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Contraception, abortion, fetal care issues flare up in state legislatures

Women's health issues continue to roil politics in Texas, Mississippi and Nebraska.

6 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Support for drug benefit merger; Health reform comes too slowly for some patients; Pinpointing Romney's views on mandate

It seems counterintuitive, but the Federal Trade Commission has just decided that a $29 billion merger of two of the three largest companies that manage pharmaceutical benefits for employers and health plans -; Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions -; would not substantially lessen competition. That judgment deserves credence because of the thoroughness of the F.T.C.'s eight-month inquiry and the willingness of the agency to oppose other mergers when the evidence warrants.

6 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 5, 2012

In today's headlines, reports about how the budget debate is mixing into presidential poiltics.

5 Apr 2012

Catholic University ends birth control coverage; Texas plans grant applications to free money for Women's Health Program

A Catholic University in Ohio ends its health plan coverage of birth control, and Texas is planning to apply for federal block grants to free up money to use on its Women's Health Program, which is closing.

5 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Shouldering the health costs of the 'irresponsible'; Learning from the parallels between Obamacare and the 'war on terror'

The central idea of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -; the formal name of the Obamacare law -; emphasized in the hearings is to spread the cost of health care to ever-larger pools of Americans. In particular, to those who pay low health insurance premiums, the young who choose to have no insurance and the healthy.

4 Apr 2012

UCM to launch Medicine and Religion Faculty Scholars Program

Is a doctor's spirituality an obstacle or a benefit in the clinic? Does religious affiliation affect medical decision making? Can a spiritual calling protect doctors against career burnout? With a $2.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the University of Chicago Medicine will launch a new program to help faculty scholars study these questions and more about the role of spirituality in medical practice and education.

3 Apr 2012

State capitols: Social issues a hot topic; Iowa short on time for state budget; Kansas advances drug bills

Legislatures in Iowa and Kansas consider bills on health care, while Stateline looks at the social issues debates going on in many state capitols around the nation.

3 Apr 2012

State roundup: Texas, Minn. scrutinize psychiatric care

U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington are weighing whether to investigate potential civil rights violations of psychiatric patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Sarah Saldaña, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said the review stems from news stories in The Dallas Morning News exposing cases of neglect, violence and questionable deaths.

31 Mar 2012

Split Ariz. Republicans stall birth control bill; Kansas advances 'conscience' protections

A split in the Republican party between moderates and conservatives has stalled a birth control bill aimed at allowing employers to opt out of covering contraception in their health plans.

30 Mar 2012

Longer looks at Supreme Court battle: Interactions of justices are key to decision; Creating 'Zombie Obamacare'

Welcome to the world of the law, Supreme Court edition, where after Tuesday's remarkable hearing the five conservative justices appeared eager, or at least willing, to defend an unworkable status quo that rewards people who choose to blow off health insurance coverage knowing that they will be treated anyway if they show up ill at a hospital.

30 Mar 2012

Outside the court: Roaring rallies, rhetoric and reviews

The second day of the momentous Supreme Court hearing on President Obama's health law ended almost exactly at noon. By 12:03, many conservative lawmakers and television commentators who had been in the packed chambers stood on the marble steps outside, saying the health insurance mandate at the heart of the law appeared to be in deep trouble.

29 Mar 2012

States offer mixed legislative bag on abortion, birth control

Birth control and abortion legislation are making the rounds at state capitols. An abortion bill in Georgia was stopped Tuesday while Idaho backed away from its own pre-abortion ultrasound bill. Missouri advanced a bill to let some employers opt-out of providing coverage for contraception.

29 Mar 2012

Roundup: Abortion-restriction bills stopped in Ga.; Minnesota can cut health care aide pay; Guidelines for Ore. coordinated care released

One of the most controversial bills this legislative session, that sought to put new restrictions on late-term abortions, was all but gutted Monday after a bipartisan coalition in the state Senate forced key changes. The original proposal would have cut by about six weeks the time women in Georgia may have an elective abortion. With the changes, it would now also include an exemption for "medically futile" pregnancies, giving doctors the option to perform an abortion when a fetus has congenital or chromosomal defects. The change hits at the heart of the controversy: Should fetuses once they hit 20 weeks be protected even if those protections mean women are forced to continue medically risky pregnancies?

28 Mar 2012

Morning after pills difficult for teenagers to procure

Quite a few U.S. pharmacies may give teen girls incorrect information over the phone about whether they can get the morning-after pill. The pill is a form of emergency contraception taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy without a prescription, a new study suggests.

27 Mar 2012

State roundup: Wash. state exchange bill now law

Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday signed into law a bill setting rules for insurers preparing for the state's online-insurance exchange. ... The state exchanges for individual and small-group plans are set to go live on Jan. 1, 2014. ... State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said that his office is committed to getting the exchange in place on schedule. "If we slowed down to be anxious, we'd be in trouble," Kreidler said. "It's the health law, and we're proceeding as quickly and as prudently as we can."

27 Mar 2012

High court hears first day of health law arguments; Justices appear skeptical of jurisdictional question

Early reports provide insights into what went on inside the Court as justices contemplated whether the Anti-Injuction Act would preclude their review of the legal challenges to the individual mandate.

27 Mar 2012

Komen facing fundraising challenges, resignations of executives

U.S. breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure is feeling a pinch on donations following a controversy over its funding for Planned Parenthood, a leading provider of birth-control and abortion services. A few of the group's flagship "Race for the Cure" fundraising events have failed to meet targets, a Komen spokeswoman said on Friday.

26 Mar 2012

Romney, Santorum continue war of words over health law mandate, 'template'

Mitt Romney's record on the individual mandate is coming up again as fellow GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum continues his drum beat that Romney's Massachusetts health reform law was the "template" for the national overhaul.

23 Mar 2012

Hutchison calls on Perry to work with feds on women's health funding

The fight in Texas over its Women's Health Program and the dual defundings of Planned Parenthood by the state and the entire program by the federal government gained a new wrinkle as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, called on Gov. Rick Perry to work out the state's differences with the feds.

23 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Ryan budget not a balanced diet; DEA war on pharmacies; The debate over Medicaid block grants

The mother of all tax expenditures -; the tax-free treatment of employer-sponsored health insurance -; amounts to $2 trillion over 10 years in lost income-tax revenue, not including the additional impact on payroll tax collections.

23 Mar 2012

Abortion News and Research

Contraception, abortion, fetal care issues flare up in state legislatures

Viewpoints: Support for drug benefit merger; Health reform comes too slowly for some patients; Pinpointing Romney's views on mandate

First Edition: April 5, 2012

Catholic University ends birth control coverage; Texas plans grant applications to free money for Women's Health Program

Viewpoints: Shouldering the health costs of the 'irresponsible'; Learning from the parallels between Obamacare and the 'war on terror'

UCM to launch Medicine and Religion Faculty Scholars Program

State capitols: Social issues a hot topic; Iowa short on time for state budget; Kansas advances drug bills

State roundup: Texas, Minn. scrutinize psychiatric care

Split Ariz. Republicans stall birth control bill; Kansas advances 'conscience' protections

Longer looks at Supreme Court battle: Interactions of justices are key to decision; Creating 'Zombie Obamacare'

Outside the court: Roaring rallies, rhetoric and reviews

States offer mixed legislative bag on abortion, birth control

Roundup: Abortion-restriction bills stopped in Ga.; Minnesota can cut health care aide pay; Guidelines for Ore. coordinated care released

Morning after pills difficult for teenagers to procure

State roundup: Wash. state exchange bill now law

High court hears first day of health law arguments; Justices appear skeptical of jurisdictional question

Komen facing fundraising challenges, resignations of executives

Romney, Santorum continue war of words over health law mandate, 'template'

Hutchison calls on Perry to work with feds on women's health funding

Viewpoints: Ryan budget not a balanced diet; DEA war on pharmacies; The debate over Medicaid block grants

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