HCR Update from Mark Sanna: A study published this week in the Journal of American Medicine Pediatric reports that children whose mothers used acetaminophen during pregnancy were at higher risk for receiving a hospital diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorders or having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behaviors at age 7 years. Stronger associations were observed with use in more than 1 trimester during pregnancy, and exposure response trends were found with increasing frequency of acetaminophen use during gestation for all outcomes (ie, HKD diagnosis, ADHD medication use, and ADHD-like behaviors.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Food and Drug Administration for the first time in two decades will propose major changes to nutrition labels on food packages, putting calorie counts in large type and adjusting portion sizes to reflect how much Americans actually eat. It would be the first significant redrawing of the nutrition information on food labels since the federal government started requiring them in the early 1990s.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Federal health authorities on Tuesday reported a 43% drop in the obesity rate among 2- to 5-year-old children over the past decade, the first broad decline in an epidemic that often leads to lifelong struggles with weight and higher risks for cancer, heart disease and stroke. The drop emerged from a major federal health survey that experts say is the gold standard for evidence on what Americans weigh. The trend came as a welcome surprise to researchers. New evidence has shown that obesity takes hold young: Children who are overweight or obese at 3 to 5 years old are five times as likely to be overweight or obese as adults. 

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Obama administration on Friday proposed cuts in Medicare payment rates for managed-care plans serving more than one-fourth of all beneficiaries, and Republicans immediately pounced on the proposal, which appears likely to become a significant issue in this year’s midterm elections. The proposed reductions were larger than the administration had indicated in guidance given to the insurance industry in December.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Women with low-risk pregnancies should be allowed to spend more time in labor, to reduce the risk of having an unnecessary C-section, the nation's obstetricians say. The new guidelines on reducing cesarean deliveries are aimed at first-time mothers, according to the American College of Obstetricians and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, which released the guidelines this week online and in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The federal government may not completely finish the automated payment system for Obamacare for “several months,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday. Until that system is fully running, the administration won’t be able to verify how many of the consumers who signed up for Obamacare insurance are, in fact, paying their premiums and are hence truly enrolled.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Some health law proponents are urging officials to create "copper" plans that offer lower deductibles, but higher out-of-pocket costs than the health law's gold, silver and bronze plans. In the meantime, the Office of Management and Budget is reviewing a rule that would allow states to create alternatives to the law's insurance marketplace for low-income people.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: More than 1.1 million people signed up for health insurance through federal and state marketplaces in January, according to the government, and the number of young people enrolling increased faster than that of any other group. The results were hailed by Obama administration officials, who expressed increased optimism that they had overcome their initial stumbles and erased many doubts about the viability of the health care law.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Obama administration announced on Monday that it would postpone enforcement of a federal requirement for medium-size employers to provide health insurance to employees and allow larger employers more flexibility in how they provide coverage. The “employer mandate,” which was originally supposed to take effect last month, had already been delayed to Jan. 1, 2015, and now the administration says that employers with 50 to 99 employees will not have to comply until 2016.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong e-mailed employees Saturday evening that he was reversing the company’s 401(k) policy and apologized for his controversial comments last week. “The leadership team and I listened to your feedback over the last week,” wrote Armstrong in his e-mail to the company. "... we have decided to change the policy back to a per-pay-period matching contribution.” The decision came after days of pressure on the company, after many employees were angered by a report by The Washington Post that retirement benefits were being changed.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Obama administration is considering an extension of the president’s decision to let people keep their individual insurance policies even if they are not compliant with the health care overhaul. The administration may let policyholders keep that coverage for as long as an additional 3 years. Policymakers are waiting to see what rate hikes health insurers plan for the insurance exchanges that are key to the overhaul’s coverage expansion.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Three congressional committees reached an agreement today on the policy parameters of a bill to reform how Medicare pays physicians-including doctors of chiropractic-but they have not yet decided on how to pay for the replacement. Early indications are that the new system will provide for annual payment updates for physicians of 0.5% over five years. Medicare providers could also get bonuses by participating in an improved quality program in Medicare's traditional fee-for-service system or in alternative payment models.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: CVS Caremark, the country’s largest drugstore chain in overall sales, announced on Wednesday that it planned to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products by October. The company’s move was yet another sign of its metamorphosis into becoming more of a health care provider than a largely retail business, with its stores offering more miniclinics and health advice to aid customers visiting its pharmacies.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: More than 2 million Americans who would otherwise rely on a job for health insurance will quit working, reduce their hours or stop looking for employment because of new health benefits available under the Affordable Care Act, congressional budget analysts. The findings from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revived a fierce debate about the impact President Obama’s signature health-care program will have on the U.S. economy.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Shopping carts might not seem like a particularly dangerous place for a child, but from 1990 to 2011, an average of 66 children a day wound up in emergency rooms after injuries sustained in and near them. In the 22 years covered by the study, about 16,500 children were injured seriously enough to be admitted to a hospital. Most of the injured were children under 4 who fell out of a cart, and more than 90% of their wounds were to the head.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: You may think that a lot of so-called red states are adamantly refusing to play ball with the Obama White House on the federal health care overhaul. But according to a study released Friday afternoon, the real diehards — the give-no-ground hold outs — are Texas and just four other states: Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Accountable Care Organizations are saving money. Provider groups involved in Medicare ACO programs saved a total of $380 million in the first year. Of the 114 Shared Savings Program ACOs in the first year, 54 had lower spending than projected. But just 29 generated enough savings to qualify to keep some of it, which totaled $126 million for the provider networks and an additional $128 million for the Medicare Trust Fund.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Target has announced that it will no longer provide health insurance for part-time workers but will send them instead to the new health care exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. The change could help low-income workers who will now have access to subsidized coverage. It might distress middle-income workers ineligible for a big subsidy, and it is likely to be bad news for taxpayers, who will foot the bill for the coverage Target had provided.