Government Affairs Breaking News news and information

Healthcare information technology leaders today hailed the efforts of Dr. Farzad Mostashari, who announced he will step down this fall as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS, where he's had a big hand in guiding federal health IT policy for the...
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Health insurance exchanges in every state are set to go live in 18 weeks, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius promises that open enrollment will begin as scheduled.
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Municipalities across the U.S. are pushing public unions to accept cheaper health benefits in anticipation of a component of the Affordable Care Act that will tax expensive plans starting in 2018.
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Democratic governors say they are nervous about getting the new federal healthcare law implemented but add they will be better positioned in next year's elections than many of their Republican counterparts who have resisted the far-reaching and politically polarizing measure.
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Two months before open enrollment begins on the state insurance exchanges, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner downplayed concerns from GOP lawmakers that the 2010 healthcare law will hurt jobs and expressed confidence that the employer mandate delay won't affect the law's implementation.
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The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday that it would allow the federal government to continue paying a large share of the cost of health insurance for members of Congress and their aides, averting a problem for many who work on Capitol Hill.
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The pain reliever acetaminophen, often sold as Tylenol, can cause rare but serious skin diseases, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
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Increasing enrollment in health insurance is one of the primary goals of the health reform law. The CMS took a major step to achieve that by signing agreements with five online insurance brokers.
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The nation's skilled-nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities will see their Medicare payments increase in 2014 under two final rules from the CMS this week.
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Florida and Georgia, two states where politicians oppose President Barack Obama's healthcare law, say that insurance rates for individuals would rise sharply in 2014 under the reform law.
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