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Prescription abandonment can undermine medical treatment, increase healthcare costs

Failure to have a prescription filled can undermine medical treatment, result in increased health care costs and potentially have devastating results for the patient.

19 Nov 2010

Study finds average health insurance deductible grows to $1,200 as employer costs grow too

In 2005, deductibles were only $770, but in 2010, the average deductible for PPOs, the most common employer-provider health plan, hit a whopping $1,200, according to a Mercer survey of 2,836 employers with 10 or more employees.

19 Nov 2010

Mass. regulators and nursing homes fight inappropriate medicating; officials deal with Hawaii doctor shortage

State regulators and the Massachusetts nursing home industry are launching a campaign today to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia.

19 Nov 2010

Study: Hospitals use clout to jack up prices

A new study claims some hospitals command far greater prices from commercial insurers than their nearby competitors, suggesting they have the clout to demand higher rates.

19 Nov 2010

Medicare committee recommends expensive drug for some prostate-cancer patients

A new treatment for prostate cancer called Provenge won a vote of confidence from a Medicare coverage advisory committee Wednesday, suggesting the federal program is likely to pay for the $93,000-per-patient medicine.

19 Nov 2010

Fla. Republicans want flexibility; facing shortfall, Idaho looks to volunteers; Mass. dental audit reveals millions in wasted funds

Florida Republican leaders made a clear statement during a special legislative session Tuesday: They want to overhaul the Medicaid program and don't want the federal government tying their hands. But that might ignore Washington realities. Congress this year required states to increase the number of people eligible for Medicaid in the future — the opposite of giving Florida more flexibility to run the program.

19 Nov 2010

Kansas Attorney General-elect announces plans to fight health law in court

Challenges to the federal health law grow but a group of bipartisan lawmakers ask a judge in Florida to let them express support for the measure in that important case.

19 Nov 2010

IPS explores what efforts to reduce U.S. federal deficit could mean for global health funding

Inter Press Service explores some advocates' concerns over how the new emphasis in Washington on reducing government spending could affect U.S. funding for global health programs, including HIV/AIDS.

19 Nov 2010

KHN column -- the Texas Medicaid scenario: Why it's never going to happen

When I first heard about this controversy, I noted one simple fact that deserves greater play: This is not going to happen. Withdrawing from Medicaid would be political suicide.

19 Nov 2010

Sec. of State Clinton begins discussing QDDR draft with U.S. lawmakers

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began rolling out her long-awaited revamp of U.S. diplomatic strategy on Wednesday, meeting lawmakers to discuss the 'Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review' (QDDR) that is expected to be formally announced later this year, Reuters reports.

19 Nov 2010

Cardinal Health announces plan to acquire Kinray

Cardinal Health today announced plans to acquire Kinray, Inc., a leading pharmaceutical distributor serving the New York metropolitan area, for $1.3 billion in an all-cash transaction that will significantly expand its ability to serve retail independent pharmacies in the northeastern United States.

19 Nov 2010

Berwick's first hearing marked by strong defense of health law, GOP 'relative gentleness'

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Dr. Donald Berwick survived his first Senate hearing yesterday by rebutting criticism of the health law and because Republicans were relatively gentle, The New York Times reports.

19 Nov 2010

Sekisui enters asset purchase agreement to acquire Genzyme's Diagnostic products

Genzyme Corporation today announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement under which Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. will acquire Genzyme's Diagnostic products business for $265 million in cash.

19 Nov 2010

Bipartisan task force recommends Medicare and Medicaid overhaul

Congress must overhaul Medicare and Medicaid and end tax-free health coverage to help bring the federal debt to manageable levels, a bipartisan task force said Wednesday.

19 Nov 2010

Cholera confirmed in Florida woman who traveled to Haiti

"The first known case of cholera in the United States linked to the outbreak in Haiti was confirmed Wednesday by health officials who said a southwest Florida woman contracted the disease while visiting family in a region at the heart of Haiti's epidemic," the New York Times reports.

19 Nov 2010

Health law revision suggestions pour in from lawmakers, groups

Kaiser Health News reports that vulnerable Democrats are looking for alternatives to the health law's mandate that nearly all Americans carry health insurance. "Under political pressure as a result of the new health law, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has asked the Government Accountability Office to study alternatives to the controversial mandate requiring most Americans to obtain coverage." Because Nelson is from a typically "red" state, Republicans have targeted him as one Democrat willing to play ball on scaling back the law (Vaida, 11/17).

19 Nov 2010

Kent, Women & Infants hospitals unveil FAST rapid response programs

Kent and Women & Infants hospitals, both members of the Care New England health care system, recently unveiled programs designed to empower patients and families to call for immediate action if they have concerns about the care being given to a patient.

19 Nov 2010

Americans' confidence in health care system lower than other industrialized counties, study finds

"Despite having the most expensive healthcare system in the industrialized world, Americans tend to have the least confidence that their system will provide them the most-effective care compared to residents of 10 other industrialized nations, a Commonwealth Fund survey has found. A survey of nearly 20,000 people in the U.S. and 10 other industrialized nations has found that U.S. consumers reported the highest level of confusing complexity of their health insurance plans, and the highest level of concern that they would not be able to afford their healthcare coverage" (Carlson, 11/18).

19 Nov 2010

Eisai signs statement of intent with WHO to supply medicine for treatment of lymphatic filariasis

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President & CEO: Haruo Naito) announced today that it has signed a statement of intent with the World Health Organization to supply free of charge a primary medicine for the treatment of lymphatic filariasis.

19 Nov 2010

KHN column – The Medicare doc fix: Physicians again are staring into the abyss

What used to be an annual exercise -- waiting to see whether and by how much Congress would increase payments to physicians under Medicare -- has now become a more frequent and even more frustrating activity for physicians.

19 Nov 2010

Health Care News and Research

Prescription abandonment can undermine medical treatment, increase healthcare costs

Study finds average health insurance deductible grows to $1,200 as employer costs grow too

Mass. regulators and nursing homes fight inappropriate medicating; officials deal with Hawaii doctor shortage

Study: Hospitals use clout to jack up prices

Medicare committee recommends expensive drug for some prostate-cancer patients

Fla. Republicans want flexibility; facing shortfall, Idaho looks to volunteers; Mass. dental audit reveals millions in wasted funds

Kansas Attorney General-elect announces plans to fight health law in court

IPS explores what efforts to reduce U.S. federal deficit could mean for global health funding

KHN column -- the Texas Medicaid scenario: Why it's never going to happen

Sec. of State Clinton begins discussing QDDR draft with U.S. lawmakers

Cardinal Health announces plan to acquire Kinray

Berwick's first hearing marked by strong defense of health law, GOP 'relative gentleness'

Sekisui enters asset purchase agreement to acquire Genzyme's Diagnostic products

Bipartisan task force recommends Medicare and Medicaid overhaul

Cholera confirmed in Florida woman who traveled to Haiti

Health law revision suggestions pour in from lawmakers, groups

Kent, Women & Infants hospitals unveil FAST rapid response programs

Americans' confidence in health care system lower than other industrialized counties, study finds

Eisai signs statement of intent with WHO to supply medicine for treatment of lymphatic filariasis

KHN column – The Medicare doc fix: Physicians again are staring into the abyss

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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