The New York Times: Over Objections Of Legislature, Alaska’s Governor Says He Will Expand Medicaid
After failing to persuade his Legislature to expand Medicaid, Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska said Thursday that he planned to unilaterally accept the federal funds available to cover more low-income residents under the program. Mr. Walker, an independent who took office in December, said in a news conference in Anchorage that he could not wait any longer to offer health coverage to the roughly 42,000 people his administration projects will be eligible under the expansion. Expanding Medicaid — an option for every state under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act — was a campaign priority for Mr. Walker, who couched it as a “common-sense decision” for the state’s economy and for the health of its people. (Goodnough, 7/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Alaska Governor Moves To Expand Medicaid
The independent governor on Thursday said he had sent a letter to state legislators saying he will apply directly to Washington to extend Medicaid coverage to most residents whose incomes are up to one-third above than the poverty line in his state, and that legislators would have to call a special session or take other action to stop him. He said he was giving the state legislature 45 days to act or he would do so unilaterally after lawmakers previously declined to vote on a bill he had proposed to expand the Medicaid program, which is jointly funded and administered by federal and state governments. (Radnofsky, 7/16)

Alaska Public Radio: Walker Announces Plan To Expand Medicaid Unilaterally
Standing in front of his whole Cabinet, Walker said he wasn’t going to wait any longer for the Legislature to act on Medicaid expansion. His administration had pushed hard for the policy during the regular session, and attempted to get the Legislature to take it up during their first special session — only to see them gavel out and gavel back in with the item removed. Walker said lawmakers had their chance. “This is the final option for me. I’ve tried everything else,” said Walker. “And one thing people have to learn about me [is] I never give up.” (Gutierrez, 7/16)

Alaska Dispatch News: Walker Says He'll Use Executive Authority To Expand Medicaid In Alaska
Walker is a Republican-turned-independent who was elected with support of the state Democratic Party, and Medicaid expansion was one of his key campaign promises. He made his announcement at a morning news conference in Anchorage at the headquarters of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, an organization that has backed Medicaid expansion for years. Its former director of legal and intergovernmental affairs, Valerie Davidson, is now Walker’s health and social services commissioner. She and other members of Walker’s Cabinet stood behind him as he addressed hundreds of supporters assembled in a conference room. The crowd offered cheers and rounds of applause. (Herz, 7/16)

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Walker Announces Unilateral Plan For Medicaid Expansion
Walker will utilize a rarely used part of state law that allows the governor to accept federal funds without the approval of the Legislature, which has the power of appropriation, while it is away from session. Through the process, Walker is required to send notification to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, chaired by Anchorage Republican Rep. Mike Hawker. ... “There’s a couple steps along the way, but none completely eliminate my ability to do this,” Walker said. He said the law has only been used seven times previously. Hawker, a supporter of Medicaid expansion, said it’s in everyone’s interest to sign off on the spending sooner than later and bring an end to the fight over Medicaid expansion. (Buxton, 7/17)

Reuters: Alaska Governor Says Will Accept Federal Funds To Expand Medicaid
In Alaska, the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee has the authority to review requests for federal funds when the legislature is not in session. The committee has until Sept. 1 to vote whether or not to support the state's request for money, or to recommend a special session of the legislature to review expansion options. After Walker's announcement, the committee's chairman, Representative Mike Hawker, said the panel's role is a formality and simply influences how quickly the money is made available. (Quinn, 7/16)

There are also Medicaid expansion reports from Utah, North Carolina and Arkansas -

Salt Lake Tribune: Lawmaker Says Medicaid Expansion Plan Will Be Better Than Healthy Utah
Sen. Brian Shiozawa expressed confidence Thursday that the governor and key legislative leaders will come up with a Medicaid expansion plan that's even better than Healthy Utah or the House's Utah Cares plan. Shiozawa, a Cottonwood Heights Republican, sponsored the governor's Healthy Utah plan, which the governor negotiated during 2014 with the Obama administration. It passed in the Senate during the last legislative session, but failed in the House, which favored a more modest expansion called Utah Cares. Gov. Gary Herbert, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Greg Hughes, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, Rep. Jim Dunnigan and Shiozawa have been meeting since the session, trying to craft a plan to provide health care coverage for poor Utahns. (Moulton, 7/16)

Deseret News: Details Not Available As State Leaders Continue To Hash Out Medicaid Expansion Plan
Shiozawa said he believes the process, which began at the end of the session in March, has been "very productive" thus far. ... An estimated 100,000 Utahns who fall between 100 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level — eligible for Medicaid under an optional full expansion model presented in the Affordable Care Act — remain without health insurance, as they fall in what has been called the coverage gap. ... There is some concern that a portion of the 375,000 Utahns who also fall into that same income bracket but already have private or employer-sponsored health insurance, or the more than 115,000 who have enrolled through the federal marketplace, could potentially abandon their current coverage for less expensive or free Medicaid if and when it is offered. (Leonard, 7/16)

The Associated Press: Healthcare Advocates Push N.C. Governor To Expand Medicaid
In demonstrations across North Carolina, healthcare advocates are continuing to call on Gov. Pat McCrory to release his plan to expand the state's Medicaid roles under the Affordable Care Act. About thirty protesters in front of the old Capitol building Thursday focused on expanding Medicaid to parents working low-income jobs. Other demonstrations pushing to expand healthcare coverage are taking place Thursday in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro and Greenville. (7/16)

Arkansas Online: Now 25,000 Under Threat Of Medicaid Cutoff
About 10,000 more private-option enrollees and other Arkansas Medicaid recipients have been notified this week that their coverage will end on July 31, raising to 25,000 the number whose coverage is set to end, the director of the state Department of Human Services said Thursday. Also on Thursday, representatives from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield told members of the state Legislature's Health Care Reform Task Force that, compared with customers enrolled in traditional private plans, private-option enrollees have been more frequent users of the emergency room and were less likely to see primary-care doctors. (Davis, 7/17)

Politico: California May Let Undocumented Immigrants Buy Obamacare
California lawmakers and activists are spearheading a first-in-the-nation plan to let undocumented immigrants buy Obamacare health insurance. Supporters say the California proposal, which would need federal approval and couldn’t start until 2017, is the next logical step in expanding health insurance to a population that was intentionally excluded from the president’s health-care law. But uniting the two highly combustible issues of Obamacare and immigration could reignite a fierce health-care reform controversy. (Pradhan, 7/17)

Health News Colorado: Failed State Exchanges Offer Model For Colorado
Colorado lawmakers plan to propose fixes for the state health exchange starting in September and one possibility is to switch to the federal IT system, but keep some local control like Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii and New Mexico have done. (Kerwin McCrimmon, 7/16)

Politico: Republicans Plan New Abortion Push
Republicans on Capitol Hill are betting the secretly filmed Planned Parenthood video — depicting an executive allegedly discussing the sale of fetal organs from terminated pregnancies — will give them cover to more aggressively push abortion issues without the political ramifications that have haunted the party in the past. (Bade and Kim, 7/16)

USA Today: Planned Parenthood President: Video Claims 'Not True'
The president of Planned Parenthood responded to accusations against the organization Thursday, denouncing lawmakers and anti-abortion groups who have rallied for investigations of the group's practices. "I want to be really clear: The allegation that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true," said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards in a video. (Calfas, 7/16)

Reuters: Planned Parenthood Head Sorry For Tone In Video On Fetal Tissue Use
Planned Parenthood's president apologized on Thursday for the "tone and statements" of a senior staff member who was secretly recorded in a video that critics say suggests the U.S. reproductive health organization sells aborted fetal tissue. Despite Planned Parenthood's denials of the allegation, the video's release earlier this week has rapidly spurred investigations in the Republican-led U.S. Congress. (Stein, 7/16)

CNN: Planned Parenthood Chief Apologizes After Video
Planned Parenthood's president apologized Thursday for a top official's tone in a controversial video, but she also denied the clip's allegation that her organization profits from tissue donation. (Scott, 7/16)

The Associated Press: Democrats Decry Undercover Probe Of HealthCare.gov
Senior Democrats pushed back Thursday against an undercover government probe of President Barack Obama’s health care law, saying it didn’t uncover any real fraud. Investigators for the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office signed up 11 bogus beneficiaries for 2014 coverage then got HealthCare.gov to continue benefits this year for all but one. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/16)

Bloomberg: This Is How Easy It Is To Scam Obamacare
When healthcare.gov opened in late 2013, it was so crippled by technical problems that critics questioned whether people would be able to sign up for coverage. Now, it may actually be too easy to enroll. That’s according to a new government audit, presented in testimony from the Government Accountability Office, delivered at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday. When federal auditors tried to apply for insurance coverage and tax credit subsidies using fictitious applicants, they succeeded 11 out of 12 times. (Tozzi, 7/16)

CQ Healthbeat: Mental Health Overhaul Could Get Pre-Recess Boost
Long-running congressional efforts to overhaul the mental health system are expected to get a boost before the August recess with the introduction of a bipartisan Senate plan tracking with a House package that isn't likely to be considered until later this year. Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., said the soon-to-be introduced bill would resemble the House plan (HR 2646) by Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy. The Senate measure is being crafted with Louisiana Republican Bill Cassidy. A mental health bill Murphy pushed during the last Congress lacked a Senate companion. (Attias, 7/16)

Medill News Service: Money For Teen Pregnancy Prevention On Chopping Block
Both the U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees have proposed cutting funding from the evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. The Senate proposal would slash the funding by 80 percent, bringing the budget to $20 million a year. The House version would stop funding the program altogether. Republicans pushing for cuts to the pregnancy prevention program say they are trying to reduce wasteful spending and would rather spend money on abstinence education programs they say have a proven track record. (Campbell, 7/16)

And in a House committee, lawmakers approve limits on how VA employees can challenge disciplinary actions --

The Washington Post: Limits On VA Employee Rights To Get Quick House Vote
Under a measure approved Wednesday by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, VA employees would have less time to challenge disciplinary actions, such as demotions or firings, and they could not appeal decisions beyond a first-level hearing official. Those changes would largely mirror limits imposed last year by a law that applies only to senior executives at the VA. ... The measure is one of numerous proposals offered in response to the scandal over patient scheduling and care at the department, and employee organizations see such measures as a precedent for making similar changes government-wide. (Yoder, 7/16)

Georgia Health News: Big Insurance Deal Raises Questions, Fears
The biggest health insurance deal ever was announced earlier this month. And though it is yet to be reviewed by regulators, the proposed transaction has already prompted concerns about its potential impact in Georgia and elsewhere. (Miller, 7/16)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: UnitedHealth Mum On Merger Mania After Posting Strong Earnings
The health insurance world is abuzz with talk of mergers these day, but UnitedHealth Group executives on Thursday were having none of it. Earlier this month, health insurer Aetna announced a $37 billion deal to purchase Humana, which rivals United in the Medicare market. Meanwhile, Indianapolis-based Anthem has proposed buying Cigna. (Snowbeck, 7/16)

The Associated Press: UnitedHealth Tops Street 2Q Forecasts, Raises Forecasts
Competitors like the Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier Anthem Inc., Aetna Inc. and Centene Corp. all have made multibillion-dollar offers for smaller companies in recent weeks as health insurers bulk up on technology try to cut costs by growing larger. They also want to stoke enrollment in areas like Medicare Advantage, the fast-growing privately run version of the federal government's coverage program for people who are over 65 or disabled. UnitedHealth, already the nation's largest Medicare Advantage plan provider, has taken a different path on acquisitions, one that veers from its core business. The insurer is wrapping up its bid for the pharmacy benefits manager Catamaran Corp., a deal valued at more than $12 billion. (7/16)

The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth Lifts View Amid Strong Growth
The company also offered reassurance on hospital spending, which is a particular focus for investors because it was a factor in Humana Inc.’s recent downward revision of 2015 earnings guidance. UnitedHealth said it continues to see overall reductions in per-capital hospital use and isn’t seeing any sign that it is coming in higher than expected. (Dulaney and Wilde Mathews, 7/16)

Los Angeles Times: Aetna's 21% Rate Hike Amounts To 'Price Gouging,' California Regulator Says
California's managed-care regulator slammed health insurance giant Aetna Inc. on Thursday for "price gouging" after it raised rates on small employers by 21%. This marked the fourth time since 2013 that California officials have found Aetna's premium increases on small businesses unreasonable. Aetna, the nation's third-largest health insurer, is raising rates by 21%, on average, for about 13,000 people covered by small employers. This change in premiums took effect July 1. Shelley Rouillard, director of the California Department of Managed Health Care, said an Aetna executive rejected her request this week to lower the rates. (Terhune, 7/16)

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal: UAW Trust Sought Drug-Price Risk Disclosures
Specialty drug costs are sky high, and insurers, doctors and hospitals are pushing back—in a phenomenon that played out during the most recent proxy season. One large pension plan was keen on finding out whether some pharmaceutical companies are at risk of pricing themselves out of the game. The $54 billion UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, which provides health-care benefits to more than 750,000 retirees of the UAW union and their dependents, targeted six pharmaceutical companies this proxy season, according to a proxy-season wrap-up memo that law firm Gibson Dunn sent to clients on Wednesday. Three are working with the trust address to its concerns outside of a shareholder proposal, while the other three went up for vote. Two tried to block the resolutions based on Securities and Exchange rules but were denied. (Murphy, 7/16)

The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: Gilead Limits Enrollment In Its Hep C Patient Program To Pressure Insurers
In a bid to push back against payers, Gilead Sciences is limiting enrollment to its patient assistance program for hepatitis C drugs, which helps people obtain the Sovaldi and Harvoni treatments when they lack sufficient insurance coverage or the financial wherewithal to get the medicines otherwise. (Silverman, 7/16)

Reuters: Gay Marriage Ruling Leaves U.S. Firms Unclear On Spousal Benefits
The Supreme Court was definitive in its decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide, but what is far from clear is whether U.S. companies must offer corporate benefits to same-sex spouses. Many large and mid-sized employers are self-insured, which means their benefits are governed by a 1974 act that has no language on preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act allows companies to bypass differing state laws that complicate healthcare options for employees spread out across the country. (Gumpert, 7/16)

Related KHN coverage: High Court’s Decision On Same Sex Marriage Expected To Boost Health Coverage Among Gay Couples (Hancock, 6/29)

Los Angeles Times: Out-Of-Network Costs Lurk Even At In-Network Hospitals
Lorena Martin's 18-year-old son, Robert, hurt his ankle playing football one recent Friday evening. He was in pain and unable to walk, and she was concerned that he'd done real damage. Both her doctor's office and the nearby urgent care center were closed, so with no other options, she took him to the emergency room. The hospital was in her health plan's network — she'd made sure of that. Once there, Martin paid a $50 co-pay and later received a bill for an additional $270, which she expected. ... But she was in for a surprise. Several weeks later she got a bill for about $1,400 from the doctor who saw her son in the emergency room for less than 10 minutes. (Zamosky, 6/17)

Reuters: Add Bite To Your Retirement Dental Plan
If you plan to retire soon, add this item to your to-do list: a visit to the dentist before your dental insurance disappears. Retirees transitioning to Medicare are often surprised to learn that the program does not cover routine dental care or more complex procedures. Overall, 40 percent of the 65-plus population has some form of dental benefit, according to the National Association of Dental Plans. For seniors who use Medicare Advantage managed care plans, about half offer very limited coverage for cleanings and exams. A small percentage of seniors have dental insurance from a former employer, and Medicaid covers dental care for low-income residents in some states, although benefits vary. Some buy individual commercial plans or have coverage through an association such as AARP. (Miller, 7/16)

The Washington Post: VA Says It Will Start Closing Hospitals In Weeks If Congress Doesn’t Help Plug Its Budget Hole
Senior lawmakers traveled from Capitol Hill on Thursday to the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters to hear firsthand why the agency is threatening to shut down some hospitals next month if Congress does not address a $2.5 billion shortfall. The visit by the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate committees that oversee veterans care was the agency’s latest effort to step up pressure on Congress to fill a $3 billion hole in its budget before the August recess. The lawmakers attended a daily meeting of agency staff that is trying to manage an explosion in demand for health care. (Rein, 7/17)

McClatchy: Cerner Corp. In Running For Huge Military Health Care Contract
The Pentagon will announce the winner of a highly sought after contract to modernize the military’s electronic health records by the end of this month – a decision with big implications both for the military and for Kansas City-based Cerner Corp. Cerner, a health information technology company and one of the largest and fastest-growing employers in the Kansas City region, is among three finalists for a 10-year, multibillion-dollar contract. (Wise and Stafford, 7/16)

Orlando Sentinel: Lake Baldwin VA sitting empty too long, Mica says
The nursing home and domiciliary at Lake Baldwin VA have been sitting empty or serving as temporary homes for different services since its residents were transferred to the new Lake Nona campus last year, and U.S. Rep. John Mica wants to see them full and functioning again. The two buildings sit adjacent to the four-story Lake Baldwin hospital – a former Navy hospital – and can house about 100 elderly and 60 homeless veterans, "but everything takes time," said Mica during a recent tour of the campus along with VA's medical director and an entourage of about half-a-dozen. "We have to deal with bureaucracy and VA is very slow," said Mica, R-Winter Park. While services have been opening up in Lake Nona, parts of Lake Baldwin have been acting as temporary staging areas, but the five-year plan is for it to become the hub for veterans' basic medical care. (Miller, 7/16)

The Boston Globe: Children’s Hospital Plans To Expand In Boston, Waltham
Boston Children’s Hospital plans to add 48 beds to its outpatient facility in Waltham as it pursues a $1.5 billion expansion and renovation of its Massachusetts facilities to meet growing patient demand. Adding hospital beds in Waltham, which Children’s has not widely discussed, will give the institution a bigger footprint in a part of the state that is close to major highways and surrounded by wealthy suburbs. The site currently offers day surgery and includes doctors who specialize in 97 fields, from gastroenterology to neurology to sports medicine. (Dayal McCluskey, 7/16)

The Connecticut Mirror: Day Kimball, Hartford HealthCare Exploring Affiliation
Hospital officials say joining larger organizations is a key way to adapt to declining state and federal funding and changes in how care is delivered and paid for. But the growing consolidation in the hospital industry has drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers, who warn that it can reduce patient choice and raise prices. (Levin Becker, 7/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Wrecking Ball At Last For Mt. Airy Hospital
An era closed this week when Mercy Health rolled in the demolition teams to knock down Mount Airy Hospital, a facility the health care system couldn’t even give away. The hospital, on Kipling Avenue in the Mount Airy neighborhood, was closed in November 2013 after Mercy Health opened its glittering new West Hospital in Green Township. (Saker, 7/16)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Plans For Assisted Living Facility In Nashua Move Forward
A vacant manufacturing site on Amherst Street is one step closer to becoming a new assisted living facility for Alzheimer’s patients. This week, the former Nim-Cor property at 575 Amherst St. was sold by Nashua RE Holdings LLC for $2 million to National Development, a Massachusetts-based real estate development firm. National Development and EPOCH Senior Living are partnering to construct a 54-unit assisted living facility named Bridges by EPOCH at Nashua. The partners currently operate more than 35 senior housing communities. (Houghton, 7/16)

Stateline: Finding A Formula For 'Medically Complex' Kids
Five-year-old Lakota Lockhart talks about Batman nonstop. When his mom, Krystal, can wedge in a word, she describes what life has been like since Lakota was born with a rare central nervous system disorder that causes his breathing to stop every time he falls asleep. She says they’re lucky Lakota was born across the street, at Brandon Regional Hospital, or she might never have known about the Chronic Complex Clinic at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. The brainchild of Dr. Daniel Plasencia, the St. Joseph’s clinic was created 14 years ago to improve care for kids with chronic conditions affecting more than one organ system. “Their treatment was too complex for most pediatricians,” Plasencia said. “They needed a medical home and we provided it for them.” (Vestal, 7/17)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Needs Federal Money For Uninsured, HHSC Told
Hospitals that serve large uninsured populations in Texas stand to lose critical funding if the state can’t convince the federal government to continue helping with the cost, doctors and health advocates told the state health department Thursday. With the expiration date of a five-year, $29 billion program approaching, the Health and Human Services Commission will attempt to negotiate a renewal of federal funds to help reimburse hospitals caring for the uninsured. (Bollag, 7/16)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: PHA To Consider Banning In Some Units
The Philadelphia Housing Authority on Thursday will consider banning smoking in some of its properties, a move that officials say would make it the largest public housing agency "in the nation to implement such a policy." If approved by the Board of Commissioners, the measure would ban smoking in at least some of its units, which house about 80,000 low-income residents, a spokesman said Wednesday. The PHA would not say how comprehensive the ban would be. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 500 housing agencies, including those in Detroit, Boston, and San Antonio, have smoking bans in place. (Conway, 7/16)

News Service Of Florida: Tobacco Co. Wins Appeal In Smoker Death
Rejecting arguments that a jury improperly reached a "compromise" verdict, a federal appeals court Wednesday cleared Philip Morris USA from potential damages in the smoking-related death of a Florida man. A Jacksonville jury last year found the tobacco company was 5 percent liable in the death of Robert Reider but did not award damages to Reider's widow, Barbara. In an appeal, Barbara Reider's attorneys argued that the jury had reached an "unlawful compromise" in the decision. (7/16)

The Oregonian: $25M Award To Dead Smoker's Family Was Reasonable, Ore. Court Says
A Portland jury that awarded $25 million in punitive damages to a dead smoker’s family acted reasonably to send a message to tobacco giant Philip Morris USA for its reprehensible way of conducting business, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The appeals court likened Philip Morris’ role in the death of smoker Michelle Schwarz to “manslaughter” under Oregon law, had it been litigated in criminal court. Philip Morris is expected to appeal Wednesday’s ruling. (Green, 7/16)

The Miami Herald: License For Doral Blood Bank Suspended By The FDA After Inspection
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has suspended the license of a Doral-based blood bank after an inspection turned up a series of violations that includes improperly notifying dozens of blood donors who may have HIV. A five-page letter from the FDA dated July 9 said that between August 2013 and May 2015, U.S. Blood Bank did not make “reasonable attempts” to notify at least 120 donors who tested reactive for HIV and would need a further test to verify the results. Instead, the company sent letters that told recipients to contact the U.S. Blood Bank but didn’t say why. Out of the number of donors who tested reactive, only 16 returned to the blood bank, according to the suspension letter. (Adams, 7/16)

The New York Times: Benefits, And Some Resistance, As New York Cracks Down On Nail Salon Abuses
Under newly issued state rules, gloves must now be worn by manicurists when they are handling things like cotton balls soaked in nail polish remover, and goggles when they pour acetone and other chemicals. Respirator masks — not the paper hospital-style mask that is commonly seen and is considered ineffective at combating chemical exposure — must be made available for workers to use when buffing or filing nails, or when sculpting acrylic nails. But the survey found gloves being used at just 15 percent of salons. When The Times observed masks in use at about two dozen salons, just three of them were employing the required respirator-style ones. (Nir and Pagan, 7/16)

JAMA Neurology: Care And Outcomes Of Patients With In-Hospital Stroke
A sizeable minority of strokes occur in hospitalized patients. [Researchers sought to] examine stroke care delivery and outcomes for [973 Canadian] patients with in-hospital vs community-onset stroke. ... Patients with in-hospital stroke compared with those with community-onset stroke had significantly longer waiting times from symptom recognition to neuroimaging ... lower use of thrombolysis [clot-busting drugs] ... and longer time from stroke recognition to administration of thrombolysis. ... After adjustment for age, stroke severity, and other factors, mortality rates at 30 days and 1 year after stroke were similar in those with in-hospital stroke and community-onset stroke; however, those with in-hospital stroke had a longer median length of stay following stroke onset ... and were less likely to be discharged home from the hospital. (Saltman et al., 7/14)

Health Affairs: The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment
One of the principal strategies contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to achieve near-universal health insurance coverage is expansion of eligibility for the Medicaid program. There has been much debate about whether expansion of the Medicaid program should be used to extend health care benefits to the low-income uninsured. This brief summarizes findings of the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, a randomized controlled study made possible by a unique lottery process used in 2008 to expand Medicaid coverage in the state. The study addresses many of the issues being considered by policy makers, including take-up rates and characteristics of enrollees; use of health services; health outcomes and measures of well-being; enrollee finances and medical debt; as well as indirect societal effects on labor markets, private insurance coverage, and participation in other public programs. (James, 7/16)

Health Affairs: Federally Qualified Health Center Use Among Dual Eligibles: Rates Of Hospitalizations And Emergency Department Visits
People who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, known as “dual eligibles,” disproportionately are members of racial or ethnic minority groups. They face barriers accessing primary care .... Federally qualified health centers provide services known to address barriers to primary care. We analyzed 2008–10 Medicare data for ... dual eligibles residing in Primary Care Service Areas with nearby federally qualified health centers. Among our findings: There were fewer hospitalizations for ambulatory care–sensitive conditions among blacks and Hispanics who used these health centers than among their counterparts who did not use them (16 percent and 13 percent fewer, respectively). Use of the health centers was also associated with 3 percent and 12 percent fewer hospitalizations for ambulatory care–sensitive conditions among nonelderly disabled blacks and Hispanics, respectively. (Wright, Potter and Trivedi, 7/8)

Kaiser Family Foundation: 10 FAQs: Medicare’s Role In End-Of-Life Care
In recent years, Medicare’s role with respect to end-of-life care has come to the forefront as policymakers and the Administration grapple with whether or not physicians and other health professionals should be reimbursed for talking to patients about their options. ... The following 10 FAQs provide information on Medicare’s current role in end-of-life care and advance care planning. In addition to defining relevant terms, and explaining Medicare coverage for end-of-life care, these FAQs also describe policy proposals being considered by the Administration and Congress regarding advance care planning and care for people with serious and terminal illness. (7/9)

The Kaiser Family Foundation: Private And Public Coverage Of Contraceptive Services And Supplies In The United States
Almost all women use contraception at some point in their life and approximately two-thirds of women of reproductive age currently use contraception. Most, but not all, sources of public and private health insurance coverage now pay for contraceptive services and supplies, but the extent of coverage differs by payer. This fact sheet reviews how coverage of contraceptives varies between private insurance and publicly funded programs including Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE, the Indian Health Service, and Title X funded clinics. (7/10)

Avalere: Exchange Plans Include 34 Percent Fewer Providers Than The Average For Commercial Plans
[T]he average provider networks for plans offered on the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) include 34 percent fewer providers than the average commercial plan offered outside the exchange. The new data quantifies anecdotal reports that exchange networks contain fewer providers than traditional commercial plans. ... Avalere examined the largest rating region in the top five states by 2015 exchange effectuated enrollment: Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. In each of these rating regions, Avalere compared the average number of providers included, for each of the five provider types examined, in exchange networks compared to commercial networks in the same geographic area. (7/15)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Racial/Ethnic Differences In Mental Health Service Use Among Adults
The highest estimates of past year mental health service use were for adults reporting two or more races (17.1 percent), white adults (16.6 percent), and American Indian or Alaska Native adults (15.6 percent), followed by black (8.6 percent), Hispanic (7.3 percent), and Asian (4.9 percent) adults. ... Service cost or lack of insurance coverage was the most frequently cited reason for not using mental health services across all racial/ethnic groups. The belief that use of mental health services would not help was the least frequently cited reason for not using mental health services across all racial/ethnic groups. Among all adults and adults with AMI or SMI, white adults were generally the most likely to cite cost or insurance and believing that services would not help as reasons for not using mental health services compared with other racial/ethnic groups. (7/13)

Here is a selection of news coverage of other recent research:

The New York Times: Doctors and Nurses Often Work While Sick
A study of health care workers in a children’s hospital has found that 83 percent had come to work while sick at least once in the past year, even though almost all believed that working while ill can endanger patients. The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, asked 536 hospital workers about how often they came to work sick. It also asked with what ailments they might do so. Almost 80 percent of the 280 doctors said they would work with a cough or runny nose, and 60 percent with congestion and a sore throat. More than 21 percent said they would come to work with a fever, and almost 8 percent said they would work even if they were vomiting. (Bakalar, 7/13)

The New York Times: 2 Studies Back Guidelines For Wider Use Of Statins
Two studies published Tuesday lend support to controversial new cholesterol guidelines that could vastly increase the number of Americans advised to take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. One study suggests that the new guidelines are better at identifying who is truly at risk of a heart attack and should be given statins than the older guidelines are. The other suggests that treating people based on the new guidelines would be cost-effective, even with the tremendously increased use of statins. (Pollack, 7/14)

Reuters: Blacks May Be Less Likely To Get Chemo For Advanced Colon Cancer
Black patients with advanced colon cancer are less likely to receive chemotherapy after surgery to excise tumors than white patients, a U.S. study suggests. The treatment disparity seen in recent years may be tied to the economic downturn following the 2008 financial crisis, said lead study author Caitlin Murphy, an epidemiology researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Rapaport, 7/16)

NPR: Early Push To Require The HPV Vaccine May Have Backfired
Nine years after it was first approved in June 2006, the HPV vaccine has had a far more sluggish entree into medical practice than other vaccines at a similar point in their history, according to a report in Tuesday's JAMA. (Henig, 7/14)

The New York Times: Heading Ban For Youth Soccer Won’t End Head Injuries
Would soccer be safer if young players were not allowed to head the ball? According to a new study of heading and concussions in youth soccer, the answer to that question is not the simple yes that many of us might have hoped. ... People’s concerns about soccer heading and concussions have grown so insistent in the past year or so that some doctors, parents and former professional players have begun to call for banning the practice outright among younger boys and girls, up to about age 14, and curtailing it at other levels of play. (Reynolds, 7/15)

Reuters: Cancer Survivors May Face Barriers To Adoption
Cancer survivors, who are often left infertile by the disease or treatment, may face unexpected hurdles if they later turn to adoption to start a family, a study suggests. Researchers who contacted adoption agencies found that while all prospective parents were asked to provide a medical history, cancer survivors might also be required to submit letters from physicians or show they were disease free for at least five years. (Rapaport, 7/13)

Reuters: Organized Programs Help Prevent Or Delay Diabetes
Organized diet and exercise programs can stave off diabetes for those at risk, according to a new recommendation. The Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, unpaid group of public health and prevention experts who develop recommendations for community health, commissioned a review of 53 studies describing 66 combined diet and physical activity promotion programs. The studies were done between 1991 and 2015. (Doyle, 7/13)

St. Louis Public Radio: Wash U Researchers Find Potential New Strategy In Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Researchers at Washington University have found that some multidrug resistant bacteria intentionally get rid of the genes that protect them from antibiotics. That discovery could eventually provide a new way to treat deadly infections. Molecular microbiologist Mario Feldman, who led the study, said that in the past, infections caused by a bacterium known as Asinetobacter baumannii were easily treated with antibiotics. Not anymore. (Lacapra, 7/15)

Reuters: Avoiding 'Baby Boy' On Hospital IDs May Reduce Errors
Avoiding hospital IDs that say “baby boy” or “baby girl” when parents haven’t chosen a first name for their newborn may help reduce medical errors, a study suggests. As a marker of potential mistakes, researchers analyzed how often doctors order tests, procedures or drugs for one newborn baby and then quickly retract it and place the same order for a different newborn. (Rapaport, 7/13)

Alaska Dispatch News: It's Time: Medicaid Expansion Means Jobs, Savings And Care For Alaskans
If we act [to expand Medicaid] now, we can expect to bring in $1 billion in new federal health care dollars over the next six years, and save more than $100 million in state general funds. Medicaid expansion also means up to 4,000 new jobs. ... This is an opportunity to help our friends and neighbors who may be forced to choose between life-saving medical treatment and bankruptcy. This is a chance to do something for those who cannot work because they’re sick — and can’t afford to see a doctor, because they aren't able to work. By helping people escape these terrible binds, this is an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of our communities. (Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, 7/16)

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Governor Right To Act On Medicaid: Despite Likely Political Backlash, Securing Care And Funding Overdue
On Thursday morning, Gov. Bill Walker announced Alaska will become the 30th state to accept Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. The governor’s unilateral move, taken after the Legislature declined to act during their regular session and two special sessions called afterward, won’t likely win him friends in the Alaska House and Senate majority caucuses. But providing a health care option for 20,000 of the state’s most at-risk residents is worth taking some political heat. (7/17)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Takeaways From Alaska’s Medicaid Expansion
Arguments for and against expansion in Alaska were similar to those heard in other red states where this issue has been debated. But the politics underlying the debate are what really drives the decision–and those dynamics are unique to each state. Because each state’s politics are so different, when you have seen one state’s Medicaid expansion saga you have seen just that: one state’s Medicaid expansion saga. In Alaska, the debate involved a confrontation between an independent governor who made Medicaid expansion a top priority and a Republican-controlled legislature and influential committee chairman who opposed him. A role was also played by a Koch brothers-funded group working to oppose Medicaid expansion across the country. (Drew Altman, 7/16)

Raleigh News & Observer: To Help Children, Expand Medicaid For Parents
Healthy children come from healthy families. That’s why providing health insurance for parents has numerous benefits for children and, conversely, leaving those parents uninsured puts children at risk. A report released this week by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families shows that using federal Medicaid dollars earmarked for North Carolina to close the state’s coverage gap would provide health insurance coverage for over 125,000 parents, laying the foundation for better life and health outcomes for our state’s children. (Michelle Hughes and Joan Alker, 7/16)

The Wall Street Journal: The Government-Insurance Complex
One result of the Obama era is that big government and big business are often conjoined twins. For the latest proof, the health insurance industry has hired its ex-chief regulator and patron as its new chief lobbyist. This week America’s Health Insurance Plans announced that Marilyn Tavenner will be the trade group’s new CEO. (7/16)

The Wall Street Journal: ObamaCare’s Prices Will Keep Surging
Americans who purchase health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges should buckle up. Within the month, state regulators will begin approving premium hikes for plans sold in every state. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has already released the premium increases that health insurers have requested for their 2016 plans. By law, insurers must receive regulatory approval for any increase more than 10%—and more than 10% is what many of them want. (Stephen T. Parente, 7/16)

The Washington Post's Monkey Cage: More Democrats Are Getting Health Insurance, Thanks To Obamacare. Why Are Republicans Staying Away?
Democrats were naturally declared the big winners of last month’s King v. Burwell Supreme Court decision. That ruling, after all, saved the party’s most significant legislative accomplishment in decades: The Affordable Care Act (ACA). But Obamacare has not simply been an ideological victory for the Democratic Party. The percentage of Democrats with health insurance has increased dramatically since the ACA’s marketplace went online in October 2013, according to weekly surveys conducted by YouGov for the Economist. In fact, the display below suggests that Democrats’ uninsured rates have essentially been cut in half under Obamacare. (Michael Tesler, 7/16)

The Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Video Shows An Apalling Trivialization Of Life
At first, it seemed like an Internet hoax. A doctor, over a glass of wine and a salad, coldly describes the extraction and monetization of fetal body parts. Surely this is some kind of sick parody. But it is not a hoax. It is Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, Deborah Nucatola, caught in a sting video by an antiabortion group. Planned Parenthood’s reaction essentially confirmed the conversation as genuine, but insisted that it concerned the extraction of tissue for scientific research “under the highest ethical and legal standards.” (Michael Gerson, 7/16)

The New York Times: The F.D.A.’s Medical Device Problem
The Food and Drug Administration has been regulating the approval of medical devices since 1976, but its regulatory oversight has not kept pace with the increasing complexity of this technology. Many high-risk medical devices today are approved on the basis of just one clinical trial (as opposed to new medications, which usually require two trials). And only a small minority of clinical studies of medical devices are randomized, controlled and blinded — the gold standard for reliable evidence (and the benchmark to which studies of drugs are held). (Rita F. Redberg and Sanket S. Dhruva, 7/17)

Slate: Unhealthy Fixation
Is genetically engineered food dangerous? Many people seem to think it is. ... Hundreds of organizations ... are demanding “mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.” ... The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science have all declared that there’s no good evidence GMOs are unsafe. Hundreds of studies back up that conclusion. But many of us don’t trust these assurances. ... I’ve spent much of the past year digging into the evidence. Here’s what I’ve learned. First, it’s true that the issue is complicated. But the deeper you dig, the more fraud you find in the case against GMOs. (William Saletan, 7/15)

The Huffington Post: How LGBT Health And Population Health Will Improve Because Of Marriage Equality
In ruling that the 14th Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Obergefell vs. Hodges, not only addressed a fundamental issue of equality, but may have unwittingly contributed to improved public health. Consider the research devoted to the health of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) populations. A growing body of work shows that their health is worse on multiple levels than the health of comparable majority populations. This work reflects a key foundation of public health that I have discussed previously: Context plays an ineluctable role in shaping the health of populations. (Sandro Galea, 7/15)

The New York Times' Opinionator: Mothers Helping Mothers To Live With H.I.V.
Since 2000, there has been a 58 percent drop in new [HIV] infections of infants, Unaids, the United Nations AIDS-fighting agency, announced this week. In 2000, only 1 million people worldwide took the antiretrovirals that make having H.I.V. a chronic condition rather than a death sentence. Today, 15 million do. ... Mothers and babies are now living because lifesaving drugs now reach far more of the world’s poorest mothers. Also, countries have adopted new medical protocols that better protect both mother and child. But for hundreds of thousands of women so far, there has been another difference — they have been helped by Teresa Njeri and other H.I.V.-positive mothers. (Tina Rosenberg,7/16)