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Two GOP Senators push to choke off IRS health law implementation funds

Also in the news, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is positioning himself to be the lead sponsor of legislation that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. Meanwhile, the nursing home industry is stepping up its lobbying efforts to protect its Medicare funding.

26 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 25, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about WellPoint's second-quarter profits and the Insitute of Medicine's findings about geographic varitions in Medicare spending.

25 Jul 2013

State abortion clinic restrictions could impact women's health care access

Stateline reports that abortion opponents are advancing new clinic standards that may be impossible to meet. Abortion rights supporters fear these rules could force many clinics to close, making it more difficult for some women to get a broad array of health care services.

25 Jul 2013

Federal judge blocks North Dakota fetal heartbeat abortion law

The ban would prevent abortions in that state after a fetal heartbeat could be detected -- as early as six weeks into pregnancy, in some cases.

24 Jul 2013

Abortion is energizing both parties on Capitol Hill

Roll Call reports that even though no legislation is expected to pass this year on abortion, the issue is galvanizing partisans. Also in congressional news, outlets look at GOP efforts to end funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and an effort to improve VA health records.

24 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 23, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the White House is enlisting celebrities to aid efforts to enroll young people in the health insurance plans that will kick in this fall as a result of the health law.

23 Jul 2013

Defining '20 weeks' of pregnancy -- states and doctors don't agree

NPR reports that the way most states define what constitutes 20 weeks of pregnancy in their abortion laws isn't the same way most doctors define it. In the meantime, Mexican abortion pill sellers just across the border from Texas expect a boon after that state's new abortion restrictions.

23 Jul 2013

Researchers develop microbial washing technique to decontaminate fetal tissues

The use of central nervous system fetal tissues derived from routine elective abortions to provide stem cells for transplantation procedures aimed at restoring damage done by neurodegenerative diseases is an established therapy.

23 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the continuing efforts in opposition to the health law as well as a Washington Post investigation into a "flaw" in U.S. health care pricing.

22 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Expanding abortion restrictions; Lift the ban on gay blood donors; Medicare's price schedules

What's going on in Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa ought to be a wake-up call to Minnesotans who prefer that physicians, not politicians, guide an individual's medical care. Minnesota's neighbors have moved with alarming alacrity to cripple women's access to a safe and legal medical procedure -; abortion (7/18).

20 Jul 2013

Texas Gov. Perry signs abortion restrictions into law; fights still likely

Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed controversial abortion restrictions into law Thursday, even as abortion-rights supporters readied challenges and said the law will force all five of the state's abortion providers to close. Reuters, in the meantime, reports why that might not be true.

20 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 19, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of President Barack Obama's Thursday speech pitching the positives of the health law.

19 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Baucus applauds 'listening to customers' on employer mandate delay; Unions 'wake up' to problems with health law; Medicare's 'two midnights' rule

Any successful business leader will tell you the importance of listening to customers, gathering their input and suggestions and always putting them first. That lesson was not lost on the Obama administration earlier this month when it correctly decided to push back the implementation of the Affordable Care Act's employer responsibility provision -; the employer mandate -; until 2015. I'm sure this was a tough call, but it was the right one. It shows the administration is listening to the business community and working to address its concerns, as well as the concerns of Congress (Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., 7/17).

19 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Running out of money in old age; GOP favors the Pentagon over Americans' health care; Texas Senator's support on abortion stand doesn't reflect American attitudes

Nearly half of all Americans will outlive their assets, dying with practically no money at all. Even more worrisome, that's true even among households that met the traditional standards for secure retirement income. ... The results can be measured in more than merely dollars and cents. [MIT Economist James] Poterba's paper found that this group is "disproportionately in poor health," in part because they have no resources to cover medical expenses outside Medicare. Most shocking, many of these households were considered to have entered retirement in good financial shape; they didn't count on outliving their plans (Michael Hiltzik, 7/16).

18 Jul 2013

State highlights: Poll says N.C. abortion bill hurting Governor support

A selection of health policy stories from North Carolina, California and Virginia.

18 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 17, 2013

Today's headlines include a report about how the delay of the health law's employer mandate might undermine enforcement of the measure's individual mandate as well as news that the House will consider a bill that would put off both of these provisions.

17 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Does your doctor favor more expensive drugs?; Texas Sen. Wendy Davis says abortion law threatens 'health and safety' of women

Your doctor hands you a prescription for a blood pressure drug. But is it the right one for you? You're searching for a new primary-care physician or a specialist. Is there a way you can know whether the doctor is more partial to expensive, brand-name drugs than his peers? (Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, 7/16).

17 Jul 2013

North Dakota judge strikes down state law on nonsurgical abortion drugs

The state judge issues an opinion from an April trial. In the meantime, new abortion and "personhood" proposals in that state rankle some medical professionals.

17 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 16, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews reports: "Since smokers' health-care costs tend to be higher than those of nonsmokers, is it reasonable for smokers to pay higher premiums when they buy insurance through the new state marketplaces that are scheduled to open in October? A handful of states and the District say the answer is no" (Andrews, 7/16).

16 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Disability insurance 'time bomb;' Leavitt on the lessons of Medicare Part D's rollout; Boys and eating disorders

Social Security for retirement and Medicare are the best known of the major entitlement programs with looming financial disasters. While some argue about when they will run out of money, their projected 75-year unfunded liabilities grow larger every year and now total $40 trillion, much worse thereafter. But the ticking time bomb of entitlement reform is Social Security's Disability Insurance Fund (Michael J. Boskin, 7/14).

16 Jul 2013