Medicare News and Research

RSS

N.H. Senate, led by GOP, votes to expand Medicaid

Seven Republicans joined Democrats to pass the bill, which now goes to the Democratic-controlled House. Meanwhile, tensions are rising in Virginia on the issue as Republicans in the House hold out against the governor's offensive, and in Pennsylvania, the Republican governor amends his requirements for an expansion.

10 Mar 2014

Head of federal insurance marketplace resigning

Gary Cohen says he will return to California, where he was once an insurance executive, regulator and head of an advocacy group.

10 Mar 2014

Healthgrades recognizes Adventist Medical Center as one of America's 100 Best hospitals

Adventist Medical Center has been recognized by Healthgrades as one of America's 100 Best hospitals for treating Critical Care and Spine Surgery patients. Healthgrades, a leading online resource that helps consumers search, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals, evaluated nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide and identified the 100 best hospitals.

8 Mar 2014

Teva launches generic Xeloda Tablets in the U.S.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announces the launch of the generic equivalent to Xeloda (Capecitabine) Tablets, 150 MG and 500 MG, in the United States. Xeloda is marketed by Genentech in the United States.

8 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 7, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about new studies that attempt to measure the health law's headway in signing up uninsured Americans for health coverage.

7 Mar 2014

Simple online tool helps predict patient's risk of complications following surgery

The presence - or absence - of complications following surgery is a strong indicator of which patients are likely to be readmitted to the hospital in the 30 days following their procedure, according to a study published today in JAMA Surgery.

7 Mar 2014

Agendia co-founder to be honored with 2014 European Union Prize for Women Innovators

Agendia co-founder Laura van 't Veer, Ph.D., will receive a 2014 European Union Prize for Women Innovators in ceremonies next Monday. Dr. van 't Veer, of the Netherlands, is the inventor of Agendia's MammaPrint® breast cancer test.

7 Mar 2014

House votes to delay individual mandate

The House took its 50th vote to change the health law, passing a bill that would delay the individual mandate to carry health insurance for one year. The measure will likely never be taken up in the Democrat-led Senate.

6 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about health law rule changes announced yesterday by the Obama administration.

6 Mar 2014

Four MAXIMUS centers recognized as Certified Centers of Excellence

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that four of its customer contact centers have been recognized as "Certified Centers of Excellence" by BenchmarkPortal.

6 Mar 2014

$600M for health law implementation in President's proposed budget

In the meantime, the budget also proposes $5.5 billion for "risk corridors" in 2015 to pay insurers who find themselves with a higher number of sicker and older people they must insure. Some call that program a bailout.

6 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Obama's budget punts on entitlements; Medicaid debate rankles states

There is a lesson in this unexpected juxtaposition nevertheless: No nation can safely base its tax and spending plans on inflexible commitments. Political life, both domestic and international, is too unpredictable. Yet U.S. government spending is mostly on autopilot. The government is scheduled to lay out $3.8 trillion this fiscal year - 70 percent of which will go to mandatory-spending programs, chiefly Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and interest on the federal debt. Mr. Obama's plan for fiscal 2015 does not change this; it would increase overall spending slightly, paying for it with selected tax increases, while shifting money among priorities here and there. But these tweaks would take place within the same 30 percent of discretionary spending that the current budget contains (3/4).

6 Mar 2014

President Obama's budget: Medicare means testing and lower drug costs

The budget proposal includes a provision to make wealthier seniors in Medicare pay more as well and another to try to drive down the cost of prescription drugs. A rival Republican plan is also expected to propose cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

6 Mar 2014

Universal American reports net loss of $101.8 million for fourth quarter 2013

Universal American Corp. today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2013.

5 Mar 2014

Obama's budget eyes provider cuts to save money

The president's proposal would save $402 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years, mostly from lower reimbursements to health care providers and drugmakers.

5 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 5, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about President Barack Obama's 2015 budget as well as the latest state-level Medicaid expansion developments.

5 Mar 2014

Oregon's troubled health exchange, Oracle begin 'transition' agreement; Maryland's marketplace wrestled with what to do next

Updates on state-based exchanges in Minnesota and Washington as well as news from Wyoming regarding the Medicaid expansion.

5 Mar 2014

Cell-cycle arrest biomarkers validated for acute kidney injury

Saeed A. Jortani, Ph.D., associate clinical professor in the University of Louisville's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, headed up one of three labs in the United States involved in determining two new markers for acute kidney injury (AKI). The research group's paper, "Validation of Cell-Cycle Arrest Biomarkers for Acute Kidney Injury Using Clinical Adjudication," was posted online Feb. 25 by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

5 Mar 2014

Drug firms trimming speaking fees to doctors

ProPublica examines a shift in the money that pharmaceutical companies gave physicans for promotional speeches.

5 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Ryan's attack on Medicaid; time to fix Medicare's doc pay

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., obviously is a great adherent of the adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." On Monday his committee released another attack on Medicaid, one of the linchpins of the Affordable Care Act and one that for some reason is especially detested by conservatives, like the majority members of Ryan's committee (Michael Hiltzik, 3/3).

5 Mar 2014