Supreme Court sets Obama healthcare arguments

2011-12-19T10:00:24Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oral arguments on President Barack Obama's sweeping U.S. healthcare overhaul will last 5-1/2 hours spread over three days from March 26-28, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

The Supreme Court last month agreed to hear the...

High court sets Obama healthcare arguments

2011-12-19T10:00:20Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oral arguments on President Barack Obama's sweeping U.S. healthcare overhaul will last 5-1/2 hours spread over three days from March 26-28, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

The Supreme Court last month agree...

2.5 million young adults insured due to reforms: U.S.

2011-12-14T10:30:15Z

(Reuters) - U.S. healthcare reforms have enabled 2.5 million young adults to obtain insurance coverage, the U.S. government said on Wednesday, up from 1 million earlier this year.

Federal officials credited the gains to the

Top court schedules Obama healthcare law briefs

2011-12-08T15:00:43Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Thursday set the schedule for briefs to be filed ahead of hearing arguments in late March over President Barack Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul law.

The high court agreed to a proposal by the three main parties in the legal battle and by two attorneys who have be...

Obama supports less access to morning-after pill

2011-12-08T10:30:24Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he supports a controversial decision by the U.S. health secretary to overrule government scientists about access to an emergency contraceptive known as the morning-after pill.

Obama said he backs Wednesday's decision by Reuters) - The health secretary overruled government scientists and refused to bring the controversial morning-after pill from behind the pharmacy counter and onto drugstore shelves.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday used her power to trump the

Getting serious about health care security

2011-12-07T04:30:17Z

Health care providers and their patients both have parts to play in the high-stakes game of protecting sensitive medical information, especially as technology becomes easier to implement and enforcement of regulations intensifies.

Let's be truthful. Being compliant with the Healthcare Insurance Portability Act and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and even its subsequent Privacy and Security rules alone is really like doing the barest of minimums possible to secu...

Care home failure could be repeated, MPs warn

2011-12-06T07:30:34Z

The government must do more to avoid the collapse of further care homes following the fall of Southern Cross, a group of MPs warned on Tuesday.

Authorities are failing to monitor the financial health of providers, some of which are stacking up huge debts, the Public Accounts Committee said.

The warning follows the collapse of Britain's largest care home provider, Southern Cross, which operated more than ...

Obama nominates new Medicare chief, Berwick steps down

2011-11-23T11:00:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official who helped lead President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul will step down from the helm of the Medicare program after Republicans blocked his Senate confirmation for the job.

Obama had resubmitted the ca...

Ministers to crack down on 'hidden' NHS waiting lists

2011-11-17T07:30:39Z

The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley on Thursday launched a drive to reduce the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for hospital treatment.

Around a quarter of a million people in England have been waiting for non-urgent treatment in England for longer than this period, Lansley said.

Ministers are concerned that patients become 'forgotten' after 18...

Supreme Court to take on Obama healthcare law

2011-11-14T14:30:20Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide the fate of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, with an election-year ruling due by July on the U.S. healthcare system's biggest overhaul in nearly 50 years.

A Supreme Court spokeswoma...

Poor worry over government heating aid cuts as winter looms

2011-11-03T09:02:10Z

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Last year Carolyn Brackett and her family received $700 to help pay their gas bills from a federal program for low-income families -- enough to heat their home for six weeks during New Hampshire's ...

Support waning for Obama healthcare law: poll

2011-10-27T21:30:07Z

(Reuters) - Americans' opinion of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform in October reached its lowest point since the law passed in March 2010, according to a monthly poll by the non-profit, non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation...

DaVita says U.S. govt probes payment for infusion drugs

2011-10-25T07:00:14Z

(Reuters) - DaVita Inc, the biggest U.S. operator of dialysis clinics, said it is the subject of a government probe into payments for infusion drugs covered by the Medicaid health program for the po...

Obama To Honor Gay Rights Advocate Janice Langbehn With Citizens Medal

2011-10-12T11:30:13Z

President Barack Obama will honor gay rights advocate Janice Langbehn with the Presidential Citizens Medal at an October 20 reception

President Barack Obama will honor gay rights advocate Janice Langbehn with the Presidential Citizens Medal at an October 20 reception.

Langbehn is among the 13 recipients this year to receive the nation's s...

Lords to debate health reforms as opposition grows

2011-10-11T08:30:37Z

Controversial health reforms will be debated in the House of Lords on Tuesday as mounting opposition to the plans threatens to derail them.

Medical professionals have urged ministers to scrap or significantly rewrite the Health and Social Care Bill while Labour politicians are pushing for it to be delayed or dropped entirely.

In a letter to The Indepen...

U.S. proposes direct patient access to lab tests

2011-09-12T12:00:47Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. medical patients would be able to get their laboratory test results directly from the labs rather than wait for a copy from their doctors under a new rule proposed by federal health officials.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Se...

US healthcare battle edges nearer Supreme Court

2011-09-08T20:30:34Z

A second US appeals court upheld President Barack Obama's health care overhaul Thursday, but an earlier ruling against the plan means his signature reform is destined for the Supreme Court.

The three-judge panel of the 4th US Circuit Court in Virginia ruled that suits filed by Virginia Attor...

Court tosses Virginia challenge to healthcare law

2011-09-08T09:30:29Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out Virginia's challenge to the constitutionality of the healthcare overhaul signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama last year.

The 4th House of Lords.

The bill has split the coalition and drawn criticism from the medical profession with critics fearing the w...

Obama Admin. Steps Up Enforcement Of Hospital Visitation Rights For Gay Couples

2011-09-07T08:30:16Z

HHS has announced new guidance to support enforcement of an Obama memo that bans hospitals from discriminating against gay couples

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday announced new guidance to support enforcement of a memo signed last April by President Barack Obama...

Analysis: Two justices may decide fate of Obama healthcare law

2011-08-15T16:00:08Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The legal fate of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law will likely come down to two Republican appointees on the U.S. Supreme Court -- Reuters) - The legal fate of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law will likely come down to two Republican appointees on the U.S. Supreme Court -- UCLA Health System must pay $865,500 as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over complaints that employees snooped on the health records of two celebrities.

UCLA Health System must pay $865,500 as pa...

U.S. to clarify how insurance exchanges will work

2011-07-11T07:00:40Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - States deciding whether to set up health insurance exchanges will get more information on Monday when the Obama administration reveals more on how these complex marketplaces will work.

The federal government has so far given few details on this transformative part of the healthcare overhaul passed las...

Big Medicare cuts to reduce deficit unpopular: poll

2011-06-30T13:00:30Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Few Americans would support major cuts to Medicare to reduce the federal deficit, but many would be okay with minor savings in the popular healthcare program, a survey released on Thursday said.

The latest tracking survey on healthcare issues by the Alan Milburn has launched a blistering attack on the coalition government's NHS reforms, calling them the "biggest car crash" in the service's 63-year history.

The former Labour minister who was appointed as David Cameron's social mobility tzar in 2010 described the coalition's proposed health reforms as the "biggest nat...

Review to back changes to NHS reforms

2011-06-13T09:31:07Z

Medical experts were Monday to back sweeping changes to planned reforms of the NHS, an issue that has inflamed tensions in the coalition government.

The NHS Future Forum, an independent body which has carried out a two-month consultation on the proposals, is expected to recommend significant changes following widespread criticism of the plans.

The government will respond to the recommendations on Tuesday but is expected to agree to make amendments after Reuters) - House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp said on Thursday his panel has no plans on moving forward on a Republican proposal that would privatize the Medicare health program for future retirees.

"I'm not really interested in just laying down more marke...

Lansley says sorry to nurses over UK health reforms

2011-04-13T13:30:32Z

LONDON(Reuters) - Health Secretary Andrew Lansley apologized for the poor communication of his health reforms and said changes would be made to draft legislation after nurses passed a vote of no confidence in him.

At their annual conference on Wednesday, members of the powerful

Health Secretary loses nurses' confidence vote

2011-04-13T11:30:16Z

Nurses attending the Royal College of Nursing conference on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion saying they have "no confidence" in Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's steering of NHS reforms.

Some 96 percent of the 497 delegates at the RCN conference in Liverpool voted in favour of the motion.

Medical groups such as the RCN and

2011-04-13T10:00:23Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Nurses overwhelmingly passed a vote of no confidence in Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's handling of health reforms on Wednesday, warning budget cuts could have "catastrophic" consequences for patient care.

At their annual conference, members of the powerful

NHS job cuts to hit frontline staff, union warns

2011-04-11T07:30:27Z

Frontline job cuts in the NHS will have "catastrophic consequences" for patient safety and care, with nurses accounting for almost half of all positions to be axed, a nursing union warned on Monday.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) looked at 21 NHS trusts in England and found that 54 percent -- 5,209 -- of nearly 10,000 posts due ...

Senate votes to repeal healthcare tax measure

2011-04-05T15:00:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bowing to pressure from business groups worried about an avalanche of paperwork, the Senate voted on Tuesday to rescind a tax-reporting requirement included in last year's healthcare overhaul law.

With bipartisan support, the Senate voted 87-12 to pass legislation sponsored by Republican Senator Mike Johanns...

Miliband blasts coalition's 'dangerous' NHS reforms

2011-04-04T09:30:46Z

Labour leader Ed Miliband on Monday slammed the government's plans to reform the NHS in England, saying the policy had descended into "utter confusion and chaos".

The Health and Social Care Bill, which would place GPs in control of commissioning most health services, is "a bad bill, built on bad assumptions and dangerous ideology", Miliband said in a speech in London.

Congress Health Care

2011-01-03T12:31:31Z

FILE - In this June 8, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks during a town hall meeting in Wheaton, Md. Eager to show who's now in charge, the House's new Republican majority plans to vote to repeal President Barack Obama's landmark he...

Medical Marijuana Requirements

2010-12-17T14:32:37Z

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble talks about the new draft requirement rules for would-be medical marijuana dispensary operators at the Arizona Department of Health Services Friday, Dec. 17, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

MEDICAID CUTS

2010-12-13T12:32:10Z

Chart shows breakdown of percentage of Medicaid costs associated with each enrollment group; and the decade long trend between enrollment and Medicaid spending.

...

Pelosi Checking Obama

2010-11-24T09:02:48Z

FILE - In this March 23, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama embraces Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. in the East Room of the White House<...

Food Labeling Sebelius

2010-11-12T10:35:38Z

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks during during a global obesity summit, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

...

Health Care Policy