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Hearing raises questions about how to replace Medicare's SGR formula

Opinions on what to replace Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula with and how to get there vary greatly, comments during a Thursday hearing showed. Lawmakers looking to pull the trigger on finally doing away with the SGR, which is used to determine physician payments, must iron out many of the details that came to light during a hearing Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

16 Feb 2013

Examining electronic medical records and over-billing

The Obama administration is forging ahead with a multi-billion dollar plan to shift from paper to electronic medical records, despite continuing concerns the program may be prompting some doctors and hospitals to improperly bill higher fees to Medicare.

15 Feb 2013

Post office seeks to revamp health plan and retiree funding

The postmaster general asks for congressional permission for post office to run its own health plan for employees and retirees and modify the mandate that the agency pay $5.5 billion annually to fund future health benefits.

15 Feb 2013

House GOP chairman seeks permanent solution to Medicare doc pay problem

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told physicians this week that he hopes to send "doc fix" legislation to the House floor this summer. Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., plans hearings for President Barack Obama's pick to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

15 Feb 2013

Roundup: States get insurance exchange weapon on abortion; N.Y. budget woes include Medicaid money worry; Ga. hospital 'bed tax' might not offer budget solution

Abortion opponents have found a new way to restrict access to abortion -- by using the authority states have over the new health insurance exchanges, which will be up and running in a year. At least 21 states have legislation in place or in the works that will stop health insurance companies from paying for abortions for women.

15 Feb 2013

HRI to begin enrollment in RAD001 Phase II trial for Neurofibromatosis Type-2

House Research Institute (HRI) is recruiting patients for a Phase II clinical trial to test a medication that may slow the progression of Neurofibromatosis Type-2, commonly referred to as NF2.

13 Feb 2013

Auditory training with noise can work in hearing-impaired children

Children with hearing loss struggle to hear in noisy school classrooms, even with the help of hearing aids and other devices to amplify their teacher's voice. Training the brain to filter out background noise and thus understand spoken words could help the academic performance and quality of life for children who struggle to hear, but there's been little evidence that such noise training works in youngsters.

13 Feb 2013

Exposure to harmful quantities of lead may lead to juvenile delinquency

Lead is a common element but is found in old paints (including those once used on children's toys), soil, old piping, water, and the atmosphere from lead-containing vehicular fuels, even drinking vessels. At high dose it is lethal but also causes seemingly trivial symptoms such as headaches. However, in children lead can also lead to irreversible damage to the organs, the kidneys in particular, and the nervous system including the brain.

13 Feb 2013

Feds encourage Mississippi to pursue health exchange partnership

Also, cost issues spark disagreement in Minnesota as the state Senate continues to weigh action related to these health insurance marketplaces.

12 Feb 2013

Intratympanic versus systemic steroid improves sudden hearing loss

Intratympanic treatment with the steroid dexamethasone should be considered as a salvage therapy for patients who have not responded to systemic treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss, suggest study findings.

12 Feb 2013

FDA hears concerns on new narcotic pain pill rules

Survivors of those who died from opioid overdoses urge changes in the drugs' labels, but some patients express concerns that they might have trouble getting the drugs.

11 Feb 2013

Christie tries to make light of his weight but then gets serious

All it took was a late-night, nationally televised bite of a doughnut for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to set off an uncomfortable three-day conversation about his weight. A host of media questions and a warning from a former White House doctor this week represent a small sample of what could follow Mr. Christie both into a second term if he wins re-election in November and on a presidential campaign in 2016, should he choose to pursue one.

10 Feb 2013

House GOP seeks to change Medicare doctor payment formula

The chairmen of the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees want a permanent change to the current system that repeatedly threatens to cut doctor payments unless Congress steps in.

10 Feb 2013

N.Y. hospitals, nursing homes coping with Sandy, other closure problems

In Superstorm Sandy's wake, health experts and regulators are warning that thousands of nursing homes nationwide are still ill-prepared for a natural disaster. The late October storm was the latest in a string of disasters to reveal gaps in emergency planning, despite an industry-wide effort to improve preparedness in the years since Hurricane Katrina.

10 Feb 2013

Roundup: Assisted suicide legalization urged; Abortion bill tensions in Wash., Ore.; Budget squeezes in Ga., Conn.

A push for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is under way in a half-dozen states where proponents say they see strong support for allowing doctors to prescribe mentally competent, dying individuals with the medications needed to end their own lives. ... Groups such as Compassion & Choices, a national end-of-life advocacy organization, have been working to advance the cause.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Medicaid expansion, health exchanges tempt some GOP governors

Politico reports that certain Republican governors are going forward with the implementation of these health law provisions without facing a backlash within their states.

9 Feb 2013

UT Dallas research to determine link between hearing deficits and likelihood of falls

UT Dallas researchers are recruiting patients for a new study aimed at determining a connection between hearing deficits and the likelihood of falls.

7 Feb 2013

Roundup: Calif. missing out on millions of dollars because of disagreements, software problems; Mass. finds more problems at compounding pharmacies; Hope for Kan. Medicaid managed care

California's court-run prison health care program is missing out on tens of millions of dollars a year in federal funds because of disagreement with counties and software problems, a new legislative report states. The legislative analyst's office found increasing numbers of prison inmates who, because of their low income status, are eligible for the state's Medicaid program.

6 Feb 2013

State roundup: Minn. officials want money for coverage expansion

Gov. Mark Dayton and his Human Services commissioner will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to lobby for federal money for MinnesotaCare. MinnesotaCare is a state-subsidized health plan that insures about 130,000 people under age 65. Dayton and Commissioner Lucinda Jesson are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Washington with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

5 Feb 2013