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Trimming the rise in obesity in the U.S. by just 1 percent over the next two decades would reduce health care costs by by $85 billion. The fight isn't likely to be cheap. But new researchers shows that even a small dent in obesity rates could pay off.

Bipartisan bills are pending again in both the House and Senate to give buyers of hearing aids a small tax break. But, once again, it looks as though the legislation has a long way to go before it could become law.

Marilyn Tavenner is the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Matt, assistant administrator at Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield, Ky., is her son.

Despite the federal overhaul of health care, people in the pools are left out because of a wrinkle in legal language. The high-risk pools aren't licensed as insurers in most states, so they're not subject to the federal law.

Students aren't employees, and student health plans are generally individual policies that the students buy on their own, even if they're offered through the college. So mandatory coverage of birth control for students shouldn't be delayed past August, but it could take longer for the faculty, advocates say.

The state legislature is now mulling a change to allow trained home care aides to administer medications to Medicaid patients while working under a nurse's supervision. If the proposal becomes law, it could save the state a bundle.

New federal guidelines say every child should be screened for high cholesterol once between the ages of 9 and 11 and again between 17 and 21. The testing aims to find kids with extremely high cholesterol caused by a genetic condition. But the testing will find others whose cholesterol may not need treatment.

Until a national health insurance mandate takes effect in 2014, states run stopgap pools to cover people with pre-existing conditions. The federal funds to pay for the coverage are being stretched thin in many states.

People are looking for answers to complex health insurance problems. The navigators whose job it is to help are going to have their work cut out for them now that that the Affordable Care Act is moving into high gear.

Insurance plans that carry higher premiums may be a bargain for consumers with costly health conditions. Lower out-of-pocket costs for some patients can offset the higher price of the coverage over the long haul.