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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Hospital information on percutaneous coronary intervention now available to consumers

Information from the American College of Cardiology national database of hospital records on stenting and angioplasty, also known as percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, is now available to consumers.

18 Jul 2013

Pioneer ACO results include improved quality, lowered Medicare costs

Even with these marks, nine of the health systems -- nearly a third of those participating in the program -- have decided to leave after the first year.

18 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 17, 2013

Today's headlines include a report about how the delay of the health law's employer mandate might undermine enforcement of the measure's individual mandate as well as news that the House will consider a bill that would put off both of these provisions.

17 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Does your doctor favor more expensive drugs?; Texas Sen. Wendy Davis says abortion law threatens 'health and safety' of women

Your doctor hands you a prescription for a blood pressure drug. But is it the right one for you? You're searching for a new primary-care physician or a specialist. Is there a way you can know whether the doctor is more partial to expensive, brand-name drugs than his peers? (Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, 7/16).

17 Jul 2013

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

How will health exchanges work? Business versions may offer clues

News outlets look at how the health law's new online insurance marketplaces might work and examine the experiences of employees participating in private corporate exchanges. Others examine what some critics view as opportunities for fraud and bad actors.

16 Jul 2013

New Mexico Medicaid overhaul OK'd

Medicaid recipients will face co-pays for some treatments and have their medical services tracked as part of a program overhaul that is intended to lower the costs of providing health care, Gov. Susana Martinez's administration announced Monday. There will be no changes in determining who qualifies for Medicaid, which serves about a quarter of New Mexico's population (Massey, 7/15).

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

Insurers could be caught in health law's smoker glitch; Student health plans to get an upgrade

As the health overhaul's implementation marches on, the Obama administration has limited a provision relating to the cost of smokers' premiums and one news outlet looks at the effects on plans available to college students.

16 Jul 2013

Freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, frequent flyers change health care marketplace

News outlets offer various reports on how emergency and urgent care facilities are affecting how America delivers health care.

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

Americans may choose to stop working due to Affordable Care Act

As a consequence of the Affordable Care Act, between 500,000 and 900,000 Americans may choose to stop working. That possibility is predicted in a new analysis of an analogous situation in reverse: the abrupt end of Tennessee's Medicaid expansion in 2005.

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

First Edition: July 15,2013

Today's headlines include reports about the health law's implementation and status checks on how the measure's online insurance marketplaces are taking shape.

15 Jul 2013

Medicaid News and Research

Hospital information on percutaneous coronary intervention now available to consumers

Pioneer ACO results include improved quality, lowered Medicare costs

First Edition: July 17, 2013

Viewpoints: Does your doctor favor more expensive drugs?; Texas Sen. Wendy Davis says abortion law threatens 'health and safety' of women

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

How will health exchanges work? Business versions may offer clues

New Mexico Medicaid overhaul OK'd

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

Insurers could be caught in health law's smoker glitch; Student health plans to get an upgrade

Freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, frequent flyers change health care marketplace

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

Americans may choose to stop working due to Affordable Care Act

Insurance status affects spinal surgery outcomes

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

First Edition: July 15,2013

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Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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