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Hospitals see new revenues, stiffer fines from Obamacare

A surge in insured patients using health services has increased hospital revenues, even as Medicare stiffens penalties for facilities with high readmission rates or patients who contract infections and injuries while admitted for other reasons.

5 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 5, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of a partnership between two of California's largest insurers in which they will join forces to create a database of patient medical records.

5 Aug 2014

$5.8 million grant for coalition project to help reduce strokes and heart attacks in San Diego County

Approximately 84 million people in the United States suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, and about 720,000 Americans have a heart attack every year, which works out to one every 44 seconds.

5 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Ignagni on prices of new drugs; Sen. Johnson on the difficulty of suing a president

Lately, there has been considerable debate about the soaring prices of specialty drugs, which are aimed at difficult-to-treat diseases.

5 Aug 2014

Cost-saving strategy for orthopedic procedures at hospitals fails to meet goals

A pilot program intended to implement and test a cost-saving strategy for orthopedic procedures at hospitals in California failed to meet its goals, succumbing to recruitment challenges, regulatory uncertainty, administrative burden and concerns about financial risk, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

5 Aug 2014

AMP publishes updated position statement on the regulation of LDPs

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, non-profit organization serving molecular testing professionals and leading education initiatives, discussions, and policy actions central to improving the development and application of molecular diagnostics, today reaffirmed its position that the vast majority of laboratory developed tests (LDTs), or laboratory developed procedures (LDPs)—a term coined by AMP to more appropriately capture the nature of these processes as medical services—should continue operating under the regulation of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments program at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and not be subject to pre-market review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as suggested in the draft guidance notification issued to Congress on July 31, 2014.

4 Aug 2014

Newly insured get schooling on how to use coverage

Health law advocates who had focused on enrolling people in insurance now are teaching them how to use their often-complicated policies. Meanwhile, a Hartford physician explains why he won't take Obamacare plans and thousands of inmates in a Cook County jail sign up for insurance.

4 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 4, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of health policy stories reflecting developments on the state level.

4 Aug 2014

Research roundup: The effect of expensive cancer therapies; missed hospital handovers; children's mental health needs

Medicare uses more than a dozen different payment systems to set payment rates for the medical items and services the program covers for beneficiaries.

4 Aug 2014

Administration says next marketplace enrollment season will have 'bumps'

In a House hearing, the number two officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services responds to a critical GAO report and says while improvements to the federal online exchange are being made, it still "won't be perfect."

4 Aug 2014

Medicare drug premiums to rise $1 a month in 2015

The modest increase of the monthly premium to $32 comes even as officials are concerned about the impact of expensive specialty drugs, such as Sovaldi, which cures hepatitis C but costs $1,000 a pill.

3 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 1, 2014

Today's headlines include more questions about how healthcare.gov will function during the next open enrollment period.

1 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: GOP lawsuit against Obama on health law is not a 'stunt'; 'wisdom' lacking in the House; the danger of cyberattacks on hospitals

"So sue me" is President Obama's message to Congress. And on Wednesday the House of Representatives took up his taunt, authorizing a lawsuit to challenge the president's failure to faithfully execute provisions of the Affordable Care Act as passed by Congress. The House lawsuit is no "stunt," as Mr. Obama has characterized it.

1 Aug 2014

State highlights: Maryland's top health official leaving for Johns Hopkins; Minnesota lawmakers to propose legislation to require contraception coverage

Maryland's top health official, Joshua M. Sharfstein, announced Wednesday that he will leave at the end of Gov. Martin O'Malley's term in January to become an associate dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Johnson, 7/30).

1 Aug 2014

Hospital 'observation stays' scrutinized by Senate Aging Committee

Meanwhile, on the House side, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation that would allow people with group health insurance to keep policies that don't conform to the health law's standards.

31 Jul 2014

GAO report: Poor planning and contractor oversight led to Healthcare.gov woes

The government watchdog organization also found that more problems could emerge in the upcoming enrollment season. Investigators suggested implementation of a cost-control plan and improved oversight procedures, among other steps.

31 Jul 2014

Few states plan to extend Medicaid pay raise for primary care docs

The Government Accountability Office examines Medicaid's supplemental payments to hospitals and health care providers.

31 Jul 2014

Cigna's quarterly earnings up

Gains driven largely by global benefits operation after Cigna reported earlier that its business on the health law marketplaces was soft. News outlets also examine Humana and WellPoint's earnings.

31 Jul 2014

BD reports 5.1% increase in third fiscal quarter revenues

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today reported quarterly revenues of $2.157 billion for the third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, representing an increase of 5.1 percent from the prior-year period, or 4.6 percent on a foreign currency-neutral basis.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 31 Jul 2014

State highlights: New York state faces $1.3B Medicaid payback problem while Mayor De Blasio advances plan to reduce city employees' health costs

When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his first labor agreements with New York City unions this spring, he was sharply criticized for granting long-awaited wage increases in exchange for promises of unspecified though sizable savings on health care expenses (Greenhouse and Stewart, 7/29).

31 Jul 2014