Medicare News and Research

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Medicare open-enrollment begins: Seniors should carefully consider new options

Officials are cautioning seniors to stay away from the health law's new online marketplaces -- as open-enrollment season begins for Medicare managed care and prescription plans.

16 Oct 2013

Phase 3 ODYSSEY MONO trial with alirocumab meets primary efficacy endpoint

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Phase 3 ODYSSEY MONO trial with alirocumab, an investigational monoclonal antibody targeting PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), met its primary efficacy endpoint.

16 Oct 2013

UTMB researchers find high variability in PSA-ordering practice among primary care physicians

Many primary care doctors continue to administer the prostate-specific antigen test to even their oldest patients despite the fact that no medical organization recommends prostate cancer screening for men older than 75, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

15 Oct 2013

Shutdown commentaries: The man who championed the strategy; 'opening salvo in a generational war;' lack of funding hurts public health efforts

'I really believe we are in a great position right now," says Michael Needham, the 31-year-old president of Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the nation's largest conservative think tank. By "we" he means the Republican Party and the conservative movement; their "great position" refers to the potential to win the political battle over the government shutdown. Though Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the public face of the high-risk strategy to "defund" ObamaCare, the masterminds behind it are a new generation of young conservatives, chief among them Mr. Needham. From a tactical view, the strategy has been deployed with precision.

15 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the budget deal taking shape in the Senate would not derail the health law, but would include some tweaks.

15 Oct 2013

State highlights: Md. submits plan to tie overhaul hospital charges to state's economy

A selection of health policy stories from Maryland, California, Missouri and Florida.

15 Oct 2013

Researchers to present latest findings in emergency medicine research at ACEP13-Scientific Assembly

Leading researchers in emergency medicine will present more than 400 studies during ACEP13-Scientific Assembly, the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Seattle, Washington.

15 Oct 2013

Rates of hospital-acquired bedsores not accurate tool for comparing hospital quality, says report

The data Medicare uses to publicly report hospital rates of patients developing pressure ulcers (or bedsores) is not an accurate source for comparing hospitals on how well they prevent the condition, says a new University of Michigan study.

15 Oct 2013

Medicare open enrollment starts Tuesday

Beneficiaries are encouraged to take a close look at their options during their upcoming enrollment period, which is separate from the sign-up in the health law's marketplaces.

15 Oct 2013

Battle boundaries have changed as key negotiators appear to have abandoned GOP efforts to delay or defund the health law

As the nation approaches its debt limit and the federal government remains shut down, a deal continues to be elusive.

15 Oct 2013

State-run marketplaces rebounding from opening snags

Politico Pro examines how the marketplaces operated by states compare to the federally run operation. Other outlets look at some of the individual issues in states.

15 Oct 2013

Teva gets FDA approval for generic version of TOBI in US

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announces today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of the generic equivalent to TOBI (Tobramycin Inhalation Solution USP) in the United States.

15 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 14, 2013

Today's headlines include the latest on the budget negotiations as well as examinations of what's happening with the health law's online insurance marketplaces.

14 Oct 2013

Budget talks moving further from GOP's health law concerns

Republicans blame Democrats for throwing up new roadblocks to a compromise, but at the same time Sen. Lindsey Graham says making changes to the health law is "unrealistic."

14 Oct 2013

Study finds empirical evidence of external market factors that may facilitate or inhibit ACO formation

Accountable care organizations are rapidly being formed with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and they are being established in areas where it may be easier to meet quality and cost targets, researchers at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice said in a study published in the journal Health Services Research.

13 Oct 2013

Rutgers getting ready to launch solution to deliver more effective care at lower cost

During nearly three decades as a primary care physician, Alfred Tallia has identified a daunting list of flaws with the nation's health care.

13 Oct 2013

Blame for Healthcare.gov's problems placed on key design element

As outside experts offered opinions about the reasons for the glitches in the federal health insurance exchange, administration officials asked consumers for patience while the system undergoes repairs. Meanwhile, House and Senate Republicans launched investigations into the difficulties.

12 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to privacy; 'catastrophic' debut of marketplaces should signal need for delay; in budget impasse can either side accept a compromise?

Every day, personal information is the subject of hundreds of thousands of hacking attempts from all over the world. From nation states to crime rings, knowing and exploiting your information is big business. On October 1, a major component of Obamacare made you even more vulnerable to devastating attacks on your personal information and the administration is doing too little about it (Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., 10/10).

12 Oct 2013

Research roundup: Medicare Part D in 2014; barriers to mental health care; scattered patterns of ACOs

Medicare Part D continues to be a marketplace with an array of competing plans offered at a wide range of premiums and benefit designs. In 2014, Medicare beneficiaries will have a choice of 35 stand-alone PDPs, on average, up by four from 2013. ... Beneficiaries receiving Low-Income Subsidies will have access to a modestly higher number of plans for no monthly premium in 2014 compared to 2013 ... Notable trends for 2014 include a growing share of PDPs using preferred pharmacy networks and adopting more formulary cost-sharing tiers.

12 Oct 2013

No deal yet, but GOP offer on debt limit raises hopes

Speaker John Boehner's offer represented give on the part of Republicans, who had been insisting on cuts to the federal health care law as the price for reopening government and extending the debt limit. While Boehner proposed moving only to raise the debt limit, discussions broadened to include efforts to reopen the government in exchange for entitlement cuts. In the past, President Barack Obama has refused to consider those unless Republicans agree to raise revenues.

12 Oct 2013

Medicare News and Research

Medicare open-enrollment begins: Seniors should carefully consider new options

Phase 3 ODYSSEY MONO trial with alirocumab meets primary efficacy endpoint

UTMB researchers find high variability in PSA-ordering practice among primary care physicians

Shutdown commentaries: The man who championed the strategy; 'opening salvo in a generational war;' lack of funding hurts public health efforts

First Edition: October 15, 2013

State highlights: Md. submits plan to tie overhaul hospital charges to state's economy

Researchers to present latest findings in emergency medicine research at ACEP13-Scientific Assembly

Rates of hospital-acquired bedsores not accurate tool for comparing hospital quality, says report

Medicare open enrollment starts Tuesday

Battle boundaries have changed as key negotiators appear to have abandoned GOP efforts to delay or defund the health law

State-run marketplaces rebounding from opening snags

Teva gets FDA approval for generic version of TOBI in US

First Edition: October 14, 2013

Budget talks moving further from GOP's health law concerns

Study finds empirical evidence of external market factors that may facilitate or inhibit ACO formation

Rutgers getting ready to launch solution to deliver more effective care at lower cost

Blame for Healthcare.gov's problems placed on key design element

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to privacy; 'catastrophic' debut of marketplaces should signal need for delay; in budget impasse can either side accept a compromise?

Research roundup: Medicare Part D in 2014; barriers to mental health care; scattered patterns of ACOs

No deal yet, but GOP offer on debt limit raises hopes

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