For business organization, the fight against the health law is not over

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at how social and religious issues -- including abortion and contraception -- are fitting in to the current campaign season. Also in the news, how the health law is playing in the North Dakota Senate race and how much money one health care lobbying organization has on hand for campaign contributions.

Los Angeles Times: How Will Social And Religious Issues Factor Into 2012 Election?
Will Mitt Romney's Mormon faith hurt him among evangelical (or other) voters? Will President Obama lose support among Catholics, a key voting bloc, because of his positions on abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage? In short, will social and religious issues play a significant role in this election, as they have in the past? Two polls released Thursday suggest an answer: Not so much (Landsberg, 7/26).

Bloomberg: Obama, Democrats Recasting Health Care to Blunt Attacks
Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democratic Senate candidate, has been buried by more than 2,000 Republican-sponsored television ads criticizing her for supporting President Barack Obama's health care law. Yet, Heitkamp, who is running in a Republican-leaning state, isn't ducking; she's punching back with an ad citing the law's most popular provisions, including prohibiting insurance companies from refusing coverage because of pre-existing conditions (Przybyla, 7/26).

Modern Healthcare: American Hospital Association Holds Lots Of Campaign Money In Reserve
With the November congressional and presidential elections a little more than three months away, provider advocates have ramped up their campaign giving -- with one notable exception. Provider political action committees already have taken in and distributed millions of dollars to both incumbents and challengers, but the largest such provider group -- run by the American Hospital Association -- has spent less than half of the money it has collected from members in the current election cycle (Daly, 7/26).