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State highlights: Mo. drops many from Medicaid; Mich. Medicaid shift savings

A selection of health policy stories from Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Minnesota.

12 Aug 2014

NGS issues positive coverage decision for PTNS to manage symptoms of OAB

Uroplasty, Inc., a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative proprietary products for the treatment of voiding dysfunctions, today announced that National Government Services has issued a positive coverage decision for Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) for the treatment of urinary urgency, urinary frequency and urge incontinence associated with overactive bladder (OAB). Coverage for the proprietary Urgent PC device was effective August 10, 2014.

12 Aug 2014

Black and Hispanic SLE patients are more likely to be readmitted than white patients

A new study reveals that one in six patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged.

11 Aug 2014

European Commission approves EYLEA Injection for treatment of visual impairment due to DME

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that EYLEA® (aflibercept) Injection has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment of visual impairment due to Diabetic Macular Edema.

11 Aug 2014

Feds delay launch of database showing drugmakers' payments to doctors

The system, which had been expected to go public on Sept. 30, will show payments from drug and medical device makers to doctors. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it temporarily took down the system to investigate a possible problem.

9 Aug 2014

Articles describe barriers to, potential of greater adoption of complex care management

The care of patients with complex medical needs is widely regarded as one of the key factors driving increased U.S. health costs, and it is generally accepted that 10 to 15 percent of Medicare patients account for 65 to 75 percent of all Medicare spending.

9 Aug 2014

Hospitals slow to adopt electronic health records

Few hospitals met strict federal guidelines intended to speed adoption of electronic health records, a new study finds.

9 Aug 2014

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare commends efforts to combat Medicare fraud, waste and abuse

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare – a leading coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation's seniors – today commended House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chairman Kevin Brady (TX- 8) for drafting legislation to support greater fraud prevention programs within the Medicare program.

8 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 8, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that President Barack Obama signed into law the $16.3 billion measure to overhaul the veterans' health system.

8 Aug 2014

Longer looks: Kentucky is health law poster child; how to negotiate a lower medical bill; the Ebola outbreak up close

About a year ago, on Aug. 22, a team of inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services arrived in Frankfort, Ky., to see if the people working out of a nondescript warehouse there were going to be able to pull off the launch of Kentucky's Obamacare health-insurance exchange.

8 Aug 2014

Medicaid expansion dilemmas: Mental health care demands, impact of managed care, non-expansion states squeezed

The health law built in changes to the system of coverage for lower-income people. Mental health centers in Colorado are seeing a surge in new clients seeking services under the state's expansion of Medicaid.

7 Aug 2014

New questions arise about hospice companies as rates of discharge increase

When so many patients leave a hospice alive, it could signal problems such as inadequate care or companies seeking financial gains by enrolling people who should not have been considered hospice patients, The Washington Post reports.

7 Aug 2014

Many hospitals struggle to meet electronic health records deadline and face penalties

Many of the nation's hospitals struggled to meet a federally mandated electronic health records deadline, and as a result could collectively face millions of dollars in reduced Medicare payments this year, a University of Michigan study shows.

7 Aug 2014

Medicare benefits from immigrants, study says

A study by the Partnership for a New American Economy concluded that immigrants make a substantial contribution to the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund -- putting more into the system than they take out.

7 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 7, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about how uninsured people fare with the health law's exemptions.

7 Aug 2014

Report says feds stop public disclosure of serious hospital errors

USA Today reports the federal government has stopped publicly reporting when hospitals leave foreign objects in patients' bodies or make other life-threatening mistakes. Meanwhile, Medicare spent more than $30 million on questionable HIV medications in 2012 and the agency is resuming audits for some fee-for-service claims.

7 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Higher costs don't mean better health quality; states and the uninsured

The good news about health care spending continues. In the first nine months of this fiscal year, Medicare spending increased only 1.2 percent in nominal terms, and for 2014, it's now projected to be $1,000 lower per beneficiary than the Congressional Budget Office said it would be as recently as 2010. Even the Medicare trustees are starting to recognize that something big may be happening. In evaluating the recent deceleration, however, a crucial question remains: Can slower cost growth continue without harming the quality of outcomes? (Peter R. Orszag, 8/5).

7 Aug 2014

State highlights: Insurer uses Tenn. position for bargaining power; N.Y.'s Medicaid cash drain

The dominion of Tennessee's largest health insurer is reflected in its headquarters' lofty perch above the city, atop a hill that during the Civil War was lined with Union cannons to repel Confederate troops. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has used its position to establish a similarly firm foothold in the first year of the marketplaces created by the health law. The company sold 88 percent of the plans for Tennessee individuals and families. Only one other insurer, Cigna, bothered to offer policies in Chattanooga, and the premiums were substantially higher than those offered by BlueCross (Rau, 8/6).

7 Aug 2014

Almost Family records net service revenues of $125 million for Q2 2014

Almost Family, Inc., a leading regional provider of home health nursing and personal care services, announced today its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014.

6 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that details how politics play a role in the nation's health care gap between red and blue states.

6 Aug 2014

Medicare News and Research

State highlights: Mo. drops many from Medicaid; Mich. Medicaid shift savings

NGS issues positive coverage decision for PTNS to manage symptoms of OAB

Black and Hispanic SLE patients are more likely to be readmitted than white patients

European Commission approves EYLEA Injection for treatment of visual impairment due to DME

Feds delay launch of database showing drugmakers' payments to doctors

Articles describe barriers to, potential of greater adoption of complex care management

Hospitals slow to adopt electronic health records

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare commends efforts to combat Medicare fraud, waste and abuse

First Edition: August 8, 2014

Longer looks: Kentucky is health law poster child; how to negotiate a lower medical bill; the Ebola outbreak up close

Medicaid expansion dilemmas: Mental health care demands, impact of managed care, non-expansion states squeezed

New questions arise about hospice companies as rates of discharge increase

Many hospitals struggle to meet electronic health records deadline and face penalties

Medicare benefits from immigrants, study says

First Edition: August 7, 2014

Report says feds stop public disclosure of serious hospital errors

Viewpoints: Higher costs don't mean better health quality; states and the uninsured

State highlights: Insurer uses Tenn. position for bargaining power; N.Y.'s Medicaid cash drain

Almost Family records net service revenues of $125 million for Q2 2014

First Edition: August 6, 2014

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