HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Rep. Paul Ryan took the national political stage Wednesday as the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate, giving a televised speech that laid out one of the GOP's sharpest cases yet against a second term for President Barack Obama, and for Republicans as the party of small government.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Under pressure from investors unhappy with the health insurer's performance and direction, WellPoint Inc. Chief Executive Angela Braly resigned Tuesday, and the company's board said it would begin a search for a permanent replacement. The abrupt shift came as the board's leadership had been meeting with major investors in the wake of a disappointing second-quarter earnings.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The overwhelming majority of employers say they will continue to offer health care plans after core provisions of the health care reform law take effect in 2014, but most say they will need to make plan changes later to avoid a new excise tax on the most costly plans, according to a new survey.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The American Academy of Pediatrics has shifted its official position on the contentious issue of infant circumcision, stating Monday that the medical benefits of the procedure for baby boys outweigh the small risks.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: HHS has awarded eight states more than $765 million in additional grant funding to establish the health insurance exchanges. HHS awarded level-one establishment grants—which provide a year of funding to states that have already started the process to build an exchange—to California, Hawaii, Iowa and New York. Meanwhile, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada and Vermont received level-two grants, which are awarded to states that have made more progress in their planning efforts.

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HCR Update from Mark Sanna: CMS will spend $300 million over 3 1/2 years to pay primary care practices an extra fee for managing Medicare patients, an effort to lower costs and improve care for more than 300,000 beneficiaries nationwide.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Aetna announced that it will buy Coventry Health Care for about $5.7 billion in cash and stock in a move by the insurer to push further into government-backed programs like Medicaid.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Obama administration scored a victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals in Houston dismissed an appeal from the Physician Hospitals of America and the Tyler, Texas-based Texas Spine & Joint Hospital challenging a health care reform law restriction on expansion by physician-owned hospitals.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: After several days in which he mentioned only generalities on the campaign trail, Representative Paul D. Ryan sought on Saturday to play offense on Medicare, attacking in detail President Obama’s health care plan, seizing an issue that has the potential to be one of Mr. Ryan’s biggest liabilities in joining the Republican presidential ticket.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney agree there has to be a limit to how much seniors pay for Medicare, but they're worlds apart on how to make that happen. You wouldn't know it from the accusations they hurl on the campaign trail, but that is the real heart of the argument between the two leaders and their political parties.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama in person and in TV advertising Tuesday of cutting Medicare "to pay for Obamacare," launching a strong counterattack to Democratic charges that he and running mate Paul Ryan would radically remake the popular health care program that serves tens of millions of seniors.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: With Mitt Romney's selection of Representative Paul D. Ryan as his running mate, Florida quickly emerged on Monday as a critical test of the nationwide Republican gamble that concerns over the mounting federal debt can blunt potent Democratic attacks on conservative proposals to revamp Medicare.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Republican Mitt Romney reset the race for the presidency as a battle over the size and scope of the federal government Saturday, choosing as his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the architect of the GOP’s plans to slash spending and overhaul Medicare.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Pizza chain Papa John's told shareholders that President Obama's health care law will cost consumers more on their pizza. On a conference call last week, CEO and founder John Schnatter (a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser) said the health care law's changes will result in higher costs for the company which they vowed to pass onto consumers.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: HCA Holdings Inc., the biggest for-profit U.S. hospital operator, told investors that federal prosecutors in Miami are probing the "medical necessity" of cardiology procedures performed at several of its hospitals in Florida. The company made an unusual statement defending its operations in anticipation of a New York Times article that appeared online late Monday.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Aetna Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings this week and raised its profit forecast for the full year, outperforming some health insurer rivals who have cut their expectations due to rising U.S. medical claims costs. Aetna's second-quarter net earnings were $457.6 million.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Generic drug makers released a study Thursday that found generic pharmaceuticals have saved the U.S. -- through private prescriptions as well as Medicare and Medicaid -- more than $1 trillion over 10 years.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Aug. 1 marks the deadline for insurers to refund consumers and employers if they didn't spend at least 80 percent of premiums on health care. Another provision takes effect requiring most employers to include contraceptive and other women's health services without copays in the insurance plans they offer workers.