Month: December 2013

By Emma Pinedo and Sonya Dowsett MADRID (Reuters) – Spain's center-right government moved to make it harder for women to get an abortion on Friday, restricting a law that had allowed the procedure on request within a 14 week term, in a bid to rally core conservative support. The proposed new rules will make Spain one of the most restrictive European countries on abortion and goes against the regional trend of greater ease of access, after Ireland legalized abortion under limited circumstances this year. The draft law allows abortion only in the case of rape or if the pregnancy poses a serious physical or mental health risk to the mother. It eliminates the option of abortion on request in the case of malformation of the fetus.

(Reuters) – CVS Caremark Corp said on Friday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lifted sanctions it had imposed earlier this year on a CVS Medicare drug plan aimed at seniors, allowing the company to resume enrolling members in 2014. As of January 1, CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager and drugstore operator, will be able to resume marketing of its SilverScript Medicare Part D plan. …

(Reuters) – The U.S. government agency responsible for the HealthCare.gov website for new individual insurance said on Friday that its technology team began work on the website at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), making it inaccessible for customers for two to three hours. The work followed an error made during overnight routine maintenance and the site should be “up and running again soon,” Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in an emailed statement.

BERLIN (AP) — A German pharmaceutical company says it is appealing a Spanish court ruling ordering it to pay compensation to 22 Spaniards who blame their disabilities on the drug thalidomide.

(Reuters) – The website for individuals who want to buy individual insurance plans with income-based subsidies, HealthCare.gov, showed on Friday morning that it was down for scheduled maintenance, just a few days ahead of the December 23 deadline to enroll for coverage on January 1, 2014. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services did not have an immediate response on the maintenance, which has typically taken place overnight and on the weekend. The site, which was launched on October 1, has been riddled with technology issues but has been working better since repairs were made in November. …

By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) – Ugandan soldiers have flown to South Sudan to help evacuate their citizens, an army spokesman said on Friday, although two military sources said the troops would also help secure the capital, which lies about 75 km (50 miles) from Uganda’s border. Uganda has said it is worried by fighting that erupted this week and which threatens to plunge the new nation into an ethnic war. Uganda backed the SPLM/SPLA insurgency led by Salva Kiir – now president of South Sudan – before it won independence in 2011. …