ThinkProgress's Igor Volsky warns against bringing the individual insurance mandate into debt-ceiling negotiations.

Newspapers in Iowa and Kentucky explain their states' medical loss ratio adjustments.

Some healthcare providers ae embracing accountable care organizations, USA Today reports.

It's down to the wire for debt-ceiling negotiators as they enter the final week before Aug. 2. That's the drop-dead date for the U.S. to raise the $14.3 trillion limit on how much it can borrow or start defaulting on some of its obligations, according to the administration.

Healthcare lobbyists and advocates will be ramping up efforts to prevent cuts to their cherished programs as the White House and congressional Republicans hammer out entitlement cuts that could help a debt ceiling increase clear the GOP-controlled House. At this point, the attention is focused on negotiations between House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the White House to cut the deficit by a reported $3 trillion; talks are expected to continue through the weekend even though Congress won't be in session.

The Senate on Friday rejected the House's "cut, cap and balance" bill that the White House has warned would lead to "severe cuts" in Medicare. A bipartisan Senate proposal instructing Congress to keep Medicare spending under control and find billions of dollars in health entitlement cuts also appears to have been shelved.

While deficit negotiators do their thing, activity in Congress slows to a crawl.

North Dakota became the first state to be denied a medical loss ratio waiver under the healthcare reform law. Read more...

Federal regulators should take the lead in creating a national system to keep tabs on chronic diseases and provide guidance for stakeholders across the country, the Institute of Medicine said Friday.

The IOM released a blueprint for building a national chronic disease surveillance system focused primarily on cardiovascular and chronic lung disease. The report says surveillance systems already collect a wealth of data on chronic diseases, but what's missing is a national effort to "integrate current and emerging data on chronic diseases and generate timely guidance for stakeholders at the local, state, regional and national levels."

The IOM proposes that the Department of Health and Human Services helm the effort.

Federal regulators are seeking public input on how to improve the ethics, safety and oversight of human research. 

The Department of Health and Human Services says it is overhauling its 1991 regulations, known as the "Common Rule," to keep current with changes in how research is conducted. While research used to be conducted for the most part at a single site at a university or medical institution, now it's much more fragmented and can involve an array of disciplines and venues. 

"The adoption of the Common Rule two decades ago was a landmark event to ensure ethical practices and the safety of those individuals who participate in research," assistant secretary for Health Howard Koh said in a statement. 

"This regulatory review effort is primarily about enhancing protections for human subjects. The changes under consideration offer the promise of updating and enhancing those protections to keep pace with current challenges."

A New Orleans judge gave preliminary approval Friday for a $25 million settlement for patients and visitors at Memorial Medical Center during Hurricane Katrina, the investigative website ProPublica reports.

The bodies of 45 patients were found at the hospital after the 2005 storm, and doctors have said they hastened some patients' deaths. In addition, 187 patients and some 800 visitors were trapped for days in the hospital after the storm.

A class-action lawsuit against the hospital's owner alleges that the hospital should have planned better for emergency evacuations and backup power.

The settlement would release the Tenet Healthcare Corp. from future claims by the patients and visitors. The families of some of the patients who died, however, are pursuing separate legal actions.

The Hill has obtained a copy of a draft proposal for Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations under consideration by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The healthcare reform law seeks to incentivize more efficient healthcare delivery by rewarding hospitals, physicians and other providers who work more closely together to care for patients. One provision of the law calls for the creation of so-called Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that increase Medicare payments for health systems that offer better care through collaboration.

To kickstart the ACOs, the administration in May announced the creation of a Pioneer ACO model aimed at organizations that have already started coordinating care for patients.

At least 25 hospitals have signed up recently for consulting agreements with the Walt Disney Co., reports Kaiser Health News. The goal: Learn how to keep customers happy now that the health law links Medicare payments to patient satisfaction.

Drug abuse and behavioral health problems vary greatly by state, says a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Pharmacies are worried about the proposed merger between Pharmacy Benefit Managers Express Scripts and Medco.

Family fuss: The healthcare reform law is in danger of making health insurance unaffordable for thousands of families because of a glitch in how the eligibility for subsidies is calculated, The Hill has learned.

The problem is a huge headache for the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, because it could leave families unable to buy affordable health insurance when the healthcare law requires that everyone be insured starting in 2014. 

Some of the administration's closest allies on healthcare reform warn this situation could dramatically undercut support for the law, which already is unpopular with many voters and contributed to Democrats losing the House in the 2010 midterm elections. Healthwatch's Julian Pecquet has the story.

Pay-for-delay moves: The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared bipartisan legislation that would severely curtail pharmaceutical industry deals to delay the entry of low-cost generic drugs on the market. The so-called "pay-for-delay" legislation passed 10-8 and is on its way to the Senate. Read the Healthwatch story.

The Federal Trade Commission applauded the move, saying it could save consumers $3.5 billion a year in lower drug costs. Drugmakers dispute that.