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Governors' Medicaid, budget concerns trigger debate

As governors took to Capitol Hill this week to talk about their state budgets, Medicaid and the implementation of the health law, more attention was focused on the issues and cost estimates involved in the debate.

4 Mar 2011

State roundup: N.Y. malpractice fight; costly prisoners in Calif.; abortion battles

Last week, hospital leaders stood alongside Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at the Capitol, pledging their support for billions in cuts proposed by his Medicaid redesign team.

4 Mar 2011

Two-week budget measure signed into law

President Barack Obama invited congressional leaders to meet with Vice President Joe Biden in hopes of taking on longer-term fiscal issues such as Medicare spending. Meanwhile, a new poll demonstrates that taking on such entitlement programs is challenging, because public opinion does not necessarily endorse deep cuts in this area.

4 Mar 2011

Health law legal challenges draw analysis, predictions

In analyzing the recent Florida decision that overturned the health law, one state senate's legislative counsel determined that only a decision by the Supreme Court is binding beyond the circuit in which it is issued. Meanwhile, another legal expert offered a prediction on how Justice Roberts would vote on the measure's constitutionality.

4 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Medicaid costs making Ohio 'ill'?; Penn. adultbasic cuts 'bad'; Calif.'s prisoner dilemma

The president's health care overhaul has made Ohio's budget situation worse. The law prohibits states from changing eligibility requirements, cutting reimbursements or reducing benefits, which would allow our state to live within its means.

4 Mar 2011

PDI introduces new division for clinical educators to optimize patient care and outcomes

PDI, Inc. today announced the launch of a new division, EngageCE, that will offer expert clinical educators to work with health care providers in the management of chronic diseases in order to optimize patient care and outcomes.

3 Mar 2011

Health care fraud a hot topic on Capitol Hill

Hearings in the House and Senate Wednesday examined public and private efforts to address health care fraud. And the Government Accountability Office issued a new report on fraudulent or improper billing to Medicare.

3 Mar 2011

Opinions: Foreign aid, Peace Corps, wartime sexual violence

"Throughout U.S. history, successive Republican and Democratic administrations and Congress have understood that foreign humanitarian assistance is vital to safeguarding both U.S. interests and our national ideals," Refugees International President Michel Gabaudan writes in a Politico opinion piece.

3 Mar 2011

Mater improves communication with external healthcare providers

A pilot of new web-based software designed to improve communication between Mater Health Services and external providers is being rolled out across Brisbane.

3 Mar 2011

Eisai receives FDA approval for BANZEL Oral Suspension to treat seizures linked with LGS

Eisai Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved BANZEL Oral Suspension, 40 mg/mL, for the adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in children 4 years and older and adults.

3 Mar 2011

Rural women seek breast cancer screenings for the good of their families

A new study published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs finds that women from rural populations are motivated to seek breast cancer prevention screenings primarily out of concern for the long-term well being of their families. The study shows that by appealing to their strength as caretakers doctors can encourage their rural patients to perform breast health self-examinations, get mammograms, and to talk with doctors about their breast health.

3 Mar 2011

GOP lawmakers react to Obama's offer of flexibility for states

President Barack Obama's announcement that he would support giving states some flexibility regarding the health law's mandates received a cool reception from many Republicans.

3 Mar 2011

Clinton defends State Department budget requests before House panel

In her testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday about President Barack Obama's FY12 budget request, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also defended the State Department's FY11 budget request, Bloomberg reports. Clinton said the proposed budget cuts for FY11 would be "devastating" to U.S. national security, and U.S. programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq would see "sharp reductions" if the proposed cuts are passed.

3 Mar 2011

Block grant plan among Medicaid alternatives eyed by GOP

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is among those who advocate this concept, but the Obama administration's Medicaid chief "shot down" the approach.

3 Mar 2011

EU's Avastin policy: A stark contrast to the FDA's recent decision

The committee's decision stands in stark contrast to the recent verdict by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is wary of Avastin's benefits for breast-cancer patients.

3 Mar 2011

First Edition: March 3, 2011

Today's headlines highlight the difficulties lawmakers will face in finding a compromise on long-term budget issues, such as Medicare and Medicaid spending.

3 Mar 2011

NHCAA's Seven Guiding Principles for Policymakers to combat health care fraud

As the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means and House Energy and Commerce Committees and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee all hold hearings today on combating health care fraud, waste, and abuse, an analysis that examines the "Seven Guiding Principles for Policymakers" to fighting health care fraud invites new questions about legislative efforts to reduce accountability and oversight of independent drugstores, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association said today.

3 Mar 2011

SAMHSA survey: 65% of substance abuse treatment facilities accept private health insurance

A new nationwide survey of substance abuse treatment facilities reveals that in 2008 nearly two thirds accepted some private health insurance payment.

3 Mar 2011

Health law's coverage expansions tally $118 billion in state costs, Republicans say

House and Senate Republicans issued a report Tuesday in advance of a Capitol Hill hearing charging that the health law's expansion of Medicaid will come with a cost to states that is far more than congressional auditors estimated.

3 Mar 2011

Hospital groups express opposition to easing Medicaid rules

Relaxing maintenance-of-effort provisions will move many low-income Americans out of Medicaid programs and increase the number of the uninsured population, several hospital associations cautioned in a letter Tuesday to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

3 Mar 2011