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First Edition: May 22, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of the Senate Finance Committee vote to recommend Sylvia Mathews Burwell to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

22 May 2014

Lawmakers probe hospital pay for short-stay patients

The House hearing was the first congressional inquiry into the consequences of Medicare's "two-midnight rule," which has drawn criticism from seniors and hospitals.

22 May 2014

Nevada to use federal exchange for next open enrollment

The board of Nevada's online insurance exchange voted Tuesday to scrap its contract with Xerox, which built the exchange that has been marked by problems.

22 May 2014

Medicare tightens oversight of drug prescribing

ProPublica reports the program can now expel physicians found to prescribe drugs in abusive ways. Another piece examines three California doctors who are among the top five nationally in billing Medicare for the most complex office visits.

22 May 2014

How the health law played on a big day for primary elections

Six states voted for candidates Tuesday to run for congressional and Senate seats. Some viewed these contests as important to watch because they highlighted face-offs between the GOP establishment and its tea party wing.

22 May 2014

Study provides key data on Americans’ understanding of long-term care system

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released the results of a major survey on long-term care in the United States.

21 May 2014

First Edition: May 21, 2014

Today's headlines include status reports on the health exchanges in Nevada and Oregon.

21 May 2014

Bundled payments could reduce costs, fraud, experts say

Policy experts say switching to this type of payment system could save millions of dollars over the fee-for-service approach, reports USA Today.

21 May 2014

First Edition: May 20, 2014

Today's headlines include the latest reports on various states' challenges related to expanding the Medicaid program.

20 May 2014

Robot-assisted surgery for removing cancerous prostate glands as safe as open surgery, but expensive

Minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery, which has become the main choice for surgically removing cancerous prostate glands during recent years, is as safe as open surgery for Medicare patients over age 65.

20 May 2014

Public reporting of ICU patient’s outcomes did not reduce mortality

A large study of intensive care patients in California found that public reporting of patient outcomes did not reduce mortality, but did result in reduced admission of the sickest patients to the ICU and increased transfer of critically ill patients to other hospitals.

20 May 2014

Viewpoints: Pence on Medicaid expansion; Jindal on Obamacare repeal efforts; 'long-shot' lawsuits

From the beginning of my tenure as governor in 2013, we have been saying no to Obamacare in Indiana.

20 May 2014

First Edition: May 19, 2014

Today's headlines include a report about federal health care subsidies and an update on states small business health exchanges.

19 May 2014

CCHIT awards 2014 ONC HIT Certification to Mirth Connect version 3.0.1

Mirth, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a global leader in health information technology, announced today that Mirth® Connect version 3.0.1 is compliant with the ONC 2014 Edition criteria and was certified as an Electronic Health Record (EHR) Module on May 1, 2014 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ACB, in accordance with the applicable Eligible Providers (Ambulatory) certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

19 May 2014

Umbian announces outcome of new study for U-Sleep automated messaging system

Umbian Inc., a ResMed (NYSE: RMD) company, and leading provider of cloud-based healthcare compliance solutions, today announced the outcome of a new study that shows significant, measurable efficiency gains when using the automated messaging capabilities of its U-Sleep compliance management solution.

19 May 2014

TEVA presents results from real-life, observational study of QVAR at ATS 2014 International Conference

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (NYSE: TEVA) today announced that results from a real-life, retrospective, observational study of QVAR- will be presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2014 International Conference in San Diego on May 18, 2014.

19 May 2014

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield hails Gov. Pence's proposal to enhance Healthy Indiana Plan

The leaders of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Medicaid business are hailing Governor Mike Pence's proposal to enhance the state's Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP).

17 May 2014

First Edition: May 16, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Indiana governor's alternative plan to expand Medicaid. Kaiser Health News staff writer Sarah Varney, working in collaboration with PBS Newshour, reports: "Men and women involved in the criminal justice system are more likely to be sicker than the general population, with higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, depression, mood disorders and alcohol and drug addiction.

16 May 2014

Standard & Poor's upgrades HTA's investment grade credit rating to BBB

Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. (NYSE: HTA) announced today that Standard & Poor's ("S&P") has upgraded HTA's investment grade credit rating to BBB, with a stable outlook.

16 May 2014