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State highlights: Minn. health plans stockpile nearly $2B in cash; Calif. law to offer health care to immigrants in U.S. illegally

After four straight years of profitable growth, Minnesota's health plans have stockpiled a substantial surplus of cash reserves. The health insurance companies, which get nearly three-quarters of their business from state and federal programs, now have more than $1.9 billion in reserves -- $1.3 billion more than required by state law, according to a review by Twin Cities health care analyst Allan Baumgarten (Crosby, 7/15).

17 Jul 2013

Pilot program finds improving quality easier than lowering health care costs

Lowering health-care costs is tougher than improving the quality of care, according to first-year results from a key pilot program under the federal health law.

17 Jul 2013

Self-referred biopsies cost taxpayers millions, GAO reports

Physicians who prepare and examine tissue samples within their own practices, or who use services in which they have a financial interest, report higher use of these services, which could be driving up costs to Medicare, according to the Government Accountability Office.

17 Jul 2013

Cigna, Hunterdon Healthcare Partners launch collaborative accountable care initiative

Cigna and Hunterdon Healthcare Partners, LLC, a physician hospital organization (PHO) affiliated with Hunterdon Healthcare, have launched a collaborative accountable care initiative to improve patient access to health care, enhance care coordination, and achieve the "triple aim" of improved health, affordability and patient experience.

16 Jul 2013

Three health systems form new initiative to improve healthcare services

Abington Health, Aria Health and Einstein Healthcare Network announced today the development of a new initiative that will enable the three health systems to work collaboratively while remaining independent as they prepare for the demands of national health reform.

16 Jul 2013

House subcommittee schedules markup of 'doc fix' bill

The panel on July 22 will consider a measure repealing the current Medicare physician payment formula. Also in the news, some fact-checking on House GOP efforts to repeal the health law.

16 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 16, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews reports: "Since smokers' health-care costs tend to be higher than those of nonsmokers, is it reasonable for smokers to pay higher premiums when they buy insurance through the new state marketplaces that are scheduled to open in October? A handful of states and the District say the answer is no" (Andrews, 7/16).

16 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Disability insurance 'time bomb;' Leavitt on the lessons of Medicare Part D's rollout; Boys and eating disorders

Social Security for retirement and Medicare are the best known of the major entitlement programs with looming financial disasters. While some argue about when they will run out of money, their projected 75-year unfunded liabilities grow larger every year and now total $40 trillion, much worse thereafter. But the ticking time bomb of entitlement reform is Social Security's Disability Insurance Fund (Michael J. Boskin, 7/14).

16 Jul 2013

Roundup: Ore. seniors get special medical deduction, but less generous than hoped; Six fired at Calif. hospital after patient data breaches

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and Democrats wanted to do away with it. Oregonian columnist Susan Nielsen opined against it. Even AARP was OK with its demise. But when the smoke cleared this week, the Oregon Legislature merely curtailed it. Beginning this tax year, only seniors age 62 or older can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses, not their entire households (Hunsberger, 7/12).

16 Jul 2013

Actavis’ Lamictal ODT drug receives FDA approval for treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder

Actavis, Inc. (NYSE: ACT) today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Lamotrigine Orally Disintegrating Tablets, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg, a generic equivalent to GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal® ODT.

16 Jul 2013

ACO pioneers face decision deadline

Modern Healthcare reports that Medicare Pioneers have until July 15 to let the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services know if they plan to stay in the program for a second year. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Mirror offers a picture of how accountable care organizations work.

16 Jul 2013

Health exchange countdown: Insurers, regulators test drive new plans, TV ads

News outlets report on how the health law's online health insurance marketplaces will work, the products that will be available through them and the efforts to enroll millions of uninsured or underinsured people.

16 Jul 2013

Insurance status affects spinal surgery outcomes

Among patients undergoing spinal surgery, Medicaid beneficiaries are at higher risk of experiencing any type of complication, compared to privately insured patients, reports a study in the July 15 issue of of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

16 Jul 2013

Exalenz Bioscience launches BreathID Hp to test and treat H. pylori

Exalenz Bioscience, developer of advanced diagnostic systems that use a patient's breath to detect and help manage gastrointestinal and liver conditions, announced today the global launch of the BreathID Hp, a next generation device in the company's BreathID product line.

15 Jul 2013

Actavis receives FDA approval for Opana ER tablets

Actavis, Inc. (NYSE: ACT) today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Oxymorphone Hydrochloride Extended-release Tablets, 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg and 40 mg.

15 Jul 2013

Two upcoming votes in House part of GOP continuing assault on health law

House Speaker John Boehner said the chamber will vote next week to delay the 2010 health-care law's requirement that most Americans carry health insurance. At his weekly news conference today, the speaker said it's not fair for President Barack Obama's administration to keep that provision in effect while postponing enforcement of the requirement that businesses provide their workers with insurance (Hunter, 7/11).

15 Jul 2013

ACOEM, ACPM urge adoption of stronger national policies for preventive medicine

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the American College of Preventive Medicine urged the adoption of stronger national policies to encourage preventive medicine - including in the workplace -- during a special Congressional briefing Tuesday, July 9 in Washington, D.C.

15 Jul 2013

Older minority male cancer survivors less likely to receive basic preventive care: Study

Older African-American and Hispanic men who have survived cancer are less likely than their white counterparts to see a specialist or receive basic preventive care, such as vaccinations, according to new research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

15 Jul 2013

Obamacare implementation issues: Rollout resembles some of the problems of Medicare Part D

NPR examines how the implementation of that last big government health program might offer lessons for the health law. Also, two stories explore outreach to people needing insurance and the grocery chain Wegmans reportedly is cutting health benefits to part-time workers.

15 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 12, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including articles on data tracking of doctors and comparing the rollout of the Medicare Part D drug plans to implementation of the federal health law.

12 Jul 2013

Medicare News and Research

State highlights: Minn. health plans stockpile nearly $2B in cash; Calif. law to offer health care to immigrants in U.S. illegally

Pilot program finds improving quality easier than lowering health care costs

Self-referred biopsies cost taxpayers millions, GAO reports

Cigna, Hunterdon Healthcare Partners launch collaborative accountable care initiative

Three health systems form new initiative to improve healthcare services

House subcommittee schedules markup of 'doc fix' bill

First Edition: July 16, 2013

Viewpoints: Disability insurance 'time bomb;' Leavitt on the lessons of Medicare Part D's rollout; Boys and eating disorders

Roundup: Ore. seniors get special medical deduction, but less generous than hoped; Six fired at Calif. hospital after patient data breaches

Actavis’ Lamictal ODT drug receives FDA approval for treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder

ACO pioneers face decision deadline

Health exchange countdown: Insurers, regulators test drive new plans, TV ads

Insurance status affects spinal surgery outcomes

Exalenz Bioscience launches BreathID Hp to test and treat H. pylori

Actavis receives FDA approval for Opana ER tablets

Two upcoming votes in House part of GOP continuing assault on health law

ACOEM, ACPM urge adoption of stronger national policies for preventive medicine

Older minority male cancer survivors less likely to receive basic preventive care: Study

Obamacare implementation issues: Rollout resembles some of the problems of Medicare Part D

First Edition: July 12, 2013

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