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  April 26, 2013, 2:45 pm

Advocates slam Congress for 'misguided' FAA fix

By Elise Viebeck

A coalition of more than 3,000 advocacy groups criticized Congress for fixing air traffic furloughs but ignoring the sequester's other consequences, such as medical research cuts.

NDD United, which fights reductions in discretionary spending, urged lawmakers in a letter Friday to turn off sequestration altogether instead of "picking favorites."

"Earmarking certain priorities for exemption in a piecemeal fashion is not a long-term solution," the groups wrote.

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  April 26, 2013, 1:56 pm

GOP bill would ban DC abortions after 20 weeks

By Elise Viebeck

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) is bringing back a bill to ban most abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Franks, a member of the Judiciary Committee, reintroduced the legislation Friday after an almost identical measure failed to pass the House last year under a suspension of the rules.

That procedure requires two-thirds of the chamber to support a bill in order for it to pass. 

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  April 26, 2013, 1:44 pm

AstraZeneca denied extended rights to antipsychotic drug

By Megan R. Wilson

Federal regulators acted fairly when denying drugmaker AstraZeneca an extension to the exclusive rights to make an antischizophrenic drug, an appeals court said Friday.

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  April 26, 2013, 11:46 am

Obama hammers new state abortion laws

By Sam Baker

Speaking to Planned Parenthood's national conference, the president criticized Republican governors' attempts to limit abortion access.

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  April 26, 2013, 10:00 am

Lack of health insurance persists ahead of 2014, study finds

By Elise Viebeck

Nearly half of the U.S. working population lacked health insurance or adequate coverage in 2012, but many of those individuals will benefit next year as major provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect, according to The Commonwealth Fund.

The New York-based research foundation reported Friday that the uninsured population has risen substantially since 2003 and somewhat since 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law.

Last year, 55 million lacked health coverage for some time during the year, and 30 million had high out-of-pocket costs that rendered them underinsured. 

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  April 26, 2013, 8:30 am

News bites: Obama to speak

By Elise Viebeck

Obama's day: Planned Parenthood, Jordan

Democratic senators tell White House of concerns about healthcare law rollout

Florida Medicaid expansion in doubt

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  April 25, 2013, 8:06 pm

Dems won’t seek ObamaCare exemption

By Sam Baker

Republicans hammered Democrats for allegedly seeking to carve themselves out of a requirement in the healthcare law.

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  April 25, 2013, 6:30 pm

OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Dems denounce ObamaCare 'exemption'

By Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck

Democrats moved quickly on Thursday to tamp down a report that they're seeking to "exempt" themselves from a key piece of President Obama's healthcare law. Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate said they do not want to change a provision that requires lawmakers and their staffs to buy insurance through newly created insurance exchanges.

"There are not now, have never been, nor will there ever be any discussions about exempting members of Congress or Congressional staff from Affordable Care Act provisions that apply to any employees of any other public or private employer offering health care," a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.

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  April 25, 2013, 5:30 pm

Pelosi: Healthcare reform was worth any Dem defeats

By Mike Lillis

Passage of healthcare reform was worth any defeat the Democrats might have suffered at the polls as a result, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday.

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  April 25, 2013, 4:34 pm

GOP chairman promises drug-tracking law by August

By Megan R. Wilson

A powerful House chairman vowed Thursday to put legislation on President Obama’s desk that would give regulators more power to track prescription drugs.

“I commit today that I will do all that I can to make it happen,” Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said during a hearing.

Lawmakers on Thursday examined a draft bill from Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) that attempts to address loopholes in the drug supply system and give regulators tools to close them. However, while testing the waters for an electronic tracking system, the draft bill falls short of implementing one.

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