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First Edition: May 31, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from the administration about the number of insurers that will be offering policies on the new online marketplaces.

31 May 2013

Viewpoints: Obamacare is already working; George W. Bush on 'personal responsibility'; Medicaid expansion and the mentally ill

The Affordable Care Act has been under siege since before it even had a name. Some on the right saw it as government overreach. Some on the left considered it better for insurance companies than for consumers. As many of the law's provisions take effect over the next year, we're hearing from both sides all over again. This time the theme is that the law is too complex. ... Read the discussion (5/29).

31 May 2013

Immigrants help Medicare stay solvent, study finds

Immigrants to the U.S. contributed $115.2 billion more to Medicare's Hospital Trust Fund during the past decade than they withdrew, casting doubt on criticism they overburden the health plan for the elderly and disabled, according to a study by researchers from Harvard and the City University of New York.

31 May 2013

FDA accepts Teva Pharmaceutical's sNDA for COPAXONE

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review the company's supplemental new drug application for COPAXONE (glatiramer acetate injection) 40mg/ 1mL, a higher concentration dose of COPAXONE that offers a less frequent three times a week dosing regimen administered subcutaneously for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

31 May 2013

Catamaran achieves five-star medication safety ratings

Catamaran Corp., a leading provider of pharmacy benefit management services and technology, today announced it has received a 2013 PQA Quality Award recognizing its five-star rating on all PQA measures in the Part D Star Ratings program.

30 May 2013

First Edition: May 30, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include stories about a new study on immigrants' financial impact on the Medicare program and a new federal regulation on wellness programs.

30 May 2013

Viewpoints: Medical professionals and near misses; Two tea partiers diverge on Medicaid expansion; Obamacare's 'death by a thousand cuts'

A near miss, like any error, is an opportunity to examine how mistakes are made and what changes might prevent them. Yet we have no idea how many near misses there are. Many experts feel that near-miss errors dwarf the number of known errors, a number that is already too high for comfort. (According to a 2006 report, medication errors alone injure an estimated 1.5 million patients a year.) But the instinct for most medical professionals is to keep these shameful mistakes to ourselves (Danielle Ofri, 5/28).

30 May 2013

Disabled Medicare patients with CRN more likely to have at least one ER visit, study finds

Disabled Medicare patients under the age of 65 who don't take their prescription medications because of cost concerns are more likely to have at least one emergency department visit during a one-year period.

30 May 2013

Study details Medicare spending variations

The analysis finds health differences explain as much as 85 percent of cost variations around the country.

30 May 2013

State-by-state analysis warns of looming health care crisis

The report examines the rising number of seniors and growing rates of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

30 May 2013

House GOP members unveil draft 'doc fix' plan

The plan would repeal the contentious SGR formula for reimbursing doctors, but does not include a way to pay for that. Also in the House, a Democrat and a Republican introduce a bill to create national exercise guidelines.

30 May 2013

Cancer: The No. 1 health concern among middle-income Americans

Cancer is the No. 1 health concern among our country's middle-income Americans, according to a new study released by Washington National Institute for Wellness Solutions.

29 May 2013

First Edition: May 29, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include a look at California's effort to expand health care and reports on the Supreme Court's announcement that stops Indiana from barring Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding.

29 May 2013

Medicare paying for an increasing number of 'functional' eye lifts

The public health insurance program for people over 65 typically does not cover cosmetic surgery, but for cases in which a patient's sagging eyelids significantly hinder their vision, it does pay to have them lifted.

29 May 2013

HHS sees cost savings in the cloud

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department is looking for cost savings in the cloud as it weathers painful budget cuts.

29 May 2013

First Edition: May 28, 2013

Today's headlines include stories about the strategies of some businesses -- small and large -- to blunt the health law's impact.

28 May 2013

African Americans with prostate cancer experience longer treatment delays after diagnosis

Among men with prostate cancer, African Americans experience longer treatment delays after being diagnosed than Caucasians. That is the finding of an analysis published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

28 May 2013

Study: Patients' desire to participate in medical decisions affects use of health care resources

Since the 1980s, doctors and patients have been encouraged to share decision making. Proponents argue that this approach promotes doctor-patient communication, enhances patient satisfaction, improves health outcomes, and even may lower cost.

28 May 2013

State highlights: La. grand jury to examine $200M Medicaid contract

More than half of the states that applied to participate in a controversial CMS pilot for dual-eligible beneficiaries have either dropped out or delayed implementation of their programs, according to health policy experts. Among the 26 states that applied to participate in the CMS Financial Alignment Initiative, which stems from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, six have dropped out or opted for different "customized" plans and nine have delayed their start dates (Daly, 5/23).

27 May 2013

Research roundup: Getting a critical care doc at night; Poverty among seniors

Researchers analyzed 121,084 firearms deaths in the U.S., using 2007 to 2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "The outcome measures were state-level firearm-related fatalities per 100 000 individuals per year overall, for suicide, and for homicide.

27 May 2013