In The News

Despite Criticisms, Health Care Law’s Impact on Jobs Is Still Unclear, 10-2-13, New York Times

Annie Lowrey and John Hardwood report to many independent economic analysts it remains too early to tell how the sweeping Affordable Care Act will affect the jobs market, despite the criticism that surrounds the economic effect that the health care law will have.

Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law, 10-2-13, New York Times

Sabrina Tavernise and Robert Gebeloff report a sweeping national effort to extend health coverage to millions of Americans will leave out the poor, single mothers, and low-wage workers who don’t have insurance, the very kinds of people that the program was intended to help, according to an analysis of census data by The New York Times.

Some Physicians Still Charge Co-Payments Banned by Law, 10-3-13, USA Today

Kelly Kennedy reports some doctors’ offices are still charging patients co-payments for preventive exams, such as annual physicals and well-baby checkups, even though the Affordable Care Act prohibits the practice.

Delaying Aging May Have a Bigger Payoff than Fighting Disease, 10-7-13, NPR

Ina Jaffe reports while curing cancer and eliminating heart disease has been the holy grail of medical research, a study finds there could be even greater benefits if aging itself could be delayed.

Costliest 1 Percent of Patients Account For 21 Percent of U.S. Health Spending, 10-7-13, Kaiser Health News

Sandra G. Boodman reports there is a 1 percent of patients whose rank no one wants to join: the costly cohort battling multiple chronic illnesses who consumed 21 percent of what Americans spent on health care in 2010.

Reform Update: ACOs More Likely to be in Markets with Hospitals, 10-7-13, Modern HealthCare

Melanie Evans reports accountable care organizations were providing care to more than half the Medicare patients in the traditional fee-for-service program, a new study found. In addition, ACOs were more likely to be found in markets with greater consolidation by hospitals and doctors.

Uninsured Find More Success via Health Exchanges Run by States , 10-8-13, New York Times

Robert Pear and Abby Goodnough report while many people have been frustrated in their efforts to obtain health coverage through the federal exchange,  consumers have had more success signing up for health insurance through many of the state-run exchanges.

North Carolina Editorial Roundup, 10-8-13, Charlotte Observer

In this editorial Roundup, an editorial about the legislative oversight panel to discuss the problems dogging the Department of Health and Human Services, N.C. Medical Society’s chief executive Robert Seligson is quoted in an attempt to get lawmakers to heed the words of medical professionals.

Questionable Design Blamed for Health Website Woes, 10-9-13, Modern HealthCare

Carla K. Johnson and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar report a decision by the Obama administration to require that consumers create online accounts before they can browse health overhaul insurance plans appears to have led to many of the glitches that have frustrated customers, independent experts say.

Health Act Embraced in California, 10-10-13, New York Times

Jennifer Medina reports with enthusiastic backing from state officials and an estimated seven million uninsured, California is a crucial testing ground for the success of President Obama’s health care law.

Editorial: DHHS Needs to Open Up, 10-10-13, Winston-Salem Journal

In this editorial, the author explains how Aldona Wos, North Carolina’s secretary of health and human services, has repeatedly complained about press coverage of her department and both press and public requests for information about it, and that Wos would be wise to stop complaining about her press coverage and public records requests and focus more on fixing her broken department.

Obamacare a Success So Far? , 10-11-13, Washington Post

The Associated Press reports the federal government has released no comprehensive data on how many people have enrolled for health insurance using federally run exchanges, making it very difficult to judge if this key feature of Obama’s health care overhaul is a success or a bust.

NC Chamber to Create Health Insurance Exchange, 10-11-13, News & Observer

John Murawski reports the N.C. Chamber, the state’s powerful business lobby, is setting up a private statewide insurance exchange to sell health policies to people whose employers drop health coverage for their workers.

Obamacare: The Rest of the Story, 10-13-13, New York Times

Bill Keller explains in the midst of all the hype surrounding Obamacare and how it has begun to accomplish its first goal:  enrolling millions of uninsured Americans, many may not know that it is also beginning to accomplish its second great goal: to promote reforms to our overpriced, underperforming health care system.

Patients Mired in Costly Credit from Doctors, 10-13-13, New York Times

Jessica Silver-Greenberg reports a growing number of health care professionals are urging patients to pay for treatment not covered by their insurance plans with credit cards and lines of credit that can be arranged quickly in the provider’s office.

The ICD-10 Pilot That Was Just Plain ‘Scary’, 10-14-13, Government Health IT

Erin McCann reports Holt Anderson and his team at the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance have already conducted two waves of end-to-end testing for  ICD-10, and the results were just plain “scary” according to Anderson.

 
 

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