N.H. House committee says Hepatitis B vaccine shouldn’t be required to attend school NEW

Hepatitis B and other diseases deemed “non-communicable in a child care or school setting” would be removed from the list of vaccines required by the state under a bill that got a surprise boost Wednesday from a House committee. The bill, passed by the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee on a 9-8 vote, says the vaccines cannot be required for enrollment in public school or child care facilities.

The Further Adventures of Paul Ryan, Serious Policy Wonk

Paul Ryan has a very, very serious proposal to eventually have a proposal to take away health insurance from millions of people to pay for upper-class tax cuts. He is defending it with all the seriousity his proposal deserves: The rhetoric: In her inaugural weekly address, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi claimed that repealing Obamacare-a law that, in her words, has experienced ” immense progress “-will result in widespread death and suffering.

Judge Rules That Texas Can’t Defund Planned Parenthood

In December of 2016, Texas’s inspector general announced that the state’s Medicaid funds would no longer go toward Planned Parenthood, citing a series of secretly-recorded videos that alleged the health care provider was illegally selling fetal tissue for profit. Though the videos were revealed to have been heavily edited and the House Oversight Committee’s 2015 investigation into Planned Parenthood found no evidence of wrongdoing, anti-choice activists and legislators alike have pointed to them as a reason why the organization should be defunded.

When is it okay to discriminate?

… actuarial, it’s much, much worse, at least partly because individual practices have been sold to hospitals and large health care groups because they can’t afford the time and the cost for the regulatory paperwork and documentation. And physicians …

Help in navigating the maze of Medicare

… people a year find their way through the bureaucratic thicket that is Medicare. While there are volunteers staffing health insurance counseling sites throughout the state, as well as online resources, Walker’s personal mission to empower consumers …

Cell Medica: Lead Cancer Immunotherapy Candidate Receives FDA Fast Track Designation

Cell Medica, a leader in developing cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation to its lead oncology product CMD-003 for patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease associated with the oncogenic Epstein Barr virus . CMD-003, also known as baltaleucel-T, is an investigational therapy in which the patient’s T cells are activated to kill malignant cells expressing EBV antigens.

Obamacare has staying power

… the trigger? That’s a rhetorical question, of course. Republicans see that they have two choices: They can snatch health insurance away from millions of people, or they can replace Obamacare with something that looks suspiciously like …

A tale of two mergers: Following their losses in DOJ merger…

In the past month, the DOJ and several state governments scored two trial wins in their challenges to mergers among some of the country’s largest health insurers. First, Judge Bates of the District of Columbia blocked the combination of Aetna and Humana, finding that the “proffered efficiencies do not offset the anticompetitive effects of the merger.”

Why GlaxoSmithKline’s 2017 Guidance Is Conservative

Assuming that Advair will face competition from a substitutable generic in the US by mid-2017, GSK guided for flat to a slight decline in Core EPS at constant exchange rates. The stock is trading at a discount to five years average historical P/E vs. peers and some potential source of earnings upside is expected in 2017.

Kasich v Tiberi: Who’s Driving Who On ACA?

… last year when he tried for the second time in 16 years to run for president, wants President Barack Obama’s health care law to continue, especially the law’s expansion of Medicaid. Kasich’s concern is to not repeal the Medicaid expansion part …

EPA conference will focus on radon risks and mitigation

The Environmental Protection Agency is working with health officials in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa to put on the conference in Manhattan, Kansas, on March 7. The odorless colorless radon gas is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking, and is the most common cause in nonsmokers.

EPA conference will focus on radon risks and mitigation

The Environmental Protection Agency is working with health officials in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa to put on the conference in Manhattan, Kansas, on March 7. The odorless colorless radon gas is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking, and is the most common cause in nonsmokers.

ACA repeal vs. N.Y.: Tallying up the harm

President Trump and Congressional Republicans are determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act and roll back the coverage gains and consumer protections the law has provided for millions of Americans. With no clear or realistic plan for replacement in sight, consumers, health care providers and insurers both in New York and across the nation are united in their fears regarding the chaos that could ensue.

Congress should initially focus on short-term fixes for ACA

Premium increases hitting those in the narrow individual health insurance market put a necessary spotlight on the Affordable Care Act’s flaws. But as efforts to repair the law – or repeal it – ramp up with the recent confirmation of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price , it is important to remember that the ACA also benefited millions of Americans.

Why Donald Trump and the GOP Can’t Repeal Obamacare

After Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency on the promise to repeal and replace Obamacare with ” something terrific ,” his administration has just released a set of tweaks to the health care law-and those tweaks all favor the insurance industry over ordinary Americans. The Affordable Care Act , which the GOP gleefully dubbed Obamacare, is clearly not good enough to serve all Americans well.

Traumacare: son of ACA

… places.” He said the best hope is to “learn how to put it all together so we can move forward.” K. John McConnell, Health Economist & Director of the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness, Oregon Health & Science University, cautioned that it took …

A new way to count the poor

… as families no longer submit the applications.” In contrast, using information about enrollment in subsidized health insurance programs gives the state accurate information about each student’s need, Roy said. If Malloy’s new definition for …

The Shameful Republican Assault on Medicaid

… lawmakers outlined proposals that are familiar from a plan that Ryan put out last year . They included expanded health savings accounts, financial aid for the establishment of high-risk pools at the state level, and the replacement of income-based …

A Big Week for Health Care

A Big Week for Health Care – “In the fight to save the ACA, next week is absolutely pivotal,” Topher Spiro tweeted on Thursday, referring to the health care law. “And YOU can help…” – The fight for the law is really a fight to prevent millions of people from losing health insurance and, by extension, medical care.

Three ways Republicans want to replace Obamacare

House GOP members met Thursday to hear more from committee leaders about efforts to replace the massive health reform law. In a presentation, Representatives Greg Walden of Oregon and Kevin Brady of Texas explained how the party wants to overhaul America’s health care system through the use of tax credits, health savings accounts and changes to Medicaid funding, among other measures.

House GOP discusses Obamacare replacement ideas – but does not call them a plan

House Republicans left a highly anticipated meeting on health care Thursday with some new details on the options GOP leaders are considering to replace the Affordable Care Act – but without the fully formed plan that those leaders and President Trump have promised. The meeting in the Capitol basement included presentations from leaders of key House committees and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, and it was intended to give lawmakers more information ahead of a week-long recess where many of them will be meeting constituents eager for details on what will replace the health care law the GOP has pledged to repeal.

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House Republican leaders shared general descriptions Thursday with rank-and-file lawmakers of how they’d propose replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law, with little detail. Highlights are based on a document distributed to legislators obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with lawmakers, aides and lobbyists: MEDICAID: Phases out Obama’s expanded Medicaid coverage for more low-income people that 31 states accepted, which is nearly completely financed by federal funds.

Medicaid exposes rifts within the GOP over the programa s future after the ACA

Seema Verma, nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, testifies at her confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee. As congressional Republicans move from talking points to details of how to abolish the Affordable Care Act, behind-the-scenes jockeying over the future of Medicaid demonstrates the delicate trade-offs the GOP faces in trying to steer health policy in a more conservative direction.

Highlights of House GOP health care overhaul proposal

House Republican leaders shared general descriptions Thursday with rank-and-file lawmakers of how they’d propose replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law, with little detail. Highlights are based on a document distributed to legislators obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with lawmakers, aides and lobbyists: MEDICAID: Phases out Obama’s expanded Medicaid coverage for more low-income people that 31 states accepted, which is nearly completely financed by federal funds.

Take these steps if you haven’t gotten your W-2

You’re ready to file your taxes – except for one thing: You’re still awaiting an IRS Form W-2 from an employer. Each January, companies issue W-2s to inform workers, and Uncle Sam, of the amount of money the worker made during the previous year and how much in income, Social Security and Medicare taxes was withheld.

Obamacare repeal would gut opioid treatment gains, study finds

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: WASHINGTON – A new study by Harvard Medical School and New York University shows that repealing the Affordable Care Act would cut $5.5 billion a year for substance-abuse and mental health treatment, creating a 50 percent spike in the number of people unable to address their opioid dependence. The lost funding would have sweeping implications as deaths from opioid abuse continue to rise across the nation and local governments struggle with the effects on their communities.