health care

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Suits: How a Hospital Chain Schemed to Boost Profits

'NYT' looks at lawsuits against Health Management Associates

(Newser) - The New York Times today takes a look at whistle-blower lawsuits claiming for-profit hospital chain Health Management Associates employed a strategy to up admission—whether or not patients needed care—in order to boost Medicare and Medicaid payments. The paper shares one tactic, in which ER scorecards were posted daily,...

Expanding Medicaid Led to More ER Visits
Expanding Medicaid Led to More ER Visits
new study
Jan 3, 2014 7:17 AM CST

Expanding Medicaid Led to More ER Visits

Harvard research debunks ObamaCare talking point

(Newser) - One of the favorite arguments of Affordable Care Act supporters has long been that the newly-insured poor will use primary care doctors more and expensive emergency room services less, saving the government money. But a new Harvard study totally contradicts that claim. Researchers looked at Oregon's partial 2008 Medicaid...

ObamaCare Coverage Makes Quiet Debut

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid reports smooth first day

(Newser) - After years of debate, legal proceedings, and technical glitches, health insurance purchased under ObamaCare began actually covering people yesterday, in what Kathleen Sebelius touted as an "exciting new day for health care." But on the ground health care providers weren't exactly inundated with new customers, in part,...

2 States Stop Paying Builder of Bungled Health Care Sites

Vermont is asking for a refund, and Massachusetts is considering it

(Newser) - The federal health care exchange isn't the only one that CGI Federal screwed up. The much-maligned contractor also built seven exchanges for individual states, and now two of those states—Massachusetts and Vermont—have stopped payment, with Vermont even requesting a refund, thanks to the company's failure to...

At 11th Hour, Obama Eases Health Care Mandate

People who lost policies can claim hardship exemption

(Newser) - In a surprise move, the Obama administration essentially lifted the individual mandate last night for anyone who saw their insurance policy cancelled thanks to the Affordable Care Act, just days before the Dec. 23 deadline to sign up for Jan. 1 coverage. These consumers will be able to apply for...

Obama &#39;Wins&#39; Lie of the Year
 Obama 'Wins' Lie of the Year 
Dec 13, 2013 8:41 AM CST

Obama 'Wins' Lie of the Year

'If you like your plan...' and ensuing prevaricating, take PolitiFact's top honors

(Newser) - "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it." Barack Obama has been raked over the coals for that one in recent months, and now he's getting, umm, honored for it: PolitiFact has awarded the phrase its Lie of the Year Award, it announced on...

Don't Believe Dire Warnings of Doctor Shortage

Technology, more help from support teams should solve the problem: 'NYT' op-ed

(Newser) - Headlines about a looming doctor shortage for the US have been kicking around for a while, with the Association of American Medical Colleges forecasting a gap of 130,000 by 2025. Don't believe it, write Drs. Scott Gottlieb and Ezekiel Emanuel in the New York Times . The doomsayers generally...

ObamaCare Site's Re-Launch Stumbles Out of the Gate

1/3 of all enrollments reportedly screwed up

(Newser) - The new and supposedly improved HealthCare.gov isn't off to a great start. The site flooded with traffic yesterday morning, slowing it to a crawl and spiking its error rate, the LA Times reports. By 10am the government had turned on a "queuing" feature, essentially putting would-be applicants...

Health Dept: Site's Biggest Problems Fixed

Site functional 90% of the time: White House

(Newser) - As December begins , the ObamaCare website's biggest issues have been addressed, says the White House—though smaller problems remain, the AP reports. "The bottom line: HealthCare.gov on December 1st is night and day from where it was on October 1st," says Jeffrey Zients, a White House...

Hey, America: We&#39;re All Getting More Selfish
Hey, America: We're All Getting More Selfish
OPINION
Nov 20, 2013 1:48 PM CST

Hey, America: We're All Getting More Selfish

Opinions on ObamaCare prove it: Christopher Flavelle

(Newser) - The number of Americans who think the government should ensure everyone's access to health care is falling, from a peak of 69% in 2006 to just 42% this year. "It's tempting to see that as an indictment against ObamaCare, but it might just mean more Americans are...

Death Panels? No, But It&#39;s Time for Life Panels
Death Panels? No, But
It's Time for Life Panels
OPINION
Nov 20, 2013 1:13 PM CST

Death Panels? No, But It's Time for Life Panels

Essayist: We have to find a way to help people end lives with dignity

(Newser) - Watching his elderly mother spend three miserable years in a hospital bed in need of 24/7 care before her death prompts Bob Goldman to float an idea today in the New York Times : "life panels." A twist on the political poison of "death panels," the idea...

Employers May Charge You for Being Fat, Smoking

More firms planning to use surcharges under ObamaCare

(Newser) - If you don't meet your employer's health requirements, you may soon be paying more for health insurance. One survey found that as of next year, 40% of major US firms will be instituting surcharges on workers who fail to meet such requirements—things like quitting smoking or meeting...

Ads Laud Birth Control; Critics Blast 'Hosurance'

Colorado campaign that highlighted 'brosurance' takes heat over birth control

(Newser) - ObamaCare needs those wild and crazy millennials to get on board if it's going to work, and a Colorado ad campaign that previously drew scorn over ads featuring kegstands and urging young men to get "brosurance," is now taking fresh abuse over a racier ad. As the...

HealthCare.gov Probably Won't Be Ready by Deadline

Insurers seek direct way to sign up customers

(Newser) - The Obama administration has pledged to get HealthCare.gov running smoothly by Nov. 30, but an insider tells the Washington Post that's looking like a pipe dream. For one thing, it can only deal with half the traffic it's supposed to handle—it runs into problems when 20,...

7M Americans Eligible for Free ObamaCare Policies

But it's not all good news

(Newser) - Finally, some (mostly) positive news about ObamaCare: Independent estimates by Wall Street analysts and consultants find that as many as 7 million people could qualify for free or nearly free healthcare plans, the New York Times reports. Federal subsidies would cover the cost of these plans, most of which are...

ObamaCare Penalty Delayed —but Not Due to Website

WH says it's just eliminating confusion

(Newser) - Good news for procrastinators: Americans will now have an extra month and a half to get health insurance before facing a penalty under ObamaCare, meaning they won't face a fine if they sign up for a plan by March 31. The six-week delay (a change of tune for the...

HealthCare.gov Developers Knew Site Was Doomed

Full enrollment procedure not tested until last minute

(Newser) - The problems plaguing HealthCare.gov were entirely foreseeable to those who built it: Facing high stress and what they called last-minute changes from their bosses, developers worked insane hours and pounded energy drinks for months to put together what the AP calls a "mind-numbingly complex system"—and when...

US Asthma Sufferers Coughing Up More Cash

Costs for asthma sufferers have skyrocketed, resulting in preventable deaths

(Newser) - The New York Times continues its "US health care costs are way higher than the rest of the world" series (see previously here and here ) with a look at the most common chronic disease in America: asthma. According to the Times, it's becoming an increasingly pricey affliction...

ObamaCare Site Going Down for Repairs

Officials promise extra capacity and better call centers

(Newser) - The bedeviled Obamacare website is going down for repairs this weekend and should be working better by Monday, US health officials said today. The healthcare.gov site, which barely worked during its inaugural week, will still provide general information but not allow enrollment during off-peak weekend hours. "Americans have...

Obama Turns to 'Funny or Die' to Promote ObamaCare

Will create videos encouraging young people to enroll for insurance marketplaces

(Newser) - The White House has turned to an unlikely medium to promote ObamaCare: funny web videos. The Obama administration teamed up with popular video site Funny or Die (you may remember it from such videos as " The Wire: The Musical ") to create some 20 projects to promote the...

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