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NIH official raises concerns about new psychiatry manual

The director of the National Institute of Mental Health says the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5 lacks validity, and his organization plans to launch a possible replacement diagnostic tool.

9 May 2013

Hospital billing varies widely for the same procedures, Medicare data show

Data being released for the first time by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show how billing varies not just between regions, but among hospitals in the same city.

9 May 2013

Doctors praise GOP's plans for Medicare pay but seek uniform quality measures

At a Capitol Hill hearing, physicians offered thoughts about Republican efforts to change the way they are paid by Medicare. Meanwhile, Speaker John Boehner said the House may again consider a bill that would use money slated for prevention efforts to fund high-risk insurance pools.

9 May 2013

Calif. Senate leader readies mental health service expansion

The California Senate leader is proposing increasing mental health services to reduce how many end up in jail or ERs. In Massachusetts, officials plan greater scrutiny of how insurers cover mental health care.

9 May 2013

POZEN announces revenue of $1.4 million for first quarter 2013

POZEN Inc., a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

8 May 2013

Hospital Safety Score: Hospitals make only incremental progress in patient safety

When it comes to patient safety, all hospitals and U.S. states aren't created equal, according to the newly updated Hospital Safety Score. The Spring 2013 update to the Hospital Safety Score that assigns "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F" grades to more than 2,500 general hospitals in the United States showed hospitals have made only incremental progress in addressing errors, accidents, injuries and infections that kill or hurt their patients.

8 May 2013

First Edition: May 8, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about government data showing the wide variation in what hospitals charge Medicare patients for common inpatient procedures.

8 May 2013

Study reports that less-invasive option for spinal stenosis poses 'trade-off' in outcomes

Interspinous spacer implantation-a less-invasive alternative surgical option for spinal stenosis-has a lower complication rate than spinal fusion, reports a study in the May 1 issue of Spine The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

8 May 2013

Harkin lifts hold on Tavenner nomination

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Tuesday that he would allow the nomination of Marilyn Tavenner to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to go forward.

8 May 2013

Medicare studies: Payment cuts don't mean insurers pay more

Medicare payment cuts to hospitals don't necessarily mean private insurers end up paying more, one study finds. Another reports that unifying Medicare's benefits into a single plan could save the program $180 billion over 10 years, while lowering seniors' out-of-pocket costs.

8 May 2013

For health law backers, part of challenge is managing expectations

Some Democrats worry they will face political repercussions if there are snags that can be exploited by Republicans.

8 May 2013

HHS launches probe into unusual billing patterns for inpatient hospice care

HHS' inspector general's office is launching an in-depth investigation into cases where Medicare hospice beneficiaries get inpatient care, following unusual billing patterns that surfaced during recent research on the $1.1 billion industry.

8 May 2013

State roundup: Medicaid contractor sues La. over canceled deal

A Maryland-based company whose nearly $200 million Medicaid contract was canceled amid an ongoing federal investigation sued Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration Monday for terminating the deal (5/6).

8 May 2013

National Transitions of Care Coalition cites patient education as key component of post hospital health management, disease prevention framework

The National Transitions of Care Coalition has cited patient education as a required component of post hospital health management and disease prevention framework. Today's technologies and digital delivery options allows health providers to target reductions in re-admissions, and emergency department visits, while improving patient compliance and patient safety within the hospital.

7 May 2013

Survey shows rising rates of treated disease prevalence increase health care costs in U.S

The increasing proportion of the population that received treatment for a specific medical condition - called "treated disease prevalence" -- along with higher spending per treated case accounted for most of the rise in health care spending in the U.S. between 1987 and 2009, according to a recent analysis.

7 May 2013

First Edition: May 7, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about two new studies exploring whether the slowdown in the nation's health spending growth rates is, in fact, due more to structural changes in the health ystem than to the economy.

7 May 2013

New report highlights factors that contribute to asthma

There is still no cure for asthma, so for 22 million people in the U.S., this chronic disease continues to be a daily burden no matter where they live. But it's not just air pollution they should be worried about. Factors such as pollen, secondhand smoke – even high rates of poverty, a large uninsured population or a high number of ER visits – can be critical signs that certain cities and states are worse for families with asthma. It is especially true for people with severe asthma.

7 May 2013

Do children's health concerns fall through the health law's cracks?

The final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be bad news for re-authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a congressional staffer said. … Authorization for the program, which provides health coverage to families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford costly health insurance, expires at the end of September 2013.

7 May 2013

Viewpoints: Assessing the Oregon Medicaid experiment; health insurance hysteria; in Florida, 'toxic politics' beats out common sense

The people who got Medicaid used more health care, and seem to have done so smartly - they got preventive care, they got their diabetes diagnosed and began managing it.

7 May 2013

White House Medicare proposal draws ire from advocates, liberals

The Hill reports that President Barack Obama's plan to combine Medicare's doctor and hospital costs is unpopular among advocates for the elderly and some liberal Democrats.

7 May 2013