Medicare News and Research

RSS

U.S. Department of Justice clears Aetna's proposed acquisition of Coventry Health Care

Aetna today announced the U.S. Department of Justice has cleared Aetna's proposed acquisition of Coventry Health Care, Inc. Aetna expects to complete its acquisition of Coventry within the next three business days.

4 May 2013

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals expands ophthalmology portfolio

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its ophthalmology portfolio by acquiring full exclusive rights to two families of novel antibodies invented at Regeneron and previously included in Regeneron's antibody collaboration with Sanofi.

3 May 2013

First Edition: May 3, 2013

Today's headlines include a variety of stories about the health law's implementation, including reports about the Medicaid expansion's red state prospects.

3 May 2013

Viewpoints: S.C. House race spotlights Dems' discomfort with health law; Cannon, Cohn offer contrasting views of Medicaid study

The media tittering over Mrs. Colbert Busch's decision to publicly slap the former Republican governor over his extramarital affair obscured the more notable political comment of the night.

3 May 2013

Subpoenas issued regarding last month's leak of Medicare decision that triggered stock market surge

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas to a firm and individuals in connection with the leak last month of a federal funding decision that appeared to cause a surge in stock trading of several major health companies.

3 May 2013

Hospitals warn of lost jobs, patient services after proposed payment changes

Changes in how hospitals are paid make news in Minnesota -- where the state's largest health plan will delay a new payment system -- and Maryland -- where hospitals say a cut in pay to them will mean fewer jobs and patient services.

3 May 2013

LAP-BAND-weight loss procedure safe and effective for obese people

The LAP-BAND- weight loss procedure is safe and effective in an expanded group of patients, not just in people who are morbidly obese. This conclusion is reported in a new study published in the scientific journal Obesity. The findings indicate that the procedure may help to intervene before obesity becomes life threatening to patients.

2 May 2013

First Edition: May 2, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about a new study detailing how expanded Medicaid access impacts beneficiaries' utilization of health care services and their overall physical health.

2 May 2013

Viewpoints: Outrage at mistaken report on Hill health coverage; Two views of Florida's option on Medicaid

Because members of Congress are accustomed to high-quality medical care provided to them through federal employee benefit programs, one might expect that they would push for top quality care to be delivered through the exchanges too.

2 May 2013

Roundup: Battles in five states become central to abortion fight; Calif. prison spending on anti-psychotics raises treatment questions

Five states have moved to adopt tighter abortion regulations, including North Dakota, where a new law prohibits abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. Jeffrey Brown gets perspectives from Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life and Ilyse Hogue of NARAL Pro-Choice America (4/30).

2 May 2013

At the Florida State House, Medicaid expansion drama continues

News outlets also detail the latest expansion news from Oklahoma, Iowa, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine and Arizona.

2 May 2013

Aetna cuts projections for policies it will sell in new marketplaces

Aetna said it expects to sell fewer health insurance policies than initially projected in the health law's online marketplaces, which are slated to open in October. The insurer also said its 1st-quarter profit slipped 4 percent but raised its 2013 forecast.

2 May 2013

New collaboration provides access, allows users to make decisions based on data

Archimedes, Inc., a healthcare modeling and analytics company, announced today that it has begun collaborating with the United States Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide unprecedented access to synthetic CMS claims data.

2 May 2013

First Edition: April 30, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration has simplified the application for health insurance benefits under the health law.

30 Apr 2013

Analysis examines national expenditures on emergency care

Alternately praised in the aftermath of horrible tragedies as a heroic service and lamented in policy debates as an expensive safety net for people without primary care, emergency medicine is often a hot topic.

30 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Bowles, Simpson renew push for 'grand bargain;' The debate on FDA oversight of pharmacies; Kasich and feds work to find formula for Medicaid expansion

To be sure, some progress has been made the past two years. Policymakers have enacted about $2.7 trillion in deficit reduction, primarily through cuts in discretionary spending and higher taxes on wealthy individuals. Yet what we have achieved so far is insufficient.

30 Apr 2013

Some GOP lawmakers are shifting focus from Medicare to the tax code

House Republican leaders began a series of meetings last week to sell this idea to their rank-and-file members. Also in Capitol Hill news, cancer clinics argue that Congress should have addressed the cuts they took as a result of sequestration before turning to the spending reductions' impact on air travel.

30 Apr 2013