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Research roundup: End-of-life preferences; surviving trauma when older; ACA's big waiver for states

Policies and practices that promote advance care planning and advance directive completion implicitly assume that patients' choices for end-of-life (EOL) care are stable over time, even with changes in health status.

31 May 2014

Lawmaker pushes mental health reform bill in the wake of recent Calif. shooting

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., held a forum Thursday in an effort to build momentum and consensus around this legislation.

31 May 2014

Viewpoints: VA's problems begin with Congress; costly hepatitis drug may be a good buy

Politically, this critique of the VA is a no-brainer. After all, denying, delaying or incompetently delivering benefits to veterans who are entitled to them and have sacrificed so much for us is grotesque: the moral equivalent of kicking dogs and stealing food from children.

31 May 2014

Viewpoints: Cutting costs for patients with chronic illness; Gov. Pence's change of Heart; fix the VA

Most health care plans ask that you spend some money out of your pocket whenever you use the health care system. This is known as cost-sharing .... Cost-sharing works for most people, because most people are healthy. Healthy people who use health care are often doing so inefficiently.

21 May 2014

Study: Medicaid patients' health could impact health law's bottom line

The New York Times reports on a news study concluding that Medicaid surgery patients ultimately cost more than those on private insurance -- a finding that may foreshadow what happens as the Medicaid rolls grow under the health law.

20 May 2014

First Edition: May 16, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Indiana governor's alternative plan to expand Medicaid. Kaiser Health News staff writer Sarah Varney, working in collaboration with PBS Newshour, reports: "Men and women involved in the criminal justice system are more likely to be sicker than the general population, with higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, depression, mood disorders and alcohol and drug addiction.

16 May 2014

State highlights: Budget surplus in Calif., but higher Medi-Cal costs; court-ordered mental health care in Calif.; nurses' authority in Minn.

A selection of health policy stories from California, Minnesota, Georgia, Washington state, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Illinois and Maryland.

15 May 2014

First Edition: May 14, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about consumer frustrations about cost and coverage issues that are emerging with the health law's implementation.

14 May 2014

Highlights: Mass. death rate drops after universal coverage; Calif. immigrant licensing; Calif. offenders mental health treatment

The mortality rate in Massachusetts declined substantially in the four years after the state enacted a law in 2006 mandating universal health care coverage, providing the model for the Affordable Care Act.

13 May 2014

Viewpoints: House chairman calls for Shinseki resignation; Hagan's case for Obamacare

Since January of 2013, I've served as the chairman of the House Veterans' Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, which is tasked with the oversight responsibility of making sure that the VA meets all of our nation's obligations to our veterans.

12 May 2014

Obama's pick to head HHS draws praise from Democrats and Republicans during first confirmation hearing

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who has been nominated by the White House to become the next Health and Human Services secretary, also faced tough questions about the health law's implementation and the trouble-plagued healthcare.gov. Her answers revealed some policy positions and what her priorities will be if she wins the Senate's OK.

12 May 2014

Research roundup: Unearthing factors in hospital readmissions; dissecting the enrollment surge

Using inpatient data from an urban teaching hospital, we examined how elements of individual characteristics and neighborhood socioeconomic status influenced the likelihood of readmission ... Patients living in high-poverty neighborhoods were 24 percent more likely than others to be readmitted, after demographic characteristics and clinical conditions were adjusted for. Married patients were at significantly reduced risk of readmission, which suggests that they had more social support than unmarried patients. These and previous findings that document socioeconomic disparities in readmission raise the question of whether CMS's readmission measures and associated financial penalties should be adjusted for the effects of factors beyond hospital influence at the individual or neighborhood level, such as poverty and lack of social support (Hu, Gonsahn and Nerenz, May 2014).

12 May 2014

Insurers to House panel: Payment rates above 80% for plans purchased on health exchanges

Officials from the major insurance companies were not following themes of gloom and doom and instead told the Energy and Commerce Committee that the overhaul has not triggered a government takeover of their industry, and that their stock prices are doing well.

9 May 2014

First Edition: May 8, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from a Capitol Hill hearing featuring health insurers' testimony about their experiences with new enrollment under the health law.

8 May 2014

House Democrats offer alternative mental health proposal

Many view the plan as controversial because it could hinder efforts toward bipartisan mental health reforms. Republicans offered their own measure about six months ago.

8 May 2014

Insurers say most Obamacare enrollees pay first premium

But they say the eight million enrollment figure includes many duplicate signups, The New York Times reports. News outlets also report on a health law provision that extends Medicaid coverage for former foster children until they turn 26.

7 May 2014

Viewpoints: Battle for Medicaid; GOP's report on enrollment off base; need for kidney donations

The final battle of the war over the Affordable Care Act is being waged today over expanding Medicaid. ... The refusal of more than half the states to cover so many of their neediest citizens -; the number who have fallen into the "coverage gap" is estimated at 5 million -; amazes and frustrates health experts.

6 May 2014

Massachusetts' health reform law decreases mortality by 2.9%

In the first four years after Massachusetts instituted comprehensive health reform in 2006, mortality in the state decreased by 2.9% compared with similar populations in states that didn't expand health coverage, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health researchers.

6 May 2014

Laid-off workers must be notified of health exchange options

The Obama administration issued a rule Friday requiring employers to inform laid-off workers that, in addition to paying the full cost of their former work-based coverage under COBRA, former employees also have the option of buying insurance through the health law's online marketplaces.

6 May 2014

First Edition: May 5, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how President Barack Obama poked fun at the health law during his White House Correspondents' Dinner speech.

5 May 2014

Health Reform News and Research

Research roundup: End-of-life preferences; surviving trauma when older; ACA's big waiver for states

Lawmaker pushes mental health reform bill in the wake of recent Calif. shooting

Viewpoints: VA's problems begin with Congress; costly hepatitis drug may be a good buy

Viewpoints: Cutting costs for patients with chronic illness; Gov. Pence's change of Heart; fix the VA

Study: Medicaid patients' health could impact health law's bottom line

First Edition: May 16, 2014

State highlights: Budget surplus in Calif., but higher Medi-Cal costs; court-ordered mental health care in Calif.; nurses' authority in Minn.

First Edition: May 14, 2014

Highlights: Mass. death rate drops after universal coverage; Calif. immigrant licensing; Calif. offenders mental health treatment

Viewpoints: House chairman calls for Shinseki resignation; Hagan's case for Obamacare

Obama's pick to head HHS draws praise from Democrats and Republicans during first confirmation hearing

Research roundup: Unearthing factors in hospital readmissions; dissecting the enrollment surge

Insurers to House panel: Payment rates above 80% for plans purchased on health exchanges

First Edition: May 8, 2014

House Democrats offer alternative mental health proposal

Insurers say most Obamacare enrollees pay first premium

Viewpoints: Battle for Medicaid; GOP's report on enrollment off base; need for kidney donations

Massachusetts' health reform law decreases mortality by 2.9%

Laid-off workers must be notified of health exchange options

First Edition: May 5, 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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