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Implementation issues: Coverage 'ping pong' among emerging concerns

The notion of how life events could cause disrupted health coverage is a focus for policy makers. In addition, news outlets also are reporting on developments related to high-risk pools, and a break between the White House and organized labor regarding how the implementation process is shaping up.

22 May 2013

State roundup: Nearly 13,000 Calif. hospital workers set to strike

Respiratory therapists, nursing aides, surgical technicians and other patient care workers plan to stage a walkout starting Tuesday morning at five University of California medical centers. More than 12,000 workers from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are expected to participate in the two-day strike over staffing, pay and pension reform, union officials said. An additional 3,400 workers from the University Professional and Technical Employees union plan a one-day sympathy strike (Gorman, 5/21).

22 May 2013

First Edition: May 21, 2013

Today's headlines include stories examining how the approaching implementation of some health law provisions is highlighting key policy questions.

21 May 2013

Roundup: Okla. governor pushes funding fix to cover 9,000 on Medicaid; Texas lawmakers OK new mental health funds

Gov. Mary Fallin proposed a last-minute legislative change Friday to the state's Insure Oklahoma program that would direct $50 million in state tobacco taxes to pay for more than 9,000 people who are expected to lose their health insurance under the program.

21 May 2013

First Edition: May 20, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the policy and political issues currently surrounding the health law's implementation.

20 May 2013

Republicans ask GAO to probe Sebelius' fundraising

GOP lawmakers seek an investigation of the Health and Human Services secretary's efforts to secure more funding for a private group that will help with the implementation of the health law. At the same time, an HHS spokesman offered more detail regarding whom she contacted.

18 May 2013

Biostar Pharmaceuticals revenue decreases 23.9% to $12.1 million in first quarter 2013

Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a PRC-based manufacturer and marketer of pharmaceutical and health supplement products in China for a variety of diseases and conditions, today announced financial results of the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

16 May 2013

New guidelines to reduce early elective deliveries cut NICU admissions by 50%

New guidelines to reduce early elective deliveries at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies have cut by 50 percent the admission of late pre-term newborns (37-38 weeks gestation) into the neonatal intensive care unit, resulting in healthcare cost savings.

16 May 2013

Job prospects for nurses not so rosy

Amber Tench did her homework before deciding to enter a two-year nursing program last year. She talked with nurses, met with career counselors and searched the Internet. Then she took the leap.

14 May 2013

Sebelius raises eyebrows by soliciting donations for health law outreach

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has asked businesses and charitable groups to make large donations to help underwrite the costs of public outreach associated with the overhaul. A GOP leader is questioning the legality of the efforts.

14 May 2013

Medicaid opinions: Several state leaders come in for heat for not moving toward expansion

Editorials and columnists in several papers around the country pressed officials toward accepting a Medicaid expansion and offered suggestions about implementation. Also, comments continued about a recent study on Medicaid.

14 May 2013

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

There has been a flurry of recent attention over two novel infectious agents: the first, a strain of avian influenza virus (H7N9) in China that is causing severe respiratory disease and other serious health complications in people; the second, a coronavirus, first reported last year in the Middle East, that has brought a crop of new infections.

13 May 2013

Senate bill on FDA oversight of compounding pharmacies gets broad backing as hearings move closer

A bill to give the FDA greater authority over compounding pharmacies like the one behind a deadly meningitis outbreak gets broad -- including bipartisan -- backing, and a key committee chairman readies a hearing on the legislation.

13 May 2013

Feds offer positive signals about progress on health exchanges

USA Today reports that federal officials say the government is meeting deadlines, testing systems and putting the infrastructure in place to get these online insurance marketplaces up and running. Also, Modern Healthcare reports that the National Association of Health Underwriters is urging extensive training for the exchange navigators.

13 May 2013

Harkin lifts hold on Tavenner nomination to lead CMS

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the timing for a Senate vote on her confirmation as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is unclear.

9 May 2013

Delivery services at birth center safe for low-income women and their infants

Low-income women who chose to deliver their baby at a birthing center under the care of a certified nurse-midwife had the same or better birthing experience as women under traditional care with a hospital-based obstetrician, according to a new study in Health Services Research.

9 May 2013

Viewpoints: Medicaid's effect on health debated; Young adults central to lowering anxiety about online marketplaces

A study comparing low-income people in Oregon who received access to Medicaid over the past two years with those who did not, found that those on Medicaid visited doctors and hospitals more often, suffered less from depression and were more financially secure.

8 May 2013

Gaining weight during pregnancy causes increased risk for tears during delivery

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of lacerations during vaginal childbirth, according to a study conducted by researchers at Montefiore Medical Center.

8 May 2013

Nationwide movement against early elective deliveries prompts U.S. hospitals to adopt new policies

A national movement to eliminate non-medically indicated (NMI) delivery before 39 weeks has prompted nearly two-thirds of all U.S. hospitals handling non-emergency births to adopt specific policies against the practice, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

7 May 2013

Prior administration of erythropoietin reduces need for blood transfusions

Anemia increases operative mortality and morbidity in non-cardiac and cardiac surgical procedures. Anemic surgical patients may require more blood transfusions, raising the risk of transfusion-related complications and increasing costs.

7 May 2013