 1/14).

18 Jan 2010

McConnell hopes Democrats see unpopularity of health bill and change course

Roll Call reports that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell Tuesday "appeared to concede that there was little Republicans could do to block passage of health care reform" but said he hopes Democrats change their course on the reform bill.

18 Jan 2010

Health overhaul might relieve 'job lock' phenomenon

MarketWatch reports that people "may feel emboldened to start businesses or change jobs because they'll no longer fear having to go without health insurance" if a health care reform bill passes. One overlooked price of the health system's current "distortions," MarketWatch terms it, is the phenomena of "job lock" where workers stay in their jobs solely for the medical benefits.

18 Jan 2010

Massachusetts Senate race tightens over health care reform

The Washington Post explores the dynamics of the campaign for the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. "With polls showing the race a dead heat — a Suffolk University survey released Thursday night had (Republican Scott) Brown up by 4 points (over Democrat Martha Coakley), at the edge of the margin of error — national Democratic organizations are scrambling to hold on to the 60th Senate vote crucial to the health-care overhaul being negotiated in Washington and to every other initiative of President Obama" (Vick, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

New study indicates a decline in biomedical research; Autism Speaks urges government to increase research funding

As the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports on the actual decline in U.S. biomedical research funding, Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, again called on the federal government to immediately step up its efforts - and dramatically increase research funding - to address the growing national autism public health crisis.

18 Jan 2010

Multiple issues still on the table in House-Senate health bill negotiations

Reports explored contentious policies in the House and Senate versions of the health-overhaul legislation that are part of the final negotiations.

18 Jan 2010

FTC wants to ban 'pay-to-delay' settlements related to generic drugs

The Associated Press/USA Today: "The Federal Trade Commission says patent settlements between drugmakers that cost U.S. consumers billions each year are on the rise. The agency reported Wednesday that the number of lucrative settlements between brand-name and generic drug companies rose to 19 last year from 16 in 2008 and 14 the year before."

18 Jan 2010

Democrats appear to reach deal on 'Cadillac' tax

The New York Times is reporting that Democratic congressional leaders and President Barack Obama "have reached a tentative deal on a proposed excise tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance plans to be included in the final version of major health care legislation, according to officials familiar with the talks." Details of the compromise were not available.

18 Jan 2010

Nelson asks Reid to cancel Nebraska Medicaid deal

"Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on Friday asked that a deal he secured for his state on Medicaid funding be removed from the health care reform bill, a move that follows weeks of unrelenting political blowback."

18 Jan 2010

MediSens Wireless to begin its wireless body-monitoring system clinical trials following FDA approval

MediSens Wireless, a startup company in UCLA's on-campus technology incubator at the California NanoSystems Institute, has obtained approval under federal Food and Drug Administration guidelines to begin clinical trials on its novel wireless body-monitoring system, which assesses muscle and neuromotor functions in the upper extremities.

18 Jan 2010

Obama announces $100M in aid for Haitian earthquake recovery

At the White House on Thursday, President Barack Obama "promised $100 million along with more American troops for the relief effort in Haiti, vowing that the United States would stand with the impoverished nation as it grappled with the devastation of its capital city," the New York Times reports.

18 Jan 2010

Obama reportedly supportive of House bid to include national exchanges in health bill

The White House wants to include a national health-insurance exchange in the health bill, which would give House Democrats one of their top remaining demands, according to an official involved in the discussions.

18 Jan 2010

Nevada governor considers dropping out of Medicaid

State governors and other lawmakers continue to worry that an expansion of Medicaid could put their budgets in crisis.

18 Jan 2010

Dems back at the negotiating table with final health bill deal 'very close'

MarketWatch: After health negotiations stretched until the wee hours of the morning Friday, "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said [later that morning] ... congressional Democrats are 'very close' to reaching final agreement on legislation." He said he hoped that "within the next 24, 48, 72 hours" such agreement would be reached. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are expected to return to the White House today for more negotiations. This would "mark the third straight day of talks between Obama and Democrats over the health bill. Obama is anxious to sign a bill and move on to other issues including job creation" (Schroeder, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

States threaten lawsuit over Nebraska's Medicaid deal in Senate health bill

Several news outlets report on a possible lawsuit against the Medicaid compromise for Nebraska that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., brokered with Senate leaders.

18 Jan 2010

State budgets in straits as health programs sap resources

States are grappling with budget crises and lost revenues that have affected health programs.

18 Jan 2010

Democrats endure political anxieties as health talks continue

"President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats stand within days if not hours of striking final deals on historic health care legislation after key labor unions won concessions and pledged their support," The Associated Press reports. "Dozens of issues still needed to be finalized to reconcile bills passed separately by the House and Senate, but several lawmakers said that in the wake of the deal on the insurance plan tax, they felt a logjam had been broken" (Werner, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010