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ACP and 20 other groups applaud Senate bill that ensures primary care access for women, children

The efforts and leadership of Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to ensure access to vital primary care services were lauded yesterday by the American College of Physicians and 20 other organizations, representing internal medicine and related subspecialties.

23 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Federal financing for a beneficial health insurance program for low-income children, known as the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP, will run out next year unless Congress agrees to extend it. Bills are pending in both the House and the Senate to extend financing for four years, to 2019. Congress should approve the extension in the lame-duck session after the midterm elections so that families and state officials will know what the future holds. The program needs to be maintained amid uncertainty as to whether other good coverage will be available for these children (9/21).

23 Sep 2014

Highlights: Hawaii public hospital cuts; La. struggles with state worker health program costs; aging in Ky.

Public hospitals across Hawaii are finding ways to reduce staff and cut services because they don't have enough money to make ends meet. Executives from the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. told lawmakers Friday that even after layoffs they are facing a $30 million deficit in 2015. One hospital on Maui chose to close its adolescent psychology unit because it couldn't sustain the appropriate staffing levels to provide the services. It's also considering cuts to oncology and dialysis services if the situation doesn't improve (9/20).

23 Sep 2014

UHC participates in three-year project to improve quality of care and reduce overall costs

UHC will be participating in a three-year project, funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, that aims to improve the quality of care and the patient experience while reducing the overall cost of care by enhancing communication and coordination between primary care physicians and specialists.

23 Sep 2014

Medicare experiment shows initial promise

Accountable care organizations, an Affordable Care Act model that rewards providers who produce better quality at lower cost, are showing promise in Wisconsin and Iowa. Meanwhile, a top Medicare adviser outlines other needed changes.

22 Sep 2014

GOP candidates explore middle move ahead of election

Democrats, in the meantime, try a new tactic -- talking up their commitment to Social Security and Medicare. Elsewhere, Sens. Kay Hagan and Mark Warner face campaign fights centering largely on the health law.

22 Sep 2014

Falcon Physician certified for Meaningful Use Stage 2

Falcon Physician, a provider of electronic health record (EHR) software to nephrologists and a subsidiary of DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading provider of kidney care and health care services, announced that it has successfully completed the rigorous requirements needed to become certified for Meaningful Use Stage 2.

22 Sep 2014

EYLEA Injection gets approval in Japan for treatment of myopic CNV

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Bayer HealthCare's Japanese subsidiary, Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd. has received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection for myopic choroidal neovascularization (myopic CNV).

22 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Ezekiel Emanuel's choice of an age to die; new enrollment numbers still confusing

Seventy-five. That's how long I want to live: 75 years. This preference drives my daughters crazy. It drives my brothers crazy. My loving friends think I am crazy. They think that I can't mean what I say; that I haven't thought clearly about this, because there is so much in the world to see and do. To convince me of my errors, they enumerate the myriad people I know who are over 75 and doing quite well. They are certain that as I get closer to 75, I will push the desired age back to 80, then 85, maybe even 90. I am sure of my position.

22 Sep 2014

Research roundup: Home health nurses' workloads; readmissions at the VA; SHOP choices

In anticipation of next year's premium announcements and given some information already made public, concerns have surfaced about the potential for double-digit percent increases in nongroup and small-group health insurance premiums. This analysis shows that, although average annual increases in small-group premiums over the past 13 years averaged roughly 5.5 percent, double-digit average premium increases are common for states and large metropolitan areas.

22 Sep 2014

Some doctors could face stiff fines because of shifting CMS rules

The physicians, who have already spent millions of dollars to set up electronic health record systems, could now face penalties because of a timing glitch in federal rules.

21 Sep 2014

Obama administration: 7.3 million who picked health exchange plans paid their premiums

That number, which reflects the tally of people who obtained insurance via the health law, fell slightly from the estimated 8 million mark that was released in the spring. It means that at least 700,000 consumers who initially signed up for a health plan let it go.

21 Sep 2014

Health law, Medicare remain hot topics in campaign commercials

Politico reports that, although the health law and other related issues may not be the flashpoints they were in other recent election years, they still have muscle on the campaign trail.

19 Sep 2014

Obama orders plan to reduce peril of antibiotic resistance

The measures include incentives to develop new drugs, tighter control of existing ones and better tracking of resistant microbes.

19 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Many beneficiaries of health law don't vote; reboot for healthcare.gov

For starters, my strong hunch from my own reporting in the region over the past couple years - including several trips to Kentucky for a new book on McConnell - is that the Democrats' biggest problem in Appalachia and the Upland South is not that the people who are benefitting from Obamacare or would stand to benefit from it if their states fully implemented the law are voting against their own interests, for Republicans.

19 Sep 2014

NCQA awards Commendable Accreditation to Centene's Florida subsidiary, Sunshine Health

Centene Corporation today announced that its wholly-owned Florida subsidiary, Sunshine Health, was elevated to Commendable Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its Medical Managed Assistance and Child Welfare programs.

18 Sep 2014

Providence Service to acquire CCHN Group Holdings

The Providence Service Corporation, a leader in the management and provision of human social services, innovative global employment services and non-emergency transportation through a variety of government-sponsored programs, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire CCHN Group Holdings, Inc. ("Matrix Medical Network" or "Matrix"), a Scottsdale, Arizona provider of in-home health assessment and care management services and a portfolio company of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XI, L.P. ("Welsh Carson").

18 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Election victory could bring difficult decisions for GOP; Burwell 'presses reset'

But if the GOP controls both the Senate and the House, its members will be under pressure to govern. At least in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to move major legislation, they'll even have an incentive to compromise .… But that won't be easy.

18 Sep 2014

UCLA Health System promotes virtual doctor visits

The health system will allow patients to see doctors using their cell phones, computers or tablets. Meanwhile, the American Medical Association calls for boosting the quality of electronic health records and asks the Obama administration to abandon its "all or nothing approach" to the shift to digital records.

18 Sep 2014

Senate hearing previews upcoming debate about future of CHIP

A Senate hearing on Tuesday set the stage for a coming debate over whether the federal government should continue financing a popular health insurance program for lower-income children who are now eligible for new coverage options under the Affordable Care Act (Goodnough, 9/16).

18 Sep 2014

Medicare News and Research

ACP and 20 other groups applaud Senate bill that ensures primary care access for women, children

Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Highlights: Hawaii public hospital cuts; La. struggles with state worker health program costs; aging in Ky.

UHC participates in three-year project to improve quality of care and reduce overall costs

Medicare experiment shows initial promise

GOP candidates explore middle move ahead of election

Falcon Physician certified for Meaningful Use Stage 2

EYLEA Injection gets approval in Japan for treatment of myopic CNV

Viewpoints: Ezekiel Emanuel's choice of an age to die; new enrollment numbers still confusing

Research roundup: Home health nurses' workloads; readmissions at the VA; SHOP choices

Some doctors could face stiff fines because of shifting CMS rules

Obama administration: 7.3 million who picked health exchange plans paid their premiums

Health law, Medicare remain hot topics in campaign commercials

Obama orders plan to reduce peril of antibiotic resistance

Viewpoints: Many beneficiaries of health law don't vote; reboot for healthcare.gov

NCQA awards Commendable Accreditation to Centene's Florida subsidiary, Sunshine Health

Providence Service to acquire CCHN Group Holdings

Viewpoints: Election victory could bring difficult decisions for GOP; Burwell 'presses reset'

UCLA Health System promotes virtual doctor visits

Senate hearing previews upcoming debate about future of CHIP

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