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The Chartis Group and HPMG partner to help providers improve outpatient care delivery systems

HealthPartners Medical Group and Clinics and The Chartis Group today announce a unique collaboration to help hospitals and health systems achieve superior performance in health care quality and patient service, while simultaneously lowering costs.

20 May 2011

HHS offers new initiatives to add momentum to ACOs

The Obama administration on Tuesday announced three new initiatives to encourage physicians and hospitals to better coordinate care after a key regulation came under intense criticism over the past week.

19 May 2011

On Op-Ed pages, controversies abound: Romney, Gingrich, abortion, telemedicine, cancer funding cuts

Gingrich was taking basically the same position on Medicare he took 16 years ago, when, as speaker of the House, he was the commanding general of the Republican Revolution. ... Compared to today's Republican agenda, the Revolution of '94 now appears to be a halcyon period of moderation and good sense. Then, there was a hope that government-run Medicare would "wither on the vine" when recipients were offered alternatives.

19 May 2011

GOP intra-party divisions emerge over Medicare revamps

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., offered a forceful defense of his budget plan that includes a proposal to make major changes in the Medicare program after Newt Gingrich, the newly minted candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, ripped the plan.

18 May 2011

Provider backlash to ACO rule continues

According to the American Hospital Association, the formation of accountable care organizations will cost millions more than Medicare projected. Meanwhile, PoliticoPro reports on how CMS might respond to the complaints.

18 May 2011

State roundup: Gov. Brown offers revisions to health budget

A new state department would be formed to manage California's violence-plagued mental hospitals under a proposal in the governor's Monday budget revision. The push to create a Department of State Hospitals — and eventually do away with the Department of Mental Health, which now oversees the facilities — comes as lawmakers and employee unions press for changes to address increasing patient assaults on fellow patients and staff.

18 May 2011

First Edition: May 17, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with The Washington Post, Guy Gugliotta writes: "Minnesota state Rep. Steve Gottwalt, a three-term Republican with 10 years experience in the health care industry, is no fan of last year's health care law -- or its requirement that states set up insurance exchanges. But as chairman of the Health and Human Services Reform Committee, he decided he needed to weigh in on the exchange.

17 May 2011

Fits and starts continue for health law implementation

News outlets report on a variety of aspects of the health law ranging from the IPAB and ACOs to the two states to most recently gain waivers from the Department of Health and Human Services.

17 May 2011

State roundup: Calif. considers safety measures for mental hospitals

Nearly eight months after a Napa State Hospital patient strangled a psychiatric technician, lawmakers and employee groups are pushing proposals aimed at reversing a worsening safety trend at California's mental health facilities.

17 May 2011

First Edition: May 16, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "Florida wants to be the first state in the nation to charge most of its Medicaid recipients a monthly premium as well as $100 for using the ER for routine care. But even supporters acknowledge that the new fees, passed recently by the state legislature as part of a sweeping Medicaid measure, face long odds getting federal approval".

16 May 2011

Gingrich criticizes Obama and GOP health plans; Medicare politics sway N.Y. race

News outlets today focused on newly-declared Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's vision on health reform and on the continuing political fallout of Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal.

16 May 2011

Romney's defense of Massachusetts health plan triggers political questions

In what was billed as a major health care speech, Mitt Romney defended his state's plan but distanced himself from the federal health law, despite many similarities to the law Mitt Romney signed while governor. The circumstances have him walking a political tightrope.

16 May 2011

As consumers postpone care, health insurers make record profits

The nation's major health insurers are barreling into a third year of record profits, enriched in recent months by a lingering recessionary mind-set among Americans who are postponing or forgoing medical care. The UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest commercial insurers, told analysts that so far this year, insured hospital stays actually decreased in some instances.

16 May 2011

Viewpoints: Snappy headlines, prose on Romney and Medicare dominate Today's opinions and editorials

The first question he got from the audience after his speech Thursday was the right one: What's to prevent states from a "race to the bottom," where they cut their costs by slashing spending on health care? Romney had no good answer beyond a vague assertion that Americans are a "generous people" who would not deny health coverage to their fellow citizens.

16 May 2011

HHS: Health law saves Medicare $120 billion

The administration credits the significant savings to changes in the Medicare program that were put in place by the health law combined with other steps to cut down on fraud and abuse, quality of care incentives, and efforts to streamline care for people with disabilities.

13 May 2011

House Energy and Commerce Committee approves malpractice legislation

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday passed new limits on lawsuits against doctors after defeating Democratic amendments to preserve more lenient state laws.

13 May 2011

First Edition: May 13, 2011

Today's headlines include details of Mitt Romney's major health care speech as well as the latest updates on the debt limit and budget talks and the outlook for Medicare's future.

13 May 2011

Next stop for health law appeal includes two GOP-appointed judges

The next appeals court to hear challenges to the law will be the 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati on June 1. The judges have a much different ideological make-up than the Richmond trio: While Circuit Judge Boyce Martin, Jr. was appointed by Jimmy Carter, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton is a George W. Bush appointee and District Judge James Graham was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

13 May 2011

Romney uses speech to take on his political vulnerability: Health reform

Mitt Romney, GOP presidential hopeful, delivered a speech today detailing what was right about the Massachusetts health reform plan that became law while he was governor, what is wrong with the federal health law that was enacted last year and what he would do to bring change to the health system. He spoke at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.

13 May 2011

Washington Governor signs health exchange bill; Texas House debates bills opposing federal overhaul

Gov. Chris Gregoire approved several proposals Wednesday to prepare the state for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, even as Washington's attorney general challenges the law in court. The new bills include a plan to create a state health insurance exchange, making Washington the fourth in the nation to prepare such a system.

13 May 2011