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Biodesix presents additional VeriStrat Phase III trial data at World Conference on Lung Cancer

Biodesix, Inc., a fully integrated molecular diagnostic company dedicated to personalizing medicine, today announced additional data from the Phase III clinical trial for its serum protein test, VeriStrat. Results were presented at the 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Sydney, Australia.

28 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 25, 2013

Today's headlines include reports and analyses of yesterday's Capitol Hill hearing, which featured website contractors talking about the troubled rollout of healthcare.gov.

25 Oct 2013

Men treated by self-referring urologists more likely to undergo unnecessary IMRT

A comprehensive review of Medicare claims for more than 45,000 patients from 2005 through 2010 found that nearly all of the 146 percent increase in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer among urologists with an ownership interest in the treatment was due to self-referral, according to new research, "Urologists' Use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," released today in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) for its October 24, 2013 issue.

25 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Republicans new-found interest in the workings of the health website; fixing the problem crucial to Obama's presidency

Republicans are apoplectic about Healthcare.gov, the official Web site for the Affordable Care Act. They are trying desperately to change the subject from their disastrous government shutdown by ranting about the failures of a government Web site that cost a tiny fraction of what was lost as a result of the shutdown. Republicans are pretending that they care about the problems encountered in signing up for a system that many of them are bent on destroying (Charles M. Blow, 10/23).

25 Oct 2013

Use of IMRT for prostate cancer doubles when self-referral's financial incentives involved

A comprehensive review of Medicare claims for more than 45,000 patients from 2005 through 2010 found that nearly all of the 146 percent increase in intensity-modulated radiation therapy for prostate cancer among urologists with an ownership interest in the treatment was due to self-referral, according to new research, "Urologists' Use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," released today in The New England Journal of Medicine for its October 24, 2013 issue.

25 Oct 2013

OPTIMISTIC study aims to reduce avoidable hospitalizations, increase access to palliative care

The OPTIMISTIC study, an innovative initiative developed by research-clinicians from Indiana University and the Regenstrief Institute to improve health care, reduce avoidable hospitalizations and increase access to palliative care, is now underway in 19 nursing facilities throughout Central Indiana.

25 Oct 2013

CVS Caremark receives PBM and DTM accreditation from URAC

CVS Caremark announced today that it has been awarded Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) and Drug Therapy Management accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

24 Oct 2013

Sen. Rubio readies bill to delay insurance mandate penalty

Sen. Marco Rubio is proposing a bill that would delay imposing penalties on people who don't have health insurance until six months after the Government Accountability Office has certified the federal website is functional. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, is calling on President Obama to extended open enrollment beyond March 31, 2014 and to waive penalties for those who are unable to sign up because of technical problems.

24 Oct 2013

Defending health exchange's rollout puts Sebelius in the hot seat

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is being called to Capitol Hill by Republican lawmakers who want her to explain what went wrong with the Oct. 1 unveiling of healthcare.gov. She is also facing calls for her resignation. Still, according to Politico, her job is safe.

24 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 23, 2013

Today's headlines include continuing coverage about the problems with the healthcare.gov website, how Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is in the hot seat and how the White House has called in reinforcements -- a glitch czar.

23 Oct 2013

Complete Care program improves outcomes for Kaiser Permanente patients

Complete Care, a collaborative approach to meeting patient needs, is improving outcomes for Kaiser Permanente patients.

23 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: 'Unforced error' on marketplace website raises questions about administration's handling of health issues; Obama's 'desperate sales pitch;' GOP's faux concerns for exchanges

Anyone who supports the plan to cover Americans who couldn't get health insurance has to hope the administration quickly gets it right. But you can't help but wonder: Where was all this frantic effort in the three-and-a-half years from the time Obama signed the health law to the day the exchanges opened on Oct. 1?

From Quest Diagnostics 23 Oct 2013

Fact checking demint on Medicare/Obamacare comparison and president on premium cost

In making the case that the cost of the health-care law was sure to grow, [Jim DeMint, president of the Heritage Foundation] cited some figures about Medicare that struck us as a bit fishy. ... There's no question that any new social program often has unintended costs. ... DeMint's figures are ridiculously overstated. He preferred to use trumped-up stats rather than refer to the concrete examples (Kessler, 10/22).

23 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the Obama administration's plans to address the problems with healthcare.gov.

22 Oct 2013

Cedars-Sinai wins national consumer award for providing quality medical care, staff in LA region

For the 18th year in a row, Cedars-Sinai has won a national consumer award for providing the highest quality medical care and staff in the Los Angeles region based on a survey of area households.

22 Oct 2013

State highlights: What makes former CMS head Berwick, now Mass. gov. candidate, tick; Calif. set to get health law long-term care money

A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts and California.

22 Oct 2013

Dems, GOP ready to wage new budget fights, even inside their own parties -- and Medicare is in the mix

Democrats and Republicans aren't just fighting each other, they're also dealing with intra-party squabbles over the latest plan to come together to find an accord to fix the nation's budget woes. The decisions are sure to involve Medicare as a 29-member panel has until Dec. 13 to reach an agreement to present.

22 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: HHS officials must tell Congress, citizens what is happening to marketplaces; 'rate shock' didn't materialize; problems with medical credit cards

The Affordable Care Act's botched rollout has stunned its media cheering section, and it even seems to have surprised the law's architects. The problems run much deeper than even critics expected, and whatever federal officials, White House aides and outside contractors are doing to fix them isn't working. But who knows? ... Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is even refusing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a hearing this coming Thursday. ... The department is also refusing to make available lower-level officials who might detail the source or sources of this debacle (10/18).

22 Oct 2013

Regeneron announces topline results from Phase 3 study of EYLEA Injection in patients with Macular Edema following BRVO

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive topline results for EYLEA® (aflibercept) Injection from the Phase 3 VIBRANT study in patients with Macular Edema following Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO).

21 Oct 2013

DOH releases SPHHS study investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors

The District of Columbia Department of Health has released a study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors.

21 Oct 2013

Medicare News and Research

Biodesix presents additional VeriStrat Phase III trial data at World Conference on Lung Cancer

First Edition: October 25, 2013

Men treated by self-referring urologists more likely to undergo unnecessary IMRT

Viewpoints: Republicans new-found interest in the workings of the health website; fixing the problem crucial to Obama's presidency

Use of IMRT for prostate cancer doubles when self-referral's financial incentives involved

OPTIMISTIC study aims to reduce avoidable hospitalizations, increase access to palliative care

CVS Caremark receives PBM and DTM accreditation from URAC

Sen. Rubio readies bill to delay insurance mandate penalty

Defending health exchange's rollout puts Sebelius in the hot seat

First Edition: October 23, 2013

Complete Care program improves outcomes for Kaiser Permanente patients

Viewpoints: 'Unforced error' on marketplace website raises questions about administration's handling of health issues; Obama's 'desperate sales pitch;' GOP's faux concerns for exchanges

Fact checking demint on Medicare/Obamacare comparison and president on premium cost

First Edition: October 22, 2013

Cedars-Sinai wins national consumer award for providing quality medical care, staff in LA region

State highlights: What makes former CMS head Berwick, now Mass. gov. candidate, tick; Calif. set to get health law long-term care money

Dems, GOP ready to wage new budget fights, even inside their own parties -- and Medicare is in the mix

Viewpoints: HHS officials must tell Congress, citizens what is happening to marketplaces; 'rate shock' didn't materialize; problems with medical credit cards

Regeneron announces topline results from Phase 3 study of EYLEA Injection in patients with Macular Edema following BRVO

DOH releases SPHHS study investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors

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