Jun 29 Health Reform Law’s Supporters Encouraged by Appeals Court Ruling By Maureen Hoch In the legal saga playing out over the health reform law, the Obama administration picked up a victory Wednesday: For the first time, a federal appeals court ruled on the case and voted 2-1 that the measure is constitutional. Continue reading
Jun 20 Medicare Advisory Group Urges Closer Look at Costs for MRIs, CT Scans By Maureen Hoch With fresh attention on the powers of a new independent panel that will be created under the health reform law, there's been growing debate around a recommendation from an existing panel -- one calling for reduced payments and fewer MRIs. Continue reading
Jun 10 Health Reform Headlines: Legal, Messaging Battles In this week's roundup of the top health reform news, an appeals court considered the legality of the individual mandate, and Democrats and Republicans sparred over the meaning of fresh polls. Continue reading
May 27 Health Reform Headlines: Medicaid Support, Vermont’s Universal Health Care Bill Photo by Alan Bedenko/Buffalo Pundit via Flickr Parties Debate Whether Hochul's Win in N.Y. is Referendum on Ryan Plan Democrat Kathy Hochul's electoral coup in a reliably conservative New York district Tuesday sent shockwaves through both parties this… Continue reading
May 24 Political Debate Over Accountable Care Organizations Heats Up By Betty Ann Bowser Ever since the federal government rolled out its proposed rules for setting up Accountable Care Organizations in March, it's been one piece of bad news after another for the Obama administration. Now comes another blow on the political… Continue reading
May 19 Top 5 Health Reform Headlines: ER Shutdowns on the Rise; New Security Questions for EMRs Here's a roundup of what's been happening in health reform this week: Aggressive Defense of Health Care Law The federal government sharpened its defense of the health care law this week in a reply brief filed in the 11th… Continue reading
May 19 Health Reform Pop Quiz! By Sarah Clune Can you tell the difference between the Massachusetts health reform law and the Affordable Care Act? A quiz from Politifact.com tests your knowledge of two major health reform policies: the 2006 plan passed by the… Continue reading
May 19 HHS Steps Up Efforts to Curb Health Insurance Premium Hikes The Department of Health and Human Services finalized regulations Thursday that will require insurance companies to disclose and justify rate increases above 10 percent. Public outcry has been growing over premium hikes, most visibly in California, where Blue… Continue reading
May 10 Appeals Court Hears Virginia Health Care Reform Challenges By Sarah Clune Updated 5:30 p.m. ET | The federal appeals panel heard more than two hours of arguments Tuesday in the two Virginia lawsuits challenging the new health care reform law. The first case up was Liberty University's, argued by attorney Mathew… Continue reading
May 06 New Plan Aims to Shift How Hospitals Are Paid for Medicare Patients By Betty Ann Bowser The federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is finalizing a new reimbursement plan that will determine how hospitals get paid to take care of Medicare patients. The proposed rule calls for something called "value based purchasing," which… Continue reading