TheRepublic.com - Health care reform News

North Dakota legislators pick 41 interim studies

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:56:04 -0400

BISMARCK, North Dakota - North Dakota lawmakers will be studying 41 issues over the next two years, including property taxes and the effects of federal health care legislation.

Calif. bill would strip secrecy from health agency

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:58:10 -0400

LOS ANGELES - Two lawmakers are pushing legislation to strip broad secrecy provisions from the state agency overseeing health care reforms in California that could shield from the public how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent, officials said Monday.

Branstad says he's open to health care compromise

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:21:09 -0400

DES MOINES, Iowa - Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he was prepared to consider accepting federal Medicaid expansion funding as part of a compromise health care plan for low-income Iowans.

Judge to rule soon in Ky. health exchange case

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:25:47 -0400

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - A lawsuit has raised the question of whether taxpayers have legal standing to challenge the legality of the Kentucky Health Benefits Exchange that Gov. Steve Beshear created last year by executive order.

Column: Dustups have government's role in common

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:50:15 -0400

WASHINGTON - A big brother you can trust to keep you safe, give you a hand and do right by you? Or a big brother who snoops, lies and bullies you in all corners of your life?

Brewer wrestled with decision on Medicaid proposal

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:23:11 -0400

PHOENIX - The weekend before Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer made her State of the State address in January, she practiced two versions of her speech: One with a Medicaid expansion in it and one without it.

Woes notwithstanding, GOP savors a week of gifts

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:45:04 -0400

RICHMOND, Virginia - Ken Cuccinelli and Virginia's Republican Party ticket heading into the state's November bellwether elections couldn't have imagined how the headlines that vexed them a week ago could unite and galvanize the party in a few short days.

Utah lawmakers discuss health care reform

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:55:52 -0400

SALT LAKE CITY - With federal approval in hand for its unique split-model health insurance exchange, Utah officials began shifting their focus Thursday to what needs to be done so the marketplaces are ready for open enrollment on Oct. 1.

Arizona Senate vote expected on Medicaid expansion

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:25:13 -0400

PHOENIX - A historic vote on whether to embrace a signature part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is expected in the Arizona Senate.

Senate confirms former nurse to run Medicare

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:44:31 -0400

WASHINGTON - A former intensive care nurse with a businesslike approach to a politically divisive public policy area won Senate approval Wednesday to run Medicare and other major health insurance programs.

Health changes may hurt some Ind. Native Americans

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:27:19 -0400

INDIANAPOLIS - For Allen Dunnagan and other members of the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana, changes under the federal health care overhaul amount to another slight, if not a slap in the face.

Expert points to lessons for health overhaul in NH

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:35:09 -0400

CONCORD, New Hampshire - As New Hampshire prepares to implement the federal health care overhaul law, it could learn some lessons from its experience with providing subsidized health insurance to children over the years, a policy expert told lawmakers Tuesday.

Snowe presses for bipartisanship in new book

Sun, 12 May 2013 08:56:32 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine - U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe describes a scene out of a Rockwell painting: With Washington crippled by a blizzard, President Barack Obama worked the week before Christmas with a fire roaring in the fireplace in the Oval Office. Outside the window, his daughters played in the snow with their dog.

Fundraising from HHS secretary draws scrutiny

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:52:25 -0400

WASHINGTON - A fundraising push by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is drawing criticism from a key Senate Republican who questions whether she has a conflict of interest.

Utah to be first to use dual-model health exchange

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:56:27 -0400

SALT LAKE CITY - The federal government has approved Utah to become the first state to have a dual-model health insurance exchange in which the state and the federal government divide responsibilities.

Oregon gets first peek at health insurance market

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:40:36 -0400

PORTLAND, Oregon - This is what competition looks like: One health insurer wants to charge $169 a month next year to cover a 40-year-old Portland-area non-smoker. Another wants $422 a month for the same standard plan.

Group airing TV spot attacking health reforms

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:03:23 -0400

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - An independent political group is airing a TV ad applauding Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for his opposition to federal health care reforms.

AP Exclusive: Calif. exchange granted secrecy

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:48:04 -0400

LOS ANGELES - A California law that created an agency to oversee national health care reforms granted it broad authority to conceal spending on the contractors that will perform most of its functions, potentially shielding the public from seeing how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent.

Barrow says he won't run for open US Senate seat

Tue, 07 May 2013 16:48:23 -0400

SAVANNAH, Georgia - Rep. John Barrow, the last white Democratic congressman from the Deep South, ended months of speculation about his political future Tuesday by announcing he won't run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Saxby Chambliss.

Advocates backing Kan. gov.'s plan for disabled

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:09:19 -0400

TOPEKA, Kansas - Advocates for the disabled Monday praised Gov. Sam Brownback's plan to use projected savings from the state's Medicaid program to pay for in-home services and said they also will push for a long-term plan to end waiting lists for such assistance.

Brown, Democrats wrangle over Medicaid expansion

Sun, 05 May 2013 13:09:19 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - California was an early booster of President Barack Obama's health care reform law and was the first state to authorize a health insurance exchange in 2010. It also was quick to commit to the optional Medicaid expansion that has been rejected by some Republican states.

Ryan tells GOP to capitalize on health care

Sat, 04 May 2013 16:38:42 -0400

ROTHSCHILD, Wisconsin - U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan told Wisconsin Republicans at the state party convention Saturday that they must capitalize politically on the implementation of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, offering those who become frustrated a better alternative.

Fla. Gov. wins OK of priorities after fight

Sat, 04 May 2013 15:23:23 -0400

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Florida Gov. Rick Scott came into his third legislative session as governor with a very short list of things he wanted to accomplish.

Fla. lawmakers wrap up annual session

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:17:15 -0400

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Lawmakers ended their 60-day session Friday, waiting until the final hour to pass a $74.5 billion budget and then leaving town without passing a bill to extend health care coverage to 1.1 million Floridians.

Gov: W.Va. to expand Medicaid, cover 92K uninsured

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:54:13 -0400

CHARLESTON, West Virginia - West Virginia will expand Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul through a plan announced Thursday by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, which would extend coverage to an estimated 91,500 uninsured low-income residents.