Health & Safety

Then-Gov. Mitt Romney signs the Massachusetts health care bill in Boston on April 12, 2006.

Lessons For The Obamacare Rollout, Courtesy Of Massachusetts

9:23am October 01, 2013

by Richard Knox

Seven years ago, Massachusetts launched its own experiment with health insurance exchanges. Those involved in that experiment say it's gone smoothly, and as a result, 97 percent of the state's residents now have health coverage. Some called the program Romneycare; some still do.

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House GOP Didn't Blink, Focused On Defunding Obamacare

6:36am October 01, 2013

The focal point of the fight over continued funding for the federal government has been the effort by conservatives in the House to defund the Affordable Care Act. Enrollment begins Tuesday. Steve Inskeep talks to Arizona Republican David Schweikert, one of the House members who has supported the effort to defund the law known as Obamacare.

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About 40 years ago wheat breeders introduced new varieties of wheat that helped farmers increase their grain yields. But scientists say those varieties aren't linked to the rise in celiac disease.

Doctors Say Changes In Wheat Do Not Explain Rise Of Celiac Disease

12:09pm September 30, 2013

Doctors have other ways to explain why wheat makes some people sick, like the hygiene hypothesis.

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The audience concentrates on a presentation by Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger's office about the federal health care overhaul at the University of Kansas satellite campus in Overland Park, Kan., earlier this month.

Insurance Exchange 101: Here's What You Need To Know

9:36am September 30, 2013

by Julie Rovner

If all goes as planned, people who don't have insurance will be able to shop for it on online insurance marketplaces starting Tuesday. As long as people sign up by Dec. 15, they'll be covered starting Jan. 1.

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Susan Mull is a substitute teacher in Lancaster County, Pa. She's lived with HIV for 21 years, the past 13 without health insurance. She says an expansion of Medicaid in Pennsylvania would be "life-changing."

A Medicaid Expansion In Pennsylvania May Take Time

8:26am September 30, 2013

by Jeff Brady

Gov. Tom Corbett hopes to tap into federal money offered as part of the Affordable Care Act to extend Medicaid coverage to more people. But he has conditions. His alternative would require some people to pay an insurance premium and to look for work.

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Enroll America outreach worker Rosy Mota (right) talks about the federal health care law with a CVS customer.

Houston Gears Up For Obamacare, Despite GOP Opposition

8:26am September 30, 2013

by Carrie Feibel

Leading Texas politicians have resisted the federal health care law. But in Houston, community groups and public health agencies are trying to educate the city's 800,000 uninsured residents about new coverage options.

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An online course for Affordable Care Act "navigators" in Florida

Health & Safety

One Key Thing No One Knows About Obamacare

7:44am September 30, 2013

by David Kestenbaum

With online health-insurance markets set to open this week, it's still unclear whether healthy people will sign up. Yet the success of the program depends on them.

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Jonah Engle has written for Foreign Policy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York City Independent.

Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter

5:11pm September 26, 2013

In 2006, Oregon successfully made pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient of meth, a prescription drug. Since then, Mother Jones' Jonah Engle reports, 24 states have tried to follow suit — and 23 have failed. Engle attributes those failures to pharmaceutical companies' massive lobbying efforts.

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Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says "6 in 10 Americans who currently lack insurance will be able to find coverage that costs less than $100 a month" in health insurance exchanges set to open next week. Here, Sebelius i

Administration Touts Lower-Than-Expected Obamacare Premiums

11:42am September 25, 2013

by Julie Rovner

According to a report released by the Department of Health and Human Services, "premiums nationwide will ... be around 16 percent lower than originally expected," and 95 percent of uninsured people live in a state with average premiums that are lower than expected.

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Senate More Than Likely To Keep Obamacare Intact

6:25am September 25, 2013

by David Welna

Congress has just days to avoid a government shutdown when the new fiscal year starts next Tuesday. Standing in the way is a House provision that cuts off all funding for the health care law known as Obamacare. The aim is to cripple that program just when its major provisions are about to kick in. But the Senate is not expected to pass any bill that defunds or delays Obamacare.

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