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Controversy erupted this week after the director of the Congressional Budget Office said the new health overhaul law won't significantly reduce government speding on health care and a New York Times story critiqued Dartmouth research on health spending.
Much of this week's major health policy news stems directly from Congress' unfinished business related to the Medicare 'doc fix' as well as the House Democrats' decision not to include enhanced Medicaid funding and COBRA benefit subsidies in their sweeping jobs bill.
The proposal to extend COBRA subsidies to those laid off through the end of the year is languishing in Congress. So the unemployed may soon pay more to remain on COBRA, look for insurance on the individual market, go on Medicaid or lose coverage altogether. And that could further tax a health system already struggling to keep up with the number of uninsured.
A new survey finds that, when it comes to their own health care, most people say "more is better, newer is better, you get what you pay for." That's frustrating for experts who say these things are often not true.
Gov. Chris Christie is cutting services and New Jersey's anti-smoking program in order to reduce the deficit. Other states are feeling the pinch as well.
The law will extend health insurance to 32 million currently uninsured Americans by 2019, and will also have an impact on how nearly every American buys insurance and what insurance must cover.
Bowing to pressure from Democratic fiscal conservatives, House Democratic leaders scaled back health-related provisions in tax extenders legislation the House passed before beginning its Memorial Day recess.
Bowing to pressure from Democratic fiscal conservatives, House Democratic leaders scaled back health-related provisions in tax extenders legislation the House passed before beginning its Memorial Day recess.
A foursome of longtime industry watchdogs are helping steer the federal government's effort to overhaul the private insurance market. Karen Pollitz, Steve Larsen, Jay Angoff and Richard Popper have top spots in the newly minted Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
Michelle Andrews' latest consumer column explores the health care tax credit for small businesses, which is designed to help employers pay for insuring workers. But the credit has several conditions, and some are worried that it won't provide enough help.
Challenges from conservative Democrats forced party leaders this week to cut some major spending programs, such as extending COBRA benefits for workers being laid off and providing extra money to state Medicaid programs.
The federal government sent a brochure to more than 40 million Medicare beneficiaries, "Medicare and the New Health Care Law - What It Means for You," which is generating political controversy.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said federal officials are urging self-insured employers to keep young adults up to age 26 on their parents' health plans before the deadline under the new health overhaul law. Self-insured employers, who pay the medical bills of millions of Americans, in many cases could wait until January to comply with the law.
With the new health law's requirement that young adults be able to remain on their parents' health plans until they turn 26. But when exactly the new benefit begins, who exactly is eligible and who decides all have the same answer: It depends.
Caught up in the congressional politics swirling around a pending tax bill are proposals that affect health care for newly laid-off workers as well as Medicare and Medicaid patients.
A new report says federal funding will not cover the insurance needs of all the people who now have trouble getting coverage because of preexisting conditions. But HHS officials disagree with the findings.
The new health overhaul law will encourage employers to stop offering health insurance. We should welcome this, provided the decline in employer coverage is gradual and good alternatives exist. The upside is that it will make more visible the biggest looming health care problem: costs.
More than $2.5 billion in government-backed loans to doctors, dentists and other health care providers is helping to stimulate the economy and help patients, but some health experts say the money could increase health costs.
A funny thing happens when a computer challenges orders for medical scans that aren't likely to help diagnose patients: Doctors often drop the test requests.
The House of Representatives may vote on legislation this week that would stop a scheduled June 1 payment cut for doctors who accept Medicare physicians.
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