Feb 19 Lawmakers seek to help e-cigarette makers escape new regulations By Sheila Kaplan, STAT Congressional supporters of the tobacco industry have proposed legislation to help e-cigarette companies escape rules adopted under Obama. Continue reading
Feb 18 Treatment gaps persist between low- and high-income workers, even with insurance By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News Low-wage workers with job-based health insurance were significantly more likely than their higher-income colleagues to wind up in the emergency department. Continue reading
Feb 17 McConnell intends to replace 'Obamacare' without Democrats By Erica Werner, Associated Press "It's clear that in the early months it's going to be a Republicans-only exercise," the Kentucky senator said at a news conference before lawmakers left for a weeklong President's Day recess. Continue reading
Feb 16 House GOP struggles for consensus on replacing health law By Alan Fram, Associated Press House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Thursday that the GOP would deliver legislation to repeal and replace the ACA, but offered no details. Continue reading
Feb 16 Broad Institute wins heated dispute over CRISPR patents By Sharon Begley, STAT The U.S. patent office ruled on Wednesday that hotly disputed patents on the revolutionary genome-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 belong to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, dealing a blow to the University of California. Continue reading
Feb 15 Another West Virginia town sues drug wholesalers By Jessica Yarvin and Associated Press A southern West Virginia town in the state’s poorest county has joined other communities in seeking to recoup the costs of dealing with opioid abuse. Continue reading
Feb 15 Trump administration ushers in changes to Obama health law By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Tom Murphy, Associated Press The moves announced separately by the Health and Human Services Department and the IRS don't amount to sweeping changes to the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading
Feb 15 Doctors bill Medicare for end-of-life advice as 'death panel' fears reemerge By JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News Federal program paid $16 million in first six months of 2016 to counsel 223,000 patients about treatment preferences in their last days. Continue reading
Feb 13 California reports thousands of workers exposed to elevated lead levels By Barbara Feder Ostrov, Kaiser Health News The report comes as the state’s workplace health and safety agency, Cal/OSHA, is considering a major update of safety standards for workplace lead exposure for the first time in decades. Continue reading
Feb 13 GOP must decide what to do with health law taxes By Alan Fram, Associated Press The Congressional Budget Office says the government would lose $1.1 trillion in revenue over 10 years if the law's taxes are eliminated. Continue reading