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Ore. hospitals with most clout command higher prices

The (Portland) Oregonian: Prices vary radically for similar procedures at Oregon hospitals. "A balloon angioplasty to unclog heart arteries costs about $52,000 at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, more than three times the typical amount insurers paid Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro, according to hospital payment comparisons posted online today by Oregon health officials."

6 Oct 2010

CDC grant to support community-based public health project in RI and CT

A $250,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will support a Rhode Island Hospital research study aimed at reducing the state's leading cause of accidental death among adults. Researchers will explore the use and effectiveness of statewide prescription monitoring programs (PMP) in reducing the number of accidental overdose deaths involving prescription opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin in both Rhode Island and Connecticut.

6 Oct 2010

Health IT may bring unintended consequences

The Philadelphia Inquirer: As the Obama administration nudges the health system toward electronic medical records, researchers have identified some unintended consequences.

6 Oct 2010

HHS adds 1,000 companies to early retiree benefit program

Congress Daily: The federal government added 1,000 companies to the "early retiree benefit program established under the healthcare overhaul law, bringing the total number of companies participating to 3,000. The $5 billion program is a stopgap measure meant to help cover retired Americans over the age of 55 who are not eligible for Medicare."

6 Oct 2010

SJMHS and IHA announce strategic merger to develop new integrated health network

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) and IHA, the region's leading physician group practice, both of Ann Arbor, Mich., today announced a strategic merger with the goal of developing a new integrated health network. The merger is expected to be effective on or before December 31, at which time IHA will be a member of SJMHS and will initially serve as the integrated physician enterprise for these St. Joseph Mercy Hospital markets: Washtenaw, Livingston and portions of western Wayne and south western Oakland counties.

6 Oct 2010

Bernanke: Aging, health costs challenge U.S. future

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke issued a new warning Monday about aging and health care costs.

6 Oct 2010

USP announces revision schedule for Model Guidelines Version 5.0

As the Medicare Model Guidelines-a listing of therapeutic categories and pharmacologic classes that Medicare Part D plans can utilize when developing their formularies-undergo revision for the first time in three years, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is announcing its revision schedule and the expanded opportunities for public input as it develops Version 5.0.

6 Oct 2010

Accountable Care Organizations trigger legal worries from health care providers and insurers

Kaiser Health News staff writers Jenny Gold and Phil Galewitz report: "Doctors and hospitals eager to pursue a new model of health care being promoted by the Obama administration are raising concerns that they could run afoul of antitrust and anti-fraud laws, while insurers are warning that the new arrangements could lead to higher prices for medical care" (Gold and Galewitz, 10/5).

6 Oct 2010

Sebelius: Medicare Advantage cuts won't hurt plans

Will the health law curb private Medicare insurance plans, known as Medicare Advantage, or won't it? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters Monday that it won't, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "Ms. Sebelius said the decision by a large Massachusetts insurer to leave the Medicare Advantage market is not a harbinger of the program's decline.

6 Oct 2010

Today's OpEds: ACOs, Health care honesty and the sanctity of health insurance

This year, some workers might see a new acronym in the alphabet soup of HMOs and PPOs. This one is called ACO, and it might be just the thing our health care system needs (Dr. Paul Grundy, 10/5).

6 Oct 2010

Administaff extends arrangement for medical and dental coverage with UnitedHealthcare

Administaff, Inc., a leading provider of human resources services for small and medium-sized businesses, today announced that it has extended its arrangement for medical and dental coverage with UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company. This new, three-year arrangement reflects the company's success in moderating the rate of health care cost increases on behalf of its covered worksite employees, as well as a further strengthening of its business relationship with UnitedHealthcare.

5 Oct 2010

TMNG Global and Scientia Advisors partner to offer strategic consulting services for home health sector

TMNG Global a leading provider of professional services to the global communications, digital media, technology, and financial services industries, and Scientia Advisors, a global management consulting firm specializing in healthcare, life science, nutrition and biotechnology, today announced a partnership to offer strategic consulting services for the emerging home health sector.

5 Oct 2010

Majority of Canadians with asthma consider their disease 'well controlled'

A new survey, Asthma Insight and Management in Europe and Canada (EUCAN AIM), reveals that a majority of Canadians with asthma considered their disease "well controlled" at the time of the survey. However, in the year prior to the survey, more than half (52 per cent) required acute treatment for asthma, including seeing a doctor for worsening symptoms (45 per cent), unscheduled emergency room visits (28 per cent), and being hospitalized overnight (five per cent).

5 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 5, 2010

Today's headlines include reports on the midterm elections and recent polls as well as the latest developments related to Medicaid expansion.

5 Oct 2010

Data shows Take Care Clinics’ quality of care exceeds national benchmarks

Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens and the nation's largest and most comprehensive manager of convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers, today announced that an analysis of de-identified data collected through the company's electronic medical record (EMR) system by the Jefferson School of Population Health showed that the quality of care delivered in Take Care Clinics for treatment of pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat) and upper respiratory infections (URI) meets or exceeds the quality of the care delivered in other settings.

5 Oct 2010

Consumer Reports Health publishes rankings of 227 HMOs, POS plans

With open enrollment season now underway, consumers with employer-based health insurance can take advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to switch plans. To help consumers compare health insurance plans, Consumer Reports Health is today publishing rankings of 227 HMOs and Point of Service (POS) plans.

5 Oct 2010

Reuters, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel honored with Barlett & Steele Awards

Reuters received the gold award and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the silver award in the fourth annual Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism announced today.

5 Oct 2010

Black mothers less likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding: Study

While more American mothers are breastfeeding today, non-Hispanic Black/African American women are less likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding, primarily due to a lack of desire and lack of self-efficacy, according to research presented Monday, Oct. 4, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco.

5 Oct 2010

Race, ethnicity affect diagnostic delay more than insurance status for women with breast abnormalities

Race and ethnicity appeared to affect diagnostic delay more than insurance status for women with breast abnormalities, as revealed by data presented at the Third American Association for Cancer Research Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, being held Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2010.

5 Oct 2010

New study shows direct correlation between motor vehicle deaths and access to surgeons

Having more surgeons working in a geographic area has a direct impact on the likelihood that victims will survive motor vehicle crashes, according to a new research study presented at the 2010 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

5 Oct 2010