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Most regulations get little attention
By Nancy Watzman Dec 20, 2012 2:04 p.m.Anyone can comment on federal regulations but few -- outside the regulated industries and entities -- do.
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New GOP wave could slow the pace of healthcare reform
By Sarah Dorsey Nov 4, 2010 12:50 p.m.House Republicans will begin planning their agendas this week. Many of these candidates made their opposition to the President's health care law a central issue in their campaigns. But to what extent will Tuesday's elections actually affect the course of reform?
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Can we rate heart surgeries like blenders?
By Sarah Dorsey Sep 9, 2010 11:41 a.m.The Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, released a set of ratings yesterday for something rather more important than appliances: heart bypass surgery. Using data submitted to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the Consumers Union has graded various heart surgery groups using a three-star scale, similar to the way it rates radios, cameras and washing machines. It's a set of valuable public data that could serve as a model for expanding the Department of Health and Human Services' open government sites like Data.medicare.gov and the Community Health Data Initiative.
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Lobbying dollars continue to flow toward health care reform
By Sarah Dorsey Aug 31, 2010 12:22 p.m.The President signed the health care reform bill in March, but over $125 million in lobbying dollars continues to flow to the issue, lobbying disclosure forms show. Total dollars spent lobbying on health care issues remained high in the three months after the reform bill was passed, dipping by only $16 million since the first quarter of the year.
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Lack of disclosure protects bad nursing home firms
By Sarah Dorsey Jul 8, 2010 2:31 p.m.The pattern of understaffing at Skilled Healthcare Group's 22 California nursing homes could have raised red flags for patients and their families, but ownership information is currently difficult to obtain. The company has been ordered to pay $670 million for violating California state staffing minimums. A portion of the fee, the result of a class action lawsuit, is intended to refund patients for the quality of care they received.
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OGD: Future Medicare data looks promising
By Sarah Dorsey Apr 12, 2010 3:28 p.m.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services appear to be on to something with their promised new datasets. It's a leap for an agency whose previous offerings were a confusing mishmash of poorly-labeled files. If they continue to add granularity as they roll out more features, journalists could have a useful and innovative set of tools on their hands.
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Baucus Bill now available
By Bill Allison Oct 19, 2009 11:04 p.m.Read all 1,502 pages of it here (the members of the Senate Finance Committee who voted for it didn't bother to, but don't let that stop you).
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