Julie Rovner  

 

Topics by Julie Rovner

Health

Reversal On Health Mandate Came Late For Gingrich And Romney



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By Julie Rovner
Both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney once supported the requirement that almost everyone have health coverage — a key plank of the federal overhaul. And both GOP presidential hopefuls stuck with that position a lot longer than you might realize.
Health

Teenage Girls Will Still Need A Prescription For 'Plan B'



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By Julie Rovner
The Food and Drug Administration had decided that a version of the morning-after emergency contraceptive pill could be sold without a prescription to buyers of any age. But the head of the Department of Health and Human Services overruled the FDA.
Health

Mitt Romney's Evolution On Abortion



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By Julie Rovner
When it comes to abortion, the former governor of Massachusetts appears to have changed his position, from being in favor of abortion rights to being opposed. But now some are asking if Romney ever supported abortion rights at all? Backers of abortion rights don't think so.
Health

Medicare Enrollment Comes Sooner This Year



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By Julie Rovner
The annual "open enrollment" period for joining or changing prescription drug or private health plans is already under way. But the new dates are only one of several changes Medicare enrollees need to be aware of this year.
Health

Administration Drops Long-Term Care Provision Of Overhaul



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By Julie Rovner
The administration has pulled the plug on the CLASS Act, a part of health overhaul that is supposed to provide a modest cash benefit to the elderly for the purchase of long-term care services at home. The actuaries couldn't get the finances to work.
Food

East Coast Pumpkin Shortage Won't Dent The Canned Kind



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By Julie Rovner
Canned pumpkin is not just for pies anymore. Pet owners feed it to pudgy doggies to help them lose weight without feeling deprived. A similar principal of bulking up on healthy stuff applies to people diets, too.
Health

Boomers 'Delusion' About Health In Retirement



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By Julie Rovner
A new poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health finds most baby boomers say they're planning on an active and healthy retirement. But some experts worry that when it comes to their health, boomers are still woefully unprepared — or worse, in denial.
Health

Feds Order Insurers To Cover Birth Control Free Of Charge To Women



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By Julie Rovner
Starting a year from now, most new health insurance policies will have to include a comprehensive list of women's preventive health services with no copay or deductible. Under the rule, insurers would have to cover all prescription contraceptives approved by the FDA.
Health

Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory



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By Julie Rovner
Is birth control part of preventive care for women? That's the question before an independent panel of experts. And their decision could force insurance companies to fully cover the cost of the pill and other prescription contraceptives.
Health

Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory



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By Julie Rovner
Is birth control part of preventive care for women? That's the question before an independent panel of experts. And their decision could force insurance companies to fully cover the cost of the pill and other prescription contraceptives.
US News

Medicaid Makes 'Big Difference' In Lives, Study Finds


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By Julie Rovner
Medicaid remains a prime candidate for cuts, but a bipartisan study finds the program for the poor is making a bigger impact than even some supporters may have realized. The findings are dramatically at odds with the storyline coming from Medicaid critics.
Health

Poll: Generation Y Is Divided On Abortion, Like Their Parents



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By Julie Rovner
The millennial generation supports gay marriage. And the same group also supports abortion rights, but is conflicted in doing so. Overlapping majorities of respondents to a new poll described themselves as both "pro-choice" and "pro-life."
Health Care

Abortion Foes Push To Redefine Personhood



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By Julie Rovner
Activists want to rewrite laws to recognize someone as a person from the moment a sperm fertilizes an egg. But a redefinition could threaten the use of a long list of commonly used contraceptives, including some birth control pills and the intrauterine device.
Health

In Mitt Romney's Defense Of Health Plan, Echoes Of Obama



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By Julie Rovner
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is trying to both defend and disavow the landmark universal health law he signed into law in 2006. But the GOP presidential hopeful's protestations make him sound very much like, well, President Obama.
Health Care

Appeals Court Hears Challenges To Health Care Law



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By Julie Rovner
The hearing in Richmond, Va., marked the first time any of the dozens of lawsuits filed against last year's law have reached the appellate level, and brings the measure a step closer to what most predict will be a legal showdown that will only end at the Supreme Court sometime in 2012.
Health

Emergency Room Doctors Say Health Law Will Make ER Crowding Worse



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By Julie Rovner
Overcrowding in emergency rooms isn't caused by people who don't have insurance — it's caused by people who do, but still can't find a doctor to treat them. And doctors say there is not nearly enough attention paid to emergency departments in the new health care law.
Health Care

Planned Parenthood Makes Abortion Foes See Red



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By Julie Rovner
The organization is the nation's largest single provider of abortions, yet it still gets millions of dollars in federal funding with which to provide other services. Efforts over nearly three decades to change that have been unsuccessful — infuriating abortion opponents.
Health

Happy Birthday, Affordable Care Act!



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By Julie Rovner
As the federal law overhauling health care turns one year old, opponents and supporters are finding some creative ways to mark the occasion. Doughnut hole bake sale, anyone?
Health

After Health Care Repeal, GOP Targets Abortion



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By Julie Rovner
Republican leaders introduced legislation that would permanently bar any taxpayer subsidies for abortion. But supporters of abortion rights say the new GOP majority is overplaying its hand by making the bill a top priority.
Health Care

Dems Sharpen Health Message As Repeal Efforts Go Forward



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By Julie Rovner
Democrats appear to be listening to their advisors who told them earlier this year to stop wonking out with the policy points and talk about how real people are impacted by the health law. Meanwhile, Republicans aren't giving up the fight.
Health

The Many Lives Of The 'Death Panel'



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By Julie Rovner
Though the Obama administration recently deleted a reference in regulations to end-of-life planning during annual physicals for Medicare patients, it's still legal for physicians to talk with patients about care when faced with a terminal illness.
Health

GOP Faces Uphill Climb To Undo Health Law



MEET THE GOP'S RISING STARS
By Julie Rovner
House Republicans who promised their constituents that they would get rid of and replace the health law may find it's easier said than done. With a Democratic majority in the Senate, such a repeal is unlikely to go far.
Health Care

2010's Topsy-Turvy Health Care Ride



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By Julie Rovner
From its dramatic passage to efforts to repeal it or have it declared unconstitutional, the most sweeping change to federal health law in more than 40 years roiled the nation's politics in 2010.
Health Care

Virgina Court Decision Not The Final Word On New Health Law



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By Julie Rovner
More than 20 lawsuits have been filed against the new health law. Dozens have been dismissed, and judges in Virginia and Florida have said the individual mandate is Constitutional.
Health Care

Health Industry Cool To Complete Repeal Of New Law


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By Julie Rovner
Republicans in Congress say their priority for next year is to build momentum for an eventual repeal of the new health overhaul. But they could be in for a surprise: Pushback from some of their allies in the health care industry.

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