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Molina Healthcare's Medicaid plans included in 'America’s Best Health Insurance Plans'

Molina Healthcare, Inc., today announced that U.S. News and World Report has ranked all of Molina’s eligible subsidiary Medicaid health plans in California, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah and Washington among “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans” in the magazine’s annual report measuring the quality and performance of the nation’s Medicaid health plans.

19 Nov 2009

Breastcancer.org opposes proposed new guidelines for mammograms

"The recommendation to change breast screening is a huge step backwards," says Dr. Marisa Weiss, a leading breast oncologist and founder and president of Breastcancer.org.

19 Nov 2009

Six new degree programs to be offered by High-Tech Institute in Minneapolis

High-Tech Institute in Minneapolis will begin offering six new degree programs, with a class start set for January 11, 2010 for all programs. The school is located at 5100 Gamble Drive, Suite 200 in St. Louis Park, Minn.

19 Nov 2009

'Model' tobacco cessation program reduces smoking rate by 26%

A "model" tobacco cessation benefit offered to Massachusetts' Medicaid participants has produced an astounding 26% drop in smoking rates in only two and a half years, and has already been linked to decreases in heart attacks, hospitalizations for asthma and COPD, and a significant decrease in birth complications.

19 Nov 2009

Pennsylvania physicians say demand for charitable care has increased

A report publicly released today by the Institute for Good Medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical Society suggests demand for charitable care provided by physicians increased significantly in the past year, and that their ability to meet the demand may be unsustainable.

19 Nov 2009

Elder parents more likely to be happier with informal home care

Most families, at some point, will struggle with a decision about how best to provide long-term care for an elderly parent. A new study co-authored by University of Virginia economics professor Steven Stern suggests that you shouldn't assume a home-care professional can better care for your parent than you can.

19 Nov 2009

Medicare fraud: New Jersey hospital to pay over $3.02M to resolve allegations

The United States has entered into a settlement with a New Jersey hospital and filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit against a New York hospital involving allegations that the hospitals defrauded Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.

19 Nov 2009

FDA: Plavix-Prilosec combination may reduce anti-clotting effect

Patients should avoid using the stomach acid reducer Prilosec/Prilosec OTC (omeprazole) with the anti-clotting drug Plavix (clopidogrel), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Nov. 17.

19 Nov 2009

Freescale Semiconductor expands its 8-bit microcontroller portfolio

Freescale Semiconductor is expanding its 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) portfolio with devices ideal for personal diagnostic and portable health care products that require low-power operation and advanced display capabilities.

19 Nov 2009

Publicly released report cards do not appear to improve hospitals' performance, says new study

An analysis of quality of cardiac care following the public release of data on measures of care at hospitals in Ontario, Canada, did not result in significant systemwide improvement in hospitals' performance on most quality of care indicators, according to a study to be published in the December 2 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because of its presentation at an American Heart Association scientific conference.

19 Nov 2009

Humana to commence 'Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition' program for CMS

Effective Jan. 1, 2010, Humana will begin administering the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition (LI-NET) program for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This program allows individuals who receive Medicare’s low-income subsidy to also receive immediate prescription drug coverage at the point of sale if they are not already enrolled in a Part D plan.

19 Nov 2009

Sebelius issues statement on mammography guidelines as GOP attacks health reform proposals

ABC News: "HHS Secretary Sebelius did her best to ride the wave of incredulous opposition to the new government-sponsored guidelines advising women to hold off on regular mammograms til age 50. Perhaps anticipating that opponents of the President's health reform efforts will argue that this is a glimpse of the future under Obamacare."

19 Nov 2009

CareRadius suite, a first-ever care management system from Landacorp

Landacorp today announced the public release of CareRadius suite, the only care management application of its kind to successfully achieve a large-scale, live implementation.

19 Nov 2009

Some House Democrats face questions about House bill positions; outside groups defend vulnerable 'yes' votes

Democrats are still taking issue with particular votes of other House lawmakers on health care reform. Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking a hard line against the people in her caucus she thinks "threw me under the bus," Politico reports.

18 Nov 2009

Senate health reform bill timeline slipping, Reid plans caucus meeting today

Senate action on health care reform before the Thanksgiving break seems less likely "as the upper chamber still doesn't have a final version of the bill," The Hill reports.

18 Nov 2009

AAHSA commends Senator Reid for including CLASS provisions in health reform bill

The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) commends Senator Reid (D-Nev.) for his leadership on ensuring that the Community Living and Supportive Services (CLASS) Plan provisions are included in the Senate's health reform bill.

18 Nov 2009

U.S. health officials testify before Senate Committee about H1N1 vaccine campaign

U.S. health officials defended their handling of the country's H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine campaign Tuesday "against criticism that their plan to protect Americans was confusing and over-optimistic," Reuters reports (Fox, 11/17).

18 Nov 2009

New Senate health bill to be topic of Democrats closed-door meeting

The Associated Press: "Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada met Wednesday morning at the Capitol with Vice President Joe Biden to go over the game plan on health care. Crucial to the White House and Reid is winning over a handful of reluctant moderate Democrats."

18 Nov 2009

CBO says Senate reform bill to cost $849 billion and cut the deficit by $127 billion

Roll Call : "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) health care reform proposal will cost $849 billion over 10 years but cut the deficit by about $127 billion, leadership aides announced Wednesday afternoon.

18 Nov 2009

Also in Global Health news: Sleeping sickness; aid for Philippines; U.S., China in Africa; polio eradication in Afghanistan; Ethiopia famine

Lancet Infectious Diseases Newsdesk examines how despite evidence that a new therapy to treat sleeping sickness, called nifurtimox—eflornithine (NECT) is a step forward in treating the disease, it has yet to be implemented by countries "13 months after data from a successful trial was presented." The main issue at hand - "nifurtimox is not registered for use in sleeping sickness," the journal writes. The article also examines other factors complicating the implementation of the therapy (Morris, 12/09).

18 Nov 2009

Health Care News and Research

Molina Healthcare's Medicaid plans included in 'America’s Best Health Insurance Plans'

Breastcancer.org opposes proposed new guidelines for mammograms

Six new degree programs to be offered by High-Tech Institute in Minneapolis

'Model' tobacco cessation program reduces smoking rate by 26%

Pennsylvania physicians say demand for charitable care has increased

Elder parents more likely to be happier with informal home care

Medicare fraud: New Jersey hospital to pay over $3.02M to resolve allegations

FDA: Plavix-Prilosec combination may reduce anti-clotting effect

Freescale Semiconductor expands its 8-bit microcontroller portfolio

Publicly released report cards do not appear to improve hospitals' performance, says new study

Humana to commence 'Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition' program for CMS

Sebelius issues statement on mammography guidelines as GOP attacks health reform proposals

CareRadius suite, a first-ever care management system from Landacorp

Some House Democrats face questions about House bill positions; outside groups defend vulnerable 'yes' votes

Senate health reform bill timeline slipping, Reid plans caucus meeting today

AAHSA commends Senator Reid for including CLASS provisions in health reform bill

U.S. health officials testify before Senate Committee about H1N1 vaccine campaign

New Senate health bill to be topic of Democrats closed-door meeting

CBO says Senate reform bill to cost $849 billion and cut the deficit by $127 billion

Also in Global Health news: Sleeping sickness; aid for Philippines; U.S., China in Africa; polio eradication in Afghanistan; Ethiopia famine

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