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The insurance industry and advocates of the health-care overhaul are sketching out contingency plans in case the Supreme Court strikes down a central part of the law, Louise Radnofsky reports on Lunch Break. Photo: AP.

Original post: Insurers Set Plans in Case Mandate is Quashed/a>

The latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds most people want to keep Medicare’s basic benefit structure as it is today — though those on both side of the argument can potentially be swayed.

If you developed a seriously painful toothache, would you head to the emergency room to get it taken care of?

In an ideal world, probably not. But lacking access to regular care from a dentist, an estimated 830,590 Americans sought help for their dental ailments in the E.R. in 2009, according to a report released yesterday from the Pew Center on the States.

By a number of indicators, people have been using fewer medical services during the economic downturn.

Screening colonoscopies apparently aren’t immune to that trend, according to a study appearing in the March issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The study finds that during the recent recession, commercially insured Americans had fewer of the tests to screen for cancer — a test that saves lives, according to research published just this week.

The Value of Colonoscopy: Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that screening colonoscopies to detect and remove growths in the gut can reduce the risk of death from colon cancer by 53%, the WSJ reports. The observational study covered 2,602 patients who had growths removed. Colonoscopy is one of the screening methods for colorectal cancer recommended by various public-health groups, but it wasn’t known whether it prevented deaths.

President Obama on Friday announced a new policy that no longer requires a broad swath of religious organizations to provide employees with contraception coverage in health-insurance plans. Laura Meckler discusses on The News Hub. Photo: AP

Original post:  Obama Proposes New Contraceptive Plan/a>

WSJ’s Lousie Radnofsky reports on new mandates facing health insurers: they must create new Q-and-A consumer insurance forms by September’s open enrollment season. Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

See original here: Health Insurers Get New Obama Health Plan Mandate/a>

Memory Enhancement: Deep-brain stimulation — already used to treat ailments including Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain — also seems to enhance memory in patients with severe epilepsy, according to a very small preliminary study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the WSJ reports. More research needs to be done, but the technique could conceivably be tested in Alzheimer’s patients, experts tell the paper.