Health Reform News and Research

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First Edition: June 23, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news stories about healthcare.gov management changes.

23 Jun 2014

Lack of federal funding and Medicaid expansions can impact community health centers

A special federal fund to support community health centers expires after September 2015, creating a funding cliff for primary care clinics located in medically underserved areas.

20 Jun 2014

Doctors weigh how to use new heart-valve procedure

The procedure is less invasive than surgery but is still unproven for many patients, The Wall Street Journal reports. Meanwhile, the Journal also looks at how some doctors are using Google Glass to have more time with their patients.

17 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 17, 2014

Today's headlines include developments related to the health care marketplace and state health policy.

17 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Could Congress sue Obama?; abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers

President Obama is setting a dangerous precedent by suspending his enforcement of laws on health care, immigration, drugs, banking and so much else, but the courts may soon be asked to throw a brushback pitch. .

17 Jun 2014

State highlights: New La. abortion restrictions; new Mass. hospital deal; Medicare and ambulances in N.J.

A selection of health policy stories from Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Georgia, Missouri, Maryland, New York, Kansas and Washington state.

16 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 13, 2014

Today's headlines include various updates on what Virginia lawmakers did in an attempt to resolve the state's budget impasse and Medicaid expansion debate.

13 Jun 2014

With Cantor stepping down as majority leader, GOP efforts to 'replace' health law face a bigger challenge

Before his primary election defeat by challenger David Brat, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was involved in drafting a GOP health law alternative.

13 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 12, 2014

Today's headlines include stories examining how Eric Cantor's primary defeat will change the House GOP leadership and the Republican strategy to replace the health law.

12 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Cantor was no RINO; battles over Medicaid in Va. and Ind.; reforms moving for VA

Ideas have consequences. Elections sure do, too. David Brat's victory over Eric Cantor is stunning, to state the glaringly obvious. ... Brat's victory also moves the Virginia GOP even further to the right. No one ever could have mistaken Cantor -; who organized 50 votes to repeal Obamacare -; for a RINO, let alone a limousine liberal. But for many GOP diehards, he was insufficiently confrontational (6/11).

12 Jun 2014

VA audit finds 57,000 vets have been waiting for more than 3 months for care

The examination also uncovered difficulties in scheduling appointments and a culture in which employees were pressured to change data.

11 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 10, 2014

Today's headlines include details of an extensive, nationwide audit of the wait times for care at VA hospitals and clinics.

10 Jun 2014

State highlights: Improving chronic care in Las Vegas; standoff over Medicaid in N.C.

Now, Las Vegas is emerging as a test of how much a community can improve chronically poor health by expanding insurance coverage and using models of medical care pioneered in healthier places. "We are a prime example of what people see as problematic about the American healthcare system," said Larry Matheis, the former longtime head of the Nevada State Medical Assn. "That makes a lot of the ideas in health reform very attractive. … The challenge is going to be figuring out how to make it all work" (Levey, 6/7).

10 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 9, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about efforts on the state level and within the health care system to address health care costs and advance other system reforms.

9 Jun 2014

Pa. House committee advances bill to expand Medicaid eligibility

States continue to debate issues related to the health law's Medicaid expansion provision. A state House committee advanced a bill Wednesday to immediately expand Medicaid eligibility to more than a half-million uninsured Pennsylvanians.

9 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: No return to 'bad-old days' of mental health commitments; fighting over school lunches; doctors' role in reform

It is difficult to read stories about Elliot Rodger, the 22-year-old man who went on a murderous spree in Isla Vista, Calif., last month, without feeling some empathy for his parents. We know that his mother, alarmed by some of his misogynistic YouTube videos, made a call that resulted in the police visiting Rodger.

4 Jun 2014

Commentary on VA shake-up:Inadequate performance measures; Congress must do its part; similarities to Medicare

Media outlets offer opinions on Gen. Eric Shinseki's departure from the Department of Veterans Affairs and efforts to fix problems in that system.

3 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: GOP needs to refine its message on health law; battle over school lunches

It was supposed to be so easy this election year for Republican congressional candidates. All they would have to do was shout "repeal Obamacare!" and make a crack about government doctors and broken websites, and they could coast into office on a wave of public fury. ... But it has not quite worked out that way. ... That sentiment conflicts with the Republican playbook, which party leaders are suddenly trying to rewrite. The result has been an incoherent mishmash of positions, as candidates try to straddle a widening gap between blind hatred of health reform and the public's growing recognition that much of it is working (6/1).

3 Jun 2014

GOP candidates expanding their campaign-trail messages beyond the health law

Increasingly, it appears that Republican candidates are focusing their assaults on more than just the Affordable Care Act. News outlets examine how the overhaul is playing on the campaign trail.

3 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 2, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about state health law implementation activities as well as the next steps regarding the difficulties at the VA health system.

2 Jun 2014

Health Reform News and Research

First Edition: June 23, 2014

Lack of federal funding and Medicaid expansions can impact community health centers

Doctors weigh how to use new heart-valve procedure

First Edition: June 17, 2014

Viewpoints: Could Congress sue Obama?; abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers

State highlights: New La. abortion restrictions; new Mass. hospital deal; Medicare and ambulances in N.J.

First Edition: June 13, 2014

With Cantor stepping down as majority leader, GOP efforts to 'replace' health law face a bigger challenge

First Edition: June 12, 2014

Viewpoints: Cantor was no RINO; battles over Medicaid in Va. and Ind.; reforms moving for VA

VA audit finds 57,000 vets have been waiting for more than 3 months for care

First Edition: June 10, 2014

State highlights: Improving chronic care in Las Vegas; standoff over Medicaid in N.C.

First Edition: June 9, 2014

Pa. House committee advances bill to expand Medicaid eligibility

Viewpoints: No return to 'bad-old days' of mental health commitments; fighting over school lunches; doctors' role in reform

Commentary on VA shake-up:Inadequate performance measures; Congress must do its part; similarities to Medicare

Viewpoints: GOP needs to refine its message on health law; battle over school lunches

GOP candidates expanding their campaign-trail messages beyond the health law

First Edition: June 2, 2014

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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