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Health Care Blog

Learn more about President Obama's health reform agenda.

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In Case You Missed It: 2.5 Million More Young Adults Now Have Health Insurance

Mara Vanderslice, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Partnerships Center, shares good news about the Affordable Care Act and access to health care for young adults.
January 3, 2012 at 4:26 PM ET by Mara Vanderslice

2011 Year in Review: Eight Ways the Health Care Law Helps You

Here are eight important ways that you or your family might have benefited from the health law in 2011.
December 28, 2011 at 12:06 PM ET by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Kathleen Sebelius

Nine States Receive Grants to Invest in Early Learning Programs

Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grants will help nine states create high-quality early education and development programs
December 19, 2011 at 5:45 PM ET by Megan Slack

Weekly Wrap Up: "Welcome Home"

What happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov
December 16, 2011 at 5:02 PM ET by

Breaking Down Barriers to Health IT through Entrepreneurship

The Startup America Policy Challenge calls for new ideas from innovators and people across the country about how to knock down barriers to encourage more entrepreneurial innovation in several areas, including Health IT. Share your ideas with us on Quora.
December 16, 2011 at 4:19 PM ET by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Kathleen Sebelius

By the Numbers: 2.5 Million

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 2.5 million previously uninsured young adults now have have health insurance
December 16, 2011 at 1:42 PM ET by Megan Slack

By the Numbers: $21,000

The average salary for in-home care workers is just $21,000.
December 15, 2011 at 3:44 PM ET by Megan Slack

Ensuring Fair Pay for Homecare Workers

President Obama announces his support for a law to extend overtime pay protections and a guaranteed minimum wage to homecare workers.
December 15, 2011 at 3:15 PM ET by Matt Compton

Reducing Health Care Costs – More Good News

December 15, 2011 at 3:05 PM ET by Nancy-Ann DeParle

Providing Protections for In-Home Care Workers

A new rule would ensure that the approximately 1.8 million workers who provide in-home care services for the elderly and infirm receive the protections of minimum wage and overtime pay that nearly every employee in the United States already receives under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
December 15, 2011 at 11:49 AM ET by Secretary Hilda Solis, Hilda Solis

We Can't Wait: Meet the Home Healthcare Worker Who Inspired the President

Pauline Beck is at the White House today to watch as President Obama fulfills a promise he made to her four years ago
December 15, 2011 at 9:45 AM ET by Colleen Curtis

Dynamic Dialogue and Shared Experience at Miami Summit

Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics Jose Rico and Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Julie Rodriguez speak about employment, housing, immigration, education, and health care at the White House’s Hispanic Community Action Summit at Miami-Dade College.
December 14, 2011 at 2:46 PM ET by Modesto E. Abety-Gutierrez

New Data: Thanks to Health Reform, 2.5 Million More Young Adults Have Health Insurance

The Affordable Care Act has made it easier for young adults to obtain and maintain health insurance.
December 14, 2011 at 2:03 PM ET by Alan Krueger

2.5 Million More Young Adults Have Coverage Thanks to Health Law

The provision in the Affordable Care Act allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 has resulted in 2.5 million young people gaining coverage, according to analysis based on new data released today by the National Center for Health Statistics.
December 14, 2011 at 9:56 AM ET by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Kathleen Sebelius

Calling All Innovators – Health Care Innovation Challenge Open for Great Ideas

The Department of Health and Human Services has launched the Health Care Innovation Challenge, which will award $1 billion in grants to applicants who will implement the most compelling new ideas to deliver better health and improved care at lower costs
December 7, 2011 at 10:27 AM ET by Aneesh Chopra

As Open Enrollment Ends, People with Medicare Save $1.5 Billion on Prescriptions

New data released today shows how millions of seniors have gotten cheaper prescription drugs and free preventive services, thanks to the Affordable Care Act
December 6, 2011 at 9:42 AM ET by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Kathleen Sebelius

President Obama Meets with Tribal Leaders

On December 2, 2011, following the 2011 White House Tribal Nations Conference, President Obama met with a small and regionally diverse group of tribal leaders from across Indian Country.
December 5, 2011 at 5:46 PM ET by Charlie Galbraith and Kimberly Teehee

West Wing Week: 12/2/11 or "Bo Meets Bo."

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
December 2, 2011 at 12:00 AM ET by Matt Compton

By the Numbers: $335

Since the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief began in 2003, the cost per year per patient for AIDS treatment has fallen from more than $1,100 to $335 in 2011.
December 1, 2011 at 6:17 PM ET by Matt Compton

More Good News for Medicare

December 1, 2011 at 4:50 PM ET by Nancy-Ann DeParle

Getting to Zero on World AIDS Day

Speaking at an event to mark World AIDS Day, President Obama announced that he is directing $50 million in increased funding for domestic HIV/AIDS treatment and care
December 1, 2011 at 3:02 PM ET by Colleen Curtis

American Leadership to Reach an AIDS-Free Generation

Scientific advances have provided us with a unique opportunity for dramatic gains in the global response to HIV/AIDS
December 1, 2011 at 12:35 PM ET by Gayle Smith and Eric Goosby

Tips for Congregations and Communities on World AIDS Day Activities

Alexia Kelley, Deputy Director of The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighboorhood Partnerships, shares ways that faith communities can join in observing World AIDS Day 2011.
December 1, 2011 at 12:34 PM ET by Alexia Kelley

From the Archives: President Obama Says, "Get Tested"

In honor of World Aids Day, a look back at then-Senator Obama and Mrs Obama getting tested for HIV while in Kenya
December 1, 2011 at 11:19 AM ET by Colleen Curtis

Open for Questions: The Beginning of the End of AIDS

In honor of World AIDS Day, Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Development and Democracy at the White House, and Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, take your questions on the global AIDS epidemic and what the Obama Administration is doing to bring it to an end.
November 30, 2011 at 3:01 PM ET by Katelyn Sabochik

We Can’t Wait: New Steps Encourage Doctors and Hospitals to Use Health IT to Lower Costs, Improve Quality, Create Jobs

The new Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act offers doctors and hospitals the opportunity to earn financial incentives from Medicare and Medicaid if they show that they have adopted health information technology and are using it to make a meaningful difference in patient care
November 30, 2011 at 1:08 PM ET by Nancy-Ann DeParle

By the Numbers: 141,000

Intellectual property theft is not a victimless crime. Sales of pirated DVDs alone cost our economy 141,000 jobs annually.
November 29, 2011 at 5:05 PM ET by Megan Slack

Bargain Hunters Be Wary

The Obama Administration is launching a public awareness campaign to combat the purchase and sale of counterfeit and pirated products
November 29, 2011 at 4:04 PM ET by Victoria Espinel

Millions of Seniors Saving Money on Prescription Drugs, Thanks to the Affordable Care Act

November 28, 2011 at 2:51 PM ET by Nancy-Ann DeParle

By the Numbers: 443,000

Cigarettes are the leading cause of preventable disease in the United States, and cause 443,000 deaths each year.
November 17, 2011 at 5:22 PM ET by Megan Slack