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Abortion-rights supporters worry strict new rules could shutter Virginia abortion clinics

Newly passed regulations adopted Friday in Virginia will require many abortion clinics there to undergo costly renovations, a move that opponents say is aimed at forcing the clinics closed.

16 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the Medicare provisions in the budget plan released last week by President Barack Obama as well as previews of the Supreme Court's consideration of arguments regarding whether human genes can be patented.

15 Apr 2013

Virginia's new restrictive abortion building codes part of a national trend

Abortion rights supporters and opponents reacted strongly to Friday's decision by Virginia's Board of Health, which is expected to be approved by the governor.

15 Apr 2013

Catholics for Choice not happy with Obama's support for abortion restrictions

"Under the president's budget for FY 2014, more than nine million women—women who are young, poor or disabled, as well as women serving our country in the military, the Peace Corps, the civil service and many others—will be denied coverage for abortion," said Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice.

15 Apr 2013

Ryan: Strong GOP opposition to abortion will boost party's prospects

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012, said Thursday that anti-abortion activists should work with abortion-rights counterparts to advance their agenda and that the GOP must stay strong on the issue.

15 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 12, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about a new study measuring how the health law has expanded young adults access to care.

12 Apr 2013

State highlights: Blue Shield could lose exclusive contract for Calif. workers, retirees; Texas health commission asks for increase in Medicaid premiums

Blue Shield of California may be losing its longtime grip on one of the health care industry's most coveted insurance contracts. Officials at the California Public Employees' Retirement System are recommending breaking up Blue Shield's current statewide HMO contract and replacing it with as many as four health plans for more than 400,000 public workers and their families (Terhune, 4/11).

12 Apr 2013

Kansas joins other states as lawmakers approve bold new abortion restrictions

Analysis follows Kansas lawmakers' decision to place bold new restrictions on abortion, including defining life as beginning at conception. Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to sign the bill. Also, Alaska lawmakers also pass their own bill further restricting abortion.

11 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 10, 2013

Today's headlines include more details and analysis regarding President Barack Obama's budget plan and how it handles Medicare and other entitlement programs.

10 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Looking for the budget's true bottom line; The debate on Plan B reignited; Medicare cuts have impact

President Obama will release his overdue budget on Wednesday. It will doubtless project a reduction in the federal budget deficit-;a projection that journalists, commentators and policy makers should ignore.

10 Apr 2013

State roundup: Ga. smoker surcharge could be working; States clamp down on early deliveries; Calif. groups want Medi-Cal transition pause over coverage concerns

State officials say the number of Georgians in the state employee health plan paying $80 more a month in insurance premiums due to smoking has dropped by 44 percent over the past six years.

10 Apr 2013

Roundup: Abortion restriction measure goes to Kan. governor's desk

Kansas legislators gave final passage to a sweeping anti-abortion measure Friday night, sending Gov. Sam Brownback a bill that declares life begins "at fertilization" while blocking tax breaks for abortion providers and banning abortions performed solely because of the baby's sex.

9 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 8, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the politics surrounding the Wednesday unveiling of President Barack Obama's budget as well as other news about the health law's implementation.

8 Apr 2013

Fighting for abortion rights in Ecuador

Writing in RH Reality Check, Heather Sayette of Planned Parenthood Global/Latin America examines how Ecuador's newly re-elected President Rafael Correa this week "voiced unconditional support for contraception, including emergency contraception."

6 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: A doctor finds father's hospital care frightening; Politicization of science has hurt research funding

Three years ago, on a Friday afternoon, I received a frantic phone call from my mother. My active and healthy father was in the hospital with a suspected stroke. I immediately started driving to New Jersey, where they lived. I knew I had to be there to ensure that my dad would be safe. He had been taken to one of the most dangerous places in the world: a hospital. The story of my dad's three day stay in a major American teaching hospital is remarkably unremarkable (Ashish Jha, 4/5).

6 Apr 2013

Spate of state actions worries abortion-rights advocates, divides lawmakers

The advocates fear that a recent spate of measures, including one recently approved by lawmakers in Alabama, could roll back availability of abortions, while a debate in Virginia on the issue opens a chasm among lawmakers.

6 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 5, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how President Barack Obama's budget proposal -- to be released next week -- will handle Medicare and Medicaid.

5 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Rove offers strategy to fight Democrats' 'Mediscare' tactics; GOP offers no 'pragmatic alternative' to health law

The midterm election is still 19 months away, but for some it's never too early for demagoguery. And so this week the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a new "Mediscare" ad.

5 Apr 2013

Ala. lawmakers approve controversial new abortion clinic regulations

The measure, which still must be signed by the governor, would make abortion clinics use doctors with admitting privileges at local hospitals, a move opponents say could force the state's five clinics to close.

5 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 4, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby, working in collaboration with USA Today, reports: "It's not just sore throats and flu shots anymore. Walgreens today became the first retail store chain to expand its health care services to include diagnosing and treating patients for chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and high cholesterol. The move is the retail industry's boldest push yet into an area long controlled by physicians, and comes amid continuing concerns about health care costs and a potential shortage of primary care doctors" (Appleby, 4/4).

4 Apr 2013