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First Edition: January 17, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from Capitol Hill about passage of a $1.1 billion spending bill as well as testimony by an Obama administration official about healthcare.gov

17 Jan 2014

In states opposed to health law, many low-income residents are left out

Politico examines the stark differences in the impact of the Affordable Care Act between Republican-led states fighting it and others that have accepted the health overhaul. Meanwhile, USA Today finds that even with the law, many consumers will face troubling medical debt.

16 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 15, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that people who get their health insurance through high-risk insurance pools will have an extra two months before this program ends.

15 Jan 2014

State-specific numbers highlight December enrollment surge

Various news outlets report on the enrollment totals through December -- and some demographic data -- for Alabama, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Georgia, California, Illinois and others.

15 Jan 2014

Insurance sign-ups skew older, spurring cost concerns

Halfway through the six-month enrollment period for private insurance under the health care law, just one in four adult enrollees are between ages 18 and 34, the crucial demographic group whose participation rates are key to keeping monthly premiums affordable.

15 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 13, 2014

Today's headlines include news about how the health law's enrollment process is working and about the federal government's decision not to renew the contract for the company that was overseeing the repairs for healthcare.gov.

13 Jan 2014

Lung cancer incidence rates decrease more rapidly among U.S. men and women

Tobacco control efforts are having a major impact on Americans' health, a new analysis of lung-cancer data suggests. The rate of new lung cancer cases decreased among men and women in the United States from 2005 to 2009, according to a report in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

10 Jan 2014

Calif. extends payment deadline for new insurance plans; Md. gov. to push emergency legislation for exchange woes

Meanwhile, news outlets also report on state health law implementation action in Minnesota, Iowa and Pennsylvania.

7 Jan 2014

Researchers hope to improve treatment, survival rates of ischemic heart disease

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center hope to improve treatment and survival rates of ischemic heart disease patients by providing doctors an unprecedented look at the stents they place in coronary arteries.

6 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the health law fits into the Capitol Hill agenda for the year ahead.

6 Jan 2014

Confusion for people who enrolled in Medicaid on healthcare.gov

Some people who applied early in the open enrollment period may not actually be signed up for the program and may be flummoxed by federal robocalls encouraging them to apply again directly to state agencies. Also, news outlets offer updates from Missouri, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

6 Jan 2014

After bumpy launch, consumers start using health law coverage

Nearly four years after passage of the health law, its major provisions finally took effect Jan. 1 and millions of Americans are about to see how it really works. Media outlets offer tip sheets to consumers and report on the challenges that lie ahead.

2 Jan 2014

First Edition: Jan. 2, 2014

The early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about what to expect of the health law in 2014.

2 Jan 2014

White House: More than 1 million now enrolled in Obamacare

Nearly 1 million people signed up for health insurance through the federal Obamacare exchanges between Dec. 1 and the Dec. 24 deadline for getting coverage by the start of the new year, according to figures released by the administration Sunday. The 975,000 people who enrolled during that window bring the total number of federal sign-ups to more than 1.1 million since the rocky rollout of the government's Healthcare.gov website on Oct. 1 (Allen, 12/29).

30 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: 'Parade of delays' on health law; McConnell on White House 'stunts;' update on SHOP exchange

If the website malfunctions in October and November were infuriating to supporters of health care reform, the continuing parade of delays that followed it have simply been depressing. They have contributed to the impression that the Obama administration is desperately trying to keep the new system from spinning out of control, countering the good news that 1.2 million people have signed up for insurance through the federal and state exchanges. ... Having cracked once on this subject, the White House will be pushed to do so more forcefully by the law's critics when the policies take effect next month. This should be the last concession (David Firestone, 12/23).

25 Dec 2013

In state-run exchanges, last minute rush to enroll in coverage

States who run their own health insurance exchanges are trying to cope with people attempting to enroll before the deadline to get coverage that would begin Jan. 1.

24 Dec 2013

Monday's deadline to buy health law insurance coverage leaves many scrambling

People who want policies in place by Jan. 1 face a deadline today, but a series of changes in how the health law is being implemented has complicated the process for consumers and insurers.

24 Dec 2013

Insurers unnerved by rule changes for consumers with canceled policies

The Obama administration's announcement last week that consumers whose policies had been canceled could buy catastrophic health plans and were also exempt from the law's mandate in the first year spurred handwringing in some quarters.

24 Dec 2013

New optical device puts the power to detect retinal disease in the palm of a hand

A new optical device puts the power to detect eye disease in the palm of a hand. The tool-about the size of a hand-held video camera-scans a patient's entire retina in seconds and could aid primary care physicians in the early detection of a host of retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

22 Dec 2013

'Deluge' of signups reported by some state exchanges

A handful of states with relatively smoothly operating insurance websites have seen enrollment increases of 30 percent to 40 percent this week. But others, including Massachusetts, Maryland and Colorado, continue to experience political as well as technical challenges.

20 Dec 2013