HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Obesity and the form of diabetes linked to it are taking an even worse toll on America’s youths than medical experts had realized. As obesity rates in children have climbed, so has the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, and a new study in the NEJM adds another worry: the disease progresses more rapidly in children than in adults and is harder to treat.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: President Barack Obama said Friday that Republican positions on women's health issues were "appalling" and "offensive" and equated an effort to block his regulation to mandate free contraception to like "being in a time machine" during a blistering speech at the Women's Leadership Forum in Washington on Friday.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Republican-led House, defying a veto threat from the White House, voted 215-195 yesterday to extend the current 3.4 percent interest rate on government student loans that is set to double on July 1.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: A House panel on Wednesday approved a budget reconciliation measure that would cap certain damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, limit attorneys’ fees and establish a statute of limitations for filing health care cases. The Judiciary Committee approved 16-14 the draft bill, which would cut federal spending by $39.7 billion over 10 years.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Hospital patients waiting in an emergency room or convalescing after surgery are being confronted by an unexpected visitor: a debt collector at bedside. This and other aggressive tactics by one of the nation's largest collectors of medical debts, Accretive Health, were revealed on Tuesday by the Minnesota attorney general, raising concerns that such practices have become common at hospitals across the country.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Medicare, which is expected to provide health insurance to more than 50 million elderly and disabled Americans this year, is expected to start operating in the red in its largest fund in 2024, according to the annual assessment by the trustees charged with overseeing the programs.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The American College of Physicians is urging patients with newly diagnosed diabetes and back pain not to opt for the latest-and-supposedly-greatest. It's part of a new campaign to steer patients (and their doctors) to what the College of Physicians calls "high value care," and away from expensive tests and treatments that aren't any better — and often are worse.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: About 2.5 million young adults from age 19 to 25 attained health coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act . The Supreme Court could decide to scrap the entire law -- instead of just the mandate -- leaving millions of young adults in the lurch.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: This week, Medicare agreed to settle a dispute with about 2,200 hospitals nationwide over a decade-long error in reimbursement rates, offering what could amount to a $3-billion infusion to hospitals already bracing for funding cuts under the federal healthcare law.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Texas Medical Board on Friday approved controversial new rules on the use of adult stem cells, raising concerns that Texans could receive therapies that have not yet been proven to work and that could be unsafe.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Spurred by patients and patient advocates, lawmakers in at least 20 states, from Maine to Hawaii, have introduced bills that would limit out-of-pocket payments by consumers for expensive drugs used to treat diseases like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inherited disorders.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: President Obama's landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation's budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by a Republican member of the board that oversees Medicare financing.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: High-strength painkillers known as opioids represent the most widely prescribed class of medications in the US. Federal data shows that over the last decade, the number of prescriptions for the strongest opioids has increased nearly fourfold, with only limited evidence of their long-term effectiveness or risks.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: In response to a demand from a federal appeals court judge, Attorney General Eric Holder says the Supreme Court has the power to review whether the health law is constitutional, but he also urged the court to show "deference."

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Patients cut back on prescription drugs and doctor visits last year, a sign that many Americans are still struggling to pay for health care, according to a study released Wednesday by a health industry research group, the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: In a move likely to alter treatment standards in hospitals and doctors’ offices nationwide, a group of 9 medical specialty boards plans to recommend on Wednesday that doctors perform 45 common tests and procedures less often, and to urge patients to question these services if they are offered.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Supreme Court left little doubt during last week's marathon arguments over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that it has scant faith in Congress' ability to get anything done.