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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.

Proposed Medicare payment changes for hospitals would lower reimbursements slightly

The Wall Street Journal: "Hospital stocks moved higher Tuesday after the agency that runs Medicare proposed new inpatient services rates for the next fiscal year that were somewhat better than many had expected. Monday evening the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it would like to cut Medicare operating payments to acute care hospitals for inpatient services occurring in the next fiscal year by $142 million, or 0.1%. These figures don't include the impact of the new health-care reform law, which analysts said would cut the rate by another 0.25%".

22 Apr 2010

Berwick may face difficult confirmation in Senate

News outlets continue to report on Donald Berwick, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

22 Apr 2010

State's Medicaid funds tapped for federal health overhaul

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "The new health care law could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government by changing the way Medicaid prescription drug rebates are treated, according to state and industry officials and an examination of Medicaid spending data" (Weaver, 4/20).

22 Apr 2010

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Abbott today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

21 Apr 2010

Drugmakers raised prices last year in anticipation of new health law, Eli Lilly reports financial hit

"Drug companies sharply raised prices last year, ahead of increased rebates they must pay to Medicaid and other expenses tied to the federal health overhaul passed last month. Prices for brand-name pharmaceuticals rose 9.1% last year, the biggest increase in at least a decade, according to pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Inc."

21 Apr 2010

Elan's first-quarter total revenue up by 27% to $310.5M

Elan Corporation, plc, today reported its first quarter 2010 financial results.

21 Apr 2010

Florida House approves expanding Medicaid managed care; Kansas weighs proposal to raise nursing home fees

Calling the current system 'broken' and warning of long-term financial problems, the state House today approved a proposal that would gradually shift almost all Medicaid recipients into managed-care plans. The votes on two bills set the stage for the House and Senate to try to reach agreement on a Medicaid overhaul before the annual legislative session ends April 30.

21 Apr 2010

UnitedHealth's profits rise while future gains may be impacted by reform

The Associated Press: "Insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. trumped first-quarter earnings expectations and raised its 2010 profit forecast Tuesday, but a meager stock reaction showed investors haven't forgotten about the recently concluded health care reform push. The Minnetonka, Minn., insurer said it trimmed the percentage of premium revenue it spent on medical bills for its commercial insurance to 79 percent, down from 81 percent in last year's first quarter."

21 Apr 2010

Hospital chiefs worry about health law's effects, CMS proposes Medicare payment cuts

Kansas hospital chiefs worried about their bottom lines are waiting to see the consequences that the n ew health law will have on their organizations, the Kansas Health Institute News Service reports.

21 Apr 2010

Capario secures CAQH CORE Phase II Certification for Phoenix Processing System

Capario, a leading provider of revenue cycle management solutions that connect healthcare payers and providers nationwide, today announced it has achieved the CAQH® Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE®) Phase II Certification for its Phoenix Processing System.

21 Apr 2010

TYSABRI drives Biogen Idec's first-quarter revenues of $1.1 billion

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its first quarter 2010 results.

20 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 20, 2010

Today's headlines highlight coverage of the political implications of health reform as well as action taken by the nation's two largest insurers to meet a requirement of the new health law early.

20 Apr 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries presents ADAGIO study results at AAN Annual Meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced results from the placebo group analyses of the ADAGIO study that were presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The ADAGIO study stands out from other Parkinson's disease trials as it is the largest clinical study conducted in patients who were still in the very early stages of their disease course (average time from PD diagnosis of 4.5 months).

20 Apr 2010

UnitedHealth Group's consolidated first-quarter 2010 revenues increase 5% to $23.2 billion

UnitedHealth Group today reported first quarter results, including better-than-projected membership and services growth and effective cost management across its businesses. Financial metrics were in line with or better than Company expectations.

20 Apr 2010

AHRQ report shows highest hospital readmission rates among Medicaid patients

One of every 10 adult Medicaid patients who were hospitalized in 2007 for a medical condition other than childbirth had to be readmitted at least once within 30 days of their initial hospital stay that year, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

20 Apr 2010

Ga. couple allegedly took Medicare, Medicaid payments while patients were shorted food, medicine

The Atlanta Journal Constitution: "George D. Houser, 62, and his wife, 46-year-old Rhonda Washington Houser, were arraigned Friday on charges of conspiring to defraud the Medicare and Georgia Medicaid programs. George Houser also faces charges for allegedly failing to pay payroll taxes to the IRS and file personal income tax returns."

20 Apr 2010

Free Rite Aid wellness+ customer rewards program

Rite Aid customers and patients nationwide now can sign up for Rite Aid's new wellness+ customer rewards program that provides members with free health and wellness benefits, as well as shopping discounts and special prices. The program will be supported by a national television, radio, circular and digital advertising campaign.

20 Apr 2010

State Roundup: Calif. hospitals billing questioned; N.Y. hospitals among the weakest financially in the nation

The Sacramento Bee: An analysis of financial data from 300 California hospitals "shows they collected $25 billion from insurance companies between September 2008 and October 2009 - an increase of more than a third since 2005. Hospitals are charging insurance companies, and by extension their customers, billions of dollars for expenses not directly related to care.

20 Apr 2010

White House officially names Berwick as pick to head CMS

"President Barack Obama has nominated Harvard medical professor Donald Berwick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid. Obama had signaled his plans in March and made them official Monday." The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate (4/19).

20 Apr 2010

Michigan medical equipment suppliers unhappy about Medicare competitive bidding

Crain's Detroit Business: A regulatory change by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "could put a crimp on hospital-based medical home product subsidiaries and hundreds of other Michigan-based vendors," an industry that has been growing.

19 Apr 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Proposed Medicare payment changes for hospitals would lower reimbursements slightly

Berwick may face difficult confirmation in Senate

State's Medicaid funds tapped for federal health overhaul

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Drugmakers raised prices last year in anticipation of new health law, Eli Lilly reports financial hit

Elan's first-quarter total revenue up by 27% to $310.5M

Florida House approves expanding Medicaid managed care; Kansas weighs proposal to raise nursing home fees

UnitedHealth's profits rise while future gains may be impacted by reform

Hospital chiefs worry about health law's effects, CMS proposes Medicare payment cuts

Capario secures CAQH CORE Phase II Certification for Phoenix Processing System

TYSABRI drives Biogen Idec's first-quarter revenues of $1.1 billion

First Edition: April 20, 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries presents ADAGIO study results at AAN Annual Meeting

UnitedHealth Group's consolidated first-quarter 2010 revenues increase 5% to $23.2 billion

AHRQ report shows highest hospital readmission rates among Medicaid patients

Ga. couple allegedly took Medicare, Medicaid payments while patients were shorted food, medicine

Free Rite Aid wellness+ customer rewards program

State Roundup: Calif. hospitals billing questioned; N.Y. hospitals among the weakest financially in the nation

White House officially names Berwick as pick to head CMS

Michigan medical equipment suppliers unhappy about Medicare competitive bidding

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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