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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

First Edition: April 27, 2010

Today's headlines focus on the details of health reform that continue to emerge -- including states' reactions to high risk pools and questions about the sweeping expansion of Medicaid.

27 Apr 2010

Centene's first-quarter Premium and Service Revenues up 12.5% to $1.022 billion

Centene Corporation today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. The results of operations for our New Jersey health plan, University Health Plans, are classified as discontinued operations. The discussions below, with the exception of cash flow information, are in the context of continuing operations and all financial ratios exclude premium taxes.

27 Apr 2010

Watson Laboratories sued by Teva Women's Health over generic Cenestin ANDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., a Nevada Corporation, has been sued by Teva Women's Health, Inc., in connection with the filing of Watson's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for synthetic conjugated estrogens, A, in the 0.3 mg, 0.45 mg, 0.625 mg, 0.9 mg and 1.25 mg tablet strengths. Watson's ANDA is for the generic equivalent of Teva's Cenestin®. The suit was filed on April 23, 2010, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

27 Apr 2010

Aetna Better Health, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reach agreement for Medicaid program

Aetna Better Health in Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announced today that they have reached agreement on a new contract that adds the hospital to the Medicaid provider's network in Pennsylvania. The new contract is effective immediately.

27 Apr 2010

Costs, effects on business questioned as health overhaul analysis continues

The Associated Press: The biggest unanswered question in the health overhaul debate remains what the new law will mean for ordinary Americans. "Many experts believe the law falls short on taming costs, and that will force Congress to revisit health care in a few years.

27 Apr 2010

States struggle to balance budgets with Medicaid changes

Health News Florida: A provision in Florida's state budget bill that would have reformed the state's Medicaid system has been officially dropped by state legislators. "The House proposed a sweeping plan that gradually would have led to almost all Medicaid recipients enrolling in managed-care plans, while the Senate proposed a smaller expansion of a pilot managed-care program.

27 Apr 2010

Wellcare faces allegations about director's resignation; Wellpoint confronts reports regarding breast cancer recissions

"A prominent director at WellCare Health Plans Inc. resigned Wednesday and raised questions about accounting practices at the Medicare and Medicaid company. Regina Herzlinger, the head of the board's audit committee and a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, said internal audits found WellCare overbilled the Illinois Medicaid program by $1 million in 2009 and potentially overcharged states for almost $500,000 worth of maternity care."

27 Apr 2010

General Dynamics Information Technology awarded task order to support HHS' CMS

General Dynamics Information Technology's VIPS business sector, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a task order to support the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

26 Apr 2010

WorkSmart MD launches Offsite Practice Support and Meaningful Use consulting services for doctors

WorkSmart MD, a Florida based physician services company, announces the launch of Offsite Practice Support and Meaningful Use consulting services for doctors.

26 Apr 2010

CompCare launches behavioral health services for a health plan in Texas

Comprehensive Care Corporation today announced the launching of its behavioral health services for a health plan in Texas.

26 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 26, 2010

Today's headlines reflect state-level health policy developments as well as forward-looking stories related to the cost of federal health reforms.

26 Apr 2010

ADA Foundation holds Give Kids A Smile Awards Gala in Washington, DC

The American Dental Association Foundation held its third annual Give Kids A Smile Awards Gala in Washington, DC, April 13, honoring two members of Congress and awarding several grants to programs that benefit underserved children.

24 Apr 2010

NPAF urges Colorado Governor to exercise line item veto of $17.9M reduction in 2011 Medicaid program

The National Patient Advocate Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of creating avenues of improved patient access to health care through public policy reform at the state and federal levels, delivered a letter to Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, urging him to exercise a line item veto of a $17.9 million reduction in Medicaid funding passed recently by the Colorado legislature as part of the fiscal year 2011 budget.

24 Apr 2010

New federally funded programs to address health disparities in underserved communities

The increasing number of minorities diagnosed with cancer has inspired a variety of initiatives at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center focusing on minority health through research, education and community relations.

24 Apr 2010

Research roundup: Arthritis racial disparities, hospital mortality data, voters on long-term care

Differences In The Prevalence And Impact Of Arthritis Among Racial/Ethnic Groups In The United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2002, 2003, and 2006 - "Blacks and Hispanics were approximately 1.3 times as likely as whites to have activity limitation, 1.8 to 1.9 times as likely to have severe joint pain, and 1.6 to 1.7 times as likely to have work limitation," caused by arthritis.

24 Apr 2010

Expected impact of recently enacted U.S. Health Care Reform legislation

Merck & Co., Inc. today provided information on the expected impact of the recently enacted U.S. Health Care Reform legislation.

24 Apr 2010

Federal officials confirm states may lose some Medicaid drug rebate money

"The federal agency that oversees Medicaid confirmed Thursday that some money states receive as rebates from drugmakers will now be redirected to the federal government to help pay for the new health overhaul," Kaiser Health News reports.

24 Apr 2010

New Jersey District Court jury finds Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 not invalid: Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that a jury returned a verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey finding that Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 is not invalid. The Court has reserved decision on the issue of what, if any, effect to give to the jury's determinations in connection with the obviousness-type double patenting defenses, which Teva has argued is to be decided by the Court.

24 Apr 2010

Court upholds Maine's ruling to cut insurance premium hikes; Florida voters to decide whether to amend constitution to fight federal mandate

The Wall Street Journal: "A state court upheld a Maine official's decision to deny a profit margin for a WellPoint Inc. unit in a health-insurance rate request—a ruling that may resonate in other states where regulators are battling premium hikes. Thomas E. Humphrey, chief justice of the Maine superior court, wrote that the approved 2009 rate for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's individual health-insurance product line met the state's legal standard and wasn't 'inadequate'" (Matthews, 4/23).

24 Apr 2010

Federal officials confirm a shift in Medicaid drug rebates

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "The federal agency that oversees Medicaid confirmed Thursday that some money states receive as rebates from drugmakers will now be redirected to the federal government to help pay for the new health overhaul" (Weaver, 4/22).

24 Apr 2010

Medicaid News and Research

First Edition: April 27, 2010

Centene's first-quarter Premium and Service Revenues up 12.5% to $1.022 billion

Watson Laboratories sued by Teva Women's Health over generic Cenestin ANDA

Aetna Better Health, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reach agreement for Medicaid program

Costs, effects on business questioned as health overhaul analysis continues

States struggle to balance budgets with Medicaid changes

Wellcare faces allegations about director's resignation; Wellpoint confronts reports regarding breast cancer recissions

General Dynamics Information Technology awarded task order to support HHS' CMS

WorkSmart MD launches Offsite Practice Support and Meaningful Use consulting services for doctors

CompCare launches behavioral health services for a health plan in Texas

First Edition: April 26, 2010

ADA Foundation holds Give Kids A Smile Awards Gala in Washington, DC

NPAF urges Colorado Governor to exercise line item veto of $17.9M reduction in 2011 Medicaid program

New federally funded programs to address health disparities in underserved communities

Research roundup: Arthritis racial disparities, hospital mortality data, voters on long-term care

Expected impact of recently enacted U.S. Health Care Reform legislation

Federal officials confirm states may lose some Medicaid drug rebate money

New Jersey District Court jury finds Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 not invalid: Teva

Court upholds Maine's ruling to cut insurance premium hikes; Florida voters to decide whether to amend constitution to fight federal mandate

Federal officials confirm a shift in Medicaid drug rebates

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