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Ex-Microsoft exec takes over HealthCare.gov fixes

Kurt DelBene, who previously was president of the Microsoft Office Division, was named by President Barack Obama to replace Jeffrey D. Zients and oversee efforts to rescue the federal government's health care website.

19 Dec 2013

Maryland insurers agree to delay deadline for Jan. 1 enrollment

For consumers seeking coverage on the state's health exchange, Maryland's insurers will extend the enrollment deadline from Dec. 23 to Dec. 27. Rhode Island also plans to extend its deadline. Meanwhile, news outlets offer updates from Texas, Connecticut, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington.

19 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 18, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the former Microsoft executive who has been tapped by the Obama administration to take over the repairs of healthcare.gov.

18 Dec 2013

Problems in states' health insurance exchanges persist as officials ready deadline push

In Maryland, Gov. Martin O'Malley has hired new contractors to make sure the state's online health insurance exchange works properly even as new problems arise. In the meantime, Minnesota lawmakers are sparring over fixes to that state's exchange and California's marketplace faces enrollment challenges as deadlines loom.

17 Dec 2013

Obama seeks advice on healthcare.gov from tech giants

President Barack Obama was slated to meet Tuesday with executives from leading technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, to solicit suggestions on the federal health care exchange website. The impact of federal surveillance efforts on those companies is also expected to come up.

17 Dec 2013

Fix in health website helps stop freefall in Obama's popularity

An ABC News/Washington Post poll suggests opposition to the health law has eased in the past month. Meanwhile, the administration says that the president will soon name someone to replace Jeffrey Zients to oversee the operation of the insurance website.

17 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the health law is viewed by immigrant populations.

17 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Health law still facing major challenges; Ky. gov. questions McConnell's assessment of overhaul; Pa.'s Medicaid experiment is a 'sham'

The White House is claiming that the Healthcare.gov website is mostly fixed, that the millions of Americans whose health plans were canceled thanks to government rules may be able to keep them for another year, and that in any event these people will get better plans through ObamaCare exchanges. Whatever the truth of these assertions, those who expect better days ahead for the Affordable Care Act are in for a rude awakening. The shocks-;economic and political-;will get much worse next year and beyond (Michael J. Boskin, 12/15).

17 Dec 2013

States race to fix insurance exchange glitches

In Maryland, Vermont and Oregon, state officials are still hammering out technological issues preventing consumers from signing up for coverage. In California, in contrast, the pace of enrollment in December has been nearly three times that of a month earlier as the deadline approaches to sign up for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

17 Dec 2013

Groups say Md. health insurance exchange problems could leave people without Jan. 1 coverage

In the meantime, despite considering delaying the launch of the exchange, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday that he is confident that problems with the website will be fixed and that the exchange will meet its goal of enrolling 260,000 by the end of March 2014.

16 Dec 2013

Red state residents enrolling in Obamacare at lower rates

People in GOP-controlled states are signing up for coverage in the health law's exchanges at lower rates than those in blue states, reports the Associated Press. Meanwhile, news outlets offer snapshots of how signups are going in Montana, Wyoming, Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state.

16 Dec 2013

UTHealth professor wins Founders' Laurel Award for exceptional service in the field of medical education

Arthur L. Day, M.D., professor of neurosurgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and a neurosurgeon at the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, has received one of the top honors awarded by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

14 Dec 2013

Calif. exchange enrolls 7,100 a day, but Latinos lag

More than 156,000 have selected plans in California's online health insurance exchange, officials said, but some enrollees have not gotten confirmation from insurers, which means their policies may not start Jan. 1.

14 Dec 2013

Many health law exchange plans have 'narrow networks'

Some new health insurance plans sold through the health law's online insurance exchanges -- in an effort to keep premiums down -- severely limit where new enrollees can get care.

13 Dec 2013

New enrollment figures give clearer view of exchange efforts in states

Officials in California, Maryland, Illinois, Kansas and Georgia give status checks on their online health insurance exchanges. In the meantime, officials in Oregon are pressuring their website contractor, Oracle, to speed up fixes to the marketplace as insurers consider extending deadlines there.

13 Dec 2013

Health law presents new challenge for small businesses

Large numbers of small entrepreneurs have not yet focused on the law, and their responses for employee coverage are expected to vary. Meanwhile, news outlets examine some of the issues around paying premiums and other insurance issues.

13 Dec 2013

Findings may help clinicians determine which hospitalized children at greatest risk of VTE

Life-threatening blood clots occur so rarely in children that the condition, known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), is often not on pediatricians' mental radar screens - an absence that can lead to woefully delayed recognition and treatment.

12 Dec 2013

Avinger closes significant funding round to initiate clinical trial on peripheral atherectomy catheter

Avinger, Inc. producer of therapeutic devices incorporating intravascular imaging and pioneer of the lumivascular approach to treating vascular disease, announced today the closing of a significant funding round.

12 Dec 2013

Democrats press N.C. to expand Medicaid; Ohio launches Medicaid signup site

The White House asks two top North Carolina Democrats to urge Gov. Pat McCrory and state lawmakers to reconsider a health law provision to cover more low income people. Meanwhile, Ohio reports that more than 1,100 residents signed up for Medicaid on the first day a signup site went live.

10 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 10, 2103

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how health law advocates are developing new messaging strategies.

10 Dec 2013