Julie Rovner
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It's not so much what Mitt Romney said about whether the government should guarantee people health care that has health care policy types buzzing. It's how that compares to what he has said before.
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The farm bill is likely to be left on the table when Congress leaves for recess, but don't panic. The nutrition and commodity programs will likely be extended after Election Day at current funding levels for a while, if the last session is any guide.
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One of the most popular parts of the health overhaul law is a provision that lets parents keep children on their insurance policies until age 26. Several big insurers say they plan to keep that in place even if the Supreme Court strikes down the rest of the law. But it may not be so easy.
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"I'm less concerned about how they rule and more concerned about when we can actually get at fixing this," says the head of Aetna, the nation's third-largest health insurer. He says at one level, the health care law represents a huge opportunity for the U.S. health insurance industry.
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Defenders of an Obama administration rule requiring most health insurance plans to offer access to contraception without copays say there's no validity to arguments it violates religious freedom.
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More than 40 Catholic educational, charitable and other entities filed a dozen lawsuits in federal court around the nation Monday, charging that the Obama Administration's rule requiring coverage of birth control in most health insurance plans violates their religious freedom.
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In 2010, health spending rose fastest among people 18 and under, according to an analysis of data from private insurers. It's just one finding made possible by a new database.
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A survey of more than 1,000 OB-GYNs who work in religious hospitals finds that more than one-third report they've had a conflict regarding religious-based policy for patient care. At Catholic hospitals, the figure was 52 percent.
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The justices will hear arguments Wednesday over whether the health law's expansion of Medicaid for the poor unfairly forces the states to participate. And their decision could greatly affect the relationship between the federal government and the states.
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The Supreme Court on Monday begins the first of three days of historic oral arguments on President Obama's health care law. The court has boiled the arguments down to four key constitutional questions. First up: Does the court even have the jurisdiction to hear this case right now?