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Insurance exchanges become health law opponents' latest target

Also in the news, the latest developments from California, Mississippi, Vermont, Kansas, Minnesota and New Hampshire regarding the law's online insurance marketplaces.

29 May 2013

Market pressures may keep premiums low as health law kicks in

USA Today reports this optimisitic view is offered by some industry analysts and health insurance officials. Meanwhile, Politico does a status check on the legal challenges to the health law's birth control mandate. News reports also track the latest regarding the Internal Revenue Service controversy and the overhaul.

23 May 2013

First Edition: May 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the Medicaid expansion is shaking out in Virginia and Texas, as well as a report about the role health care is playing as the House attempts to negotiate an immigration reform measure.

22 May 2013

Scientists design 'fishing' technique to show health benefits of foods

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death.

21 May 2013

Republicans pressing link between Obamacare and IRS scandal

News coverage of the ongoing IRS scandal is focusing on Republican criticism of Sarah Hall Ingram, who is now in charge of helping to implement the health care law.

20 May 2013

IRS controversy fuels Republican health law opposition

Just as the House took its 37th vote to repeal the health law, largely along party lines, the Republicans held their first hearing on the IRS's tax-exempt and government-entities division. Several media outlets report that Sarah Hall Ingram, who led the division when the questioned operations began, is now in charge of the branch overseeing implementation of parts of the health law.

18 May 2013

Conservative lawmakers seek to capitalize on link between current 'scandals' and health law

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., was among the members of Congress linking the I.R.S. scandal to the repeal vote and even talk of impeachment.

18 May 2013

First Edition: May 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the GOP vote to repeal the health law -- for the 37th time -- as well as how the current IRS scandal is being connected to the health law's implementation.

17 May 2013

Weekend reading: Volunteers in the battle with heart disease; Psychiatry without medication; Owning your genes

Psychiatrists who take time with their patients are not the norm. It's not because others don't care. Rather the system rewards efficiency, not empathy.

17 May 2013

Humans: The primary cause of global climate change

Do most scientists agree that human activity is causing global climate change? Yes, they do, according to an extensive analysis of the abstracts or summaries of scientific papers published over the past 20 years, even though public perception tends to be that climate scientists disagree over the fundamental cause of climate change.

17 May 2013

GOP probe Sebelius' fundraising for health law outreach

Congressional Republicans want to know whom she contacted and what other HHS officials are involved, while Sen. Lamar Alexander said he would ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate. A Sebelius spokesman said her actions were legal, and that she had not solicited pharmaceutical and insurance companies regulated by the agency.

15 May 2013

Experts to give advice and guidance on managing pain among older adults

Older adults living with chronic pain, as well as their families and carers, have the opportunity to give their views to health experts at the University of Greenwich.

14 May 2013

GOP supermajority in Missouri scuttles Medicaid expansion plans

Lawmakers opt to set up committees to study the issue instead. In Texas, some tea party-affiliated lawmakers threaten to reject the state budget if negotiators include a rider that would allow discussions about expanding coverage with the federal government. Efforts in California, meanwhile, move forward with a $26.5 million injection from the California Endowment.

9 May 2013

Coca-Cola reveals four global business commitments to fight Obesity

The Coca-Cola Company today announces four global business commitments to further contribute to healthier, happier, and more active communities.

8 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

Reid adds to Capitol Hill Democrats' concerns about health law implementation

Senate majority leader becomes the latest prominent Democrat to express concerns about the roll-out of the law, placing blame on Obama administration and on Republicans for resisting adequate funding.

4 May 2013

Study: Green tea extract with polyethylene glycol could help control body weight gain

Evidence has shown that green tea extract may be an effective herbal remedy useful for weight control and helping to regulate glucose in type 2 diabetes.

30 Apr 2013

Sen. Baucus' retirement leaves door open for Sen. Wyden on health issues

Sen. Max Baucus' announcement Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in 2014 could open the door for Sen. Ron Wyden to become the most powerful Senate Democrat on health care issues. Some groups are claiming victory on the retirement announcement while others look at what Wyden could accomplish.

25 Apr 2013

Preventive measures to recover from hoarse voice

It's that time of year again, sports fans. We've marched through March Madness, when NCAA basketball playoff brackets bloomed and died and Cinderella stories rose from the shadows to revel in momentary glory.

6 Apr 2013

Journalists, experts discuss China's response to H7N9 outbreak

In a conversation in the ChinaFile blog, David Wertime, co-founder and co-editor of Tea Leaf Nation, an English-language online magazine that analyzes Chinese social media, speaks with Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations; journalist Isabel Hilton; Donald Clarke, a professor at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.; Susan Jakes, editor of ChinaFile; Dorinda Elliott, editor at large at ChinaFile; and James Fallows, a correspondent for The Atlantic, about the emergence of a new strain of avian flu called H7N9 in China and the country's response to the outbreak so far.

6 Apr 2013