Health News

The case focused on whether patients and providers can sue California for low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

A sizable proportion of people who are taken to hospitals for heart attacks -- more than a third, and more women than men -- do not have chest pain and, as a result, may not receive lifesaving treatment.

Doxil and methotrexate are among the drugs whose shortfall is threatening lives in the United States.

Updates on some recent posts.

William C. Weldon will step down as chief executive of Johnson & Johnson, which has struggled to emerge from a swarm of product recalls and manufacturing lapses.

Before recalling an all-metal artificial hip, Johnson & Johnson insisted it was safe and maintained that company-sponsored studies refuted complaints that the device was flawed.

Seven organizations received the funding, which is designed to advance the formation of health insurance co-operatives -- an alternative to the idea of a government-run public option and an entity to compete against private insurance plans.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday added an extra 30 minutes to the time provided for oral arguments, bumping up the total to six hours over three days.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing cutting $2.7 billion from that state's Medicaid program. Also, New Mexico's governor is proposing Medicaid patients pay more out of pocket if they go to the ER for care that's not an emergency. Georgia may drug-test Medicaid patients, and California Medicaid changes are questioned by patient advocates.

iWatch News and Medscape each report on patient safety issues.

NPR checks in on a person it has followed for more than a year as she confronts the challenges of finding employment and getting health insurance.

Market Watch reports that a number of health industry officials continue to see challenges in the effort o automate health records. Meanwhile, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Labor Department have signed an agreement to advance this cause.

News outlets explore how emerging models for delivering care, such as patient-centered medical homes and dental therapists, can lead to lower costs and improved access.

House Democrats have scheduled their own hearing in response to last week's all-male panel organized by House Republicans on the Obama administration's contraception rule. The Democrats have invited a young woman to testify but say that GOP leaders won't allow them to televise it.

States are grappling with funding mental health programs: Iowa lawmakers are fighting over how to pay for an overhaul of the system, Kansas' mental health workforce is dwindling, and Illinois cuts endanger emergency care for the mentally ill.

The medicines, Doxil and methotrexate, are used to treat blood, breast and lung cancers.

Arizona patient advocates are asking lawmakers to increase the pay for providers who tend to the severely disabled. In Virginia, a group of older disabled people find a new home.

Issues ranging from plans to cap or cut Medicaid spending to voting positions on the Medicare prescription drug program are among the policies being tossed about as candidates jockey for tea party votes and conservative credentials.

Increasingly, these are the flashpoint issues on the campaign trail.

States are taking up the fight over the Obama administration's contraception coverage mandate with several state legislatures proposing bills of their own to block the mandate. In the meantime, Virginia mulls a bill that would require women to get a sonogram before an abortion, and a federal judge is set to rule on requiring pharmacists there to carry emergency contraception.