Cheesesteaks, Calzones Replace Hospitals’ Mystery Meats, 6-25-13, West Valley
Mitchell Vantrease reports Rex Hospital is one of a growing number of hospitals nationwide that are tossing out their fryers and adopting hotel-style “room service” where patients can order food anytime from a large menu.
Diabetes Lifestyle Intervention Trial Stopped: Cardiovascular Outcomes Unchanged, 6-26-13, Journal Watch
Joe Elia reports a long-term study of intensive lifestyle intervention to reduce cardiovascular risks in overweight people with type 2 diabetes finds no advantage over usual diabetes care.
New Healthcare Rights, Thanks to DOMA Ruling, 6-26-13, Modern HealthCare
Joe Carlson reports the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act is expected to have a major impact on health coverage and other benefits for legally married same-sex partners of federal employees and members of the military, as well as on tax treatment for private health coverage.
Senator Asks States If They Alert Medicare to Problem Physicians, 6-28-13, Pro Publica
Charles Ornstein reports a key U.S. senator, Sen. Charles Grassley, sent letters to all 50 states this week asking how they sanction doctors in their state health programs and whether they alert the federal government when they do.
Several Pioneer ACOs May Exit Program, 6-28-13, Modern HealthCare
Melanie Evans reports as many as nine of 32 Pioneer accountable care organizations may exit the program, according to the CMS, and at least four have started to notify providers.
Obamacare: Because Mom said so, 6-29-13, Politico
Joanne Kenen reports advocacy groups are working to reach the healthy, young adults who don’t think they need insurance — and their mothers who think they do. The groups plan to use everything from paid advertising — to guilt.
American Way of Birth, Costliest in the World, 6-30-13, New York Times
Elisabeth Rosenthal reports childbirth in the United States is uniquely expensive, and maternity and newborn care constitute the single biggest category of hospital payouts for most commercial insurers and state Medicaid programs.
Few Signs of a Taste for Diet Pills, 7-1-13, New York Times
Andrew Pollack reports the first new prescription weight-loss drug to reach the market in 13 years is having a hard time winning even a tiny slice of that huge market, despite an apparent need.
Obamacare Requires Most Insurers to Tackle Obesity, 7-4-13, USA Today
Nanci Hellmich reports some insurance companies have helped obese patients fight fat for years. But now most insurance plans are required to help obese patients try to lose weight under President Obama’s health care law.
Diagnosis: Insufficient Outrage, 7-4-13, New York Times
H. Gilbert Welch examines if recent revelations should lead those of us involved in America’s health care system to ask a hard question about our business: At what point does it become a crime?
Advocates Urge More Government Oversight of Medicaid Managed Care, 7-5-13, Kaiser Health News
Jenni Bergal reports when the federal government recently gave Florida the green light to vastly expand its experiment with privatizing Medicaid, patient advocates quickly raised an alarm.
1 million North Carolinians will Move to Subsidized Health Insurance , 7-6-13, News & Observer
John Murawski reports a massive population shift to subsidized insurance coverage – likely to exceed 1 million people in North Carolina – is underway as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Video: New AMA President on Implementing the Health Law, 7-8-13, Kaiser Health News
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and The Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff interviewed Dr. Ardis Hoven, the new American Medical Association president, for an episode of the C-SPAN program “Newsmakers” that aired Sunday.
