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MedPAC 'doc fix' could undermine seniors' care, jeopardize local jobs, and destabilize key health sector

Commenting on an initial outline from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to address the sustainable growth rate formula used to fund physicians, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care said news reports of proposed Medicare cuts of $49 billion over ten years for post-acute care providers -- on top of the many cuts already in effect -- would severely undermine seniors' care, jeopardize local jobs, and further destabilize a key U.S. health sector already reeling from a series of budgetary and regulatory actions.

17 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Support for HPV vaccinations; Compassion and GOP debates

Imagine that scientists invented a vaccine that was proved to safely prevent cancer. Imagine that it was licensed and recommended in the U.S. for all preadolescent girls and available to boys as well, yet five years later only 11 percent of children were receiving the full course of shots.

17 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

Sometimes they challenged Perry from the left (on Social Security and Medicare) and sometimes from the right (on immigration, taxes and mandatory vaccines), but it all came back to the same thing: The frontrunner was befuddled – seemingly stunned that his rivals would question his right to the Republican presidential nomination.

14 Sep 2011

Roundup: Ga. rejects rule to curb dental hygienists' work; Ohio high-risk pool faces higher than expected costs

The Georgia Board of Dentistry on Friday rejected a proposed rule that public health officials feared would have restricted dental hygienists' work with low-income patients. Several health groups had said the provision, if approved, would require a dentist to examine a patient before a hygienist can apply sealants, clean teeth and perform other preventive dental services in a public health setting.

13 Sep 2011

State-by-state scorecard shows which states are best at long-term care support

The report, developed by AARP and the SCAN Foundation, found that Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Maine are performing best in a variety of ways, but still have room to improve.

9 Sep 2011

Penn researchers receive NIH grant to continue programs of Musculoskeletal disorders center

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been awarded another five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue the programs of the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders.

7 Sep 2011

Bracing for deficit panel battle between defense, health interests

Meanwhile, home health advocates are launching campaigns to ward off more Medicare payment cuts when Congress returns to Capitol Hill.

31 Aug 2011

European Journal of Heart Failure publishes results of BIOTRONIK Home-CARE clinical study

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, a worldwide leader in manufacturing cardiac medical devices and pioneer of remote patient management solutions, announced today that results of the Home-CARE (Home Monitoring in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy) clinical study were published in the European Journal of Heart Failure.

26 Aug 2011

Insurer continues challenge to its exclusion from La. Medicaid program

A major insurance firm is continuing to protest its exclusion from the state's planned $2.2 billion privatization of coverage for more than 800,000 of the state 1.2 million Medicaid enrollees.

25 Aug 2011

Roundup: Rx discounts for Medicaid programs are increasing; deadline extended for Mich. Medigap verifications

Governors have complained repeatedly in recent months that spiraling Medicaid costs are crushing their budgets. But there's good news on at least one line item in the $370 billion program — prescription drug discounts are getting more generous. According to a new report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, discounts under the federal-state Medicaid program have been growing since 2006, adding up to a 45 percent rebate for most brand name drugs by 2009.

18 Aug 2011

Nursing home, hospice pay trigger questions, concern, action

News outlets report on a range of issues related to Medicare payments, including losses that are expected to result from a new payment rule for nursing homes and the lobbying effort being undertaken by hospice facilities.

17 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: High-cost drugs and Medicare; pitfalls for ACOs; federal funding fix for nursing homes

Life-extending drugs debut frequently, and they usually seem exorbitantly expensive when weighed against their promise of adding a few weeks or months of life to someone with a terminal illness. In these prostate-cancer cases, one new drug costs $5,000 a month, another $8,000 every three weeks and a third $93,000 for a full course of treatment.

11 Aug 2011

CMS unveils updated website to help consumers compare quality data

Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Friday that site includes updated data to help consumers compare hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, home care or dialysis providers.

8 Aug 2011

P&G fourth quarter net sales increase 10% to $20.9 billion

The Procter & Gamble Company net sales grew 10 percent to $20.9 billion for the fourth quarter and five percent to $82.6 billion for fiscal 2011.

5 Aug 2011

Aerogen receives Ruban d'Honneur award for global growth strategy

Irish company Aerogen, a medical device and drug delivery company has been awarded the internationally prestigious Ruban d'Honneur award in the European Business Awards.

3 Aug 2011

Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care expresses alarm about CMS' newly-published Final Rule

Saying the nation's Skilled Nursing Facility sector has contributed significantly to advancing health care reform and deficit reduction in the face of severe state Medicaid funding pressures and other major budgetary challenges, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care today expressed alarm about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' newly-published Final Rule ["Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities for FY 2012"], and said it will dangerously destabilize the nation's second largest health facility employer, place patients and their care at deep risk, and put tens of thousands of health jobs in immediate jeopardy.

30 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Chambliss on reviving Gang of Six proposal; WSJ on Medicare Part D; Friedman on 'doing this right'

I joined five other senators to identify the difficult issues and make the hard, necessary decisions to address the twin challenges of our deficit and debt. ... Among other provisions, our proposal reduces the debt by $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years, stabilizes our publicly held debt by 2014, and imposes tough and honest budget enforcement.

28 Jul 2011

Symposium on early childhood dental disease

Leaders in medicine and dentistry will meet in Seattle July 28-29 to discuss a new approach in the fight against childhood dental disease: enlisting family physicians and pediatricians.

26 Jul 2011

Home healthcare community praises Ohio Governer's PASSPORT program

While policymakers in Washington debate cuts to the nation's Medicare program as a way to reduce the federal budget deficit, a group of national home healthcare providers is applauding Governor John Kasich's (R-OH) innovative program to keep seniors in their homes when possible, thereby reducing institutional healthcare for aging Ohioans and harnessing rising Medicaid costs.

25 Jul 2011

Centric Health enters agreement to acquire majority stake in Performance Medical Group

Centric Health Corporation, Canada's leading diversified healthcare company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 75% of the issued and outstanding securities of Performance Orthotics Inc., Footcare Dispensary Inc., and Foot Stress Inc..

22 Jul 2011