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State highlights: S.C. Medicaid director touts lower spending; La. targets docs who steer patients into some managed care plans; Texas set to boost Medicaid payments

South Carolina's Medicaid director says his agency is on track to spend about $250 million less this fiscal year than allotted in the state budget. Director Tony Keck told a Senate panel on Wednesday the Department of Health and Human Services is projected to spend $6.2 billion in state and federal money (Adcox, 12/4).

6 Dec 2013

Health law coverage bringing changes to an array of consumers

News outlets explore some of these issues, including new costs for people with "Cadillac" coverage, "narrow networks" of doctors and other health providers, new options for part-time workers and unexpected effects on smokers.

27 Nov 2013

State highlights: What will Va.'s new governor do with state's mental health system?; Kancare gets nursing home critics; patient access to records in Wis.

In the wake of the Creigh Deeds family tragedy, it seems instructive to look ahead to how Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe plans to deal with Virginia's mental health system.

26 Nov 2013

Diabetes patients who receive medications by mail are less likely to visit emergency room

Patients with diabetes who received prescribed heart medications by mail were less likely to visit the emergency room than those patients who picked up prescriptions in person, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.

25 Nov 2013

Patients to have online access to their prescription data for improved safety

As part of its mission to accelerate the adoption of health information exchange throughout California, the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement's California Health eQuality program awarded $400,000 to L.A. Care, the nation's largest publicly operated health plan, to develop Blue Button functionality.

22 Nov 2013

Medicaid enrollment progresses under health overhaul

Gov. Scott Walker says he wants to delay his plan to move more than 70,000 people off Medicaid because the health law online marketplaces are not working well enough yet.

16 Nov 2013

State highlights: Judge allows Medicaid contractor's lawsuit against La. to go forward; Texas pushes for more black mental health providers; Ga. health center grants

A Maryland company fired from its $200 million Medicaid contract can continue to move forward with its wrongful termination lawsuit against Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration, a Baton Rouge judge ruled Thursday. State District Judge Tim Kelley rejected a request from the attorney general's office to delay witness interviews and evidence-gathering until January in the case filed against the state by Client Network Services Inc., or CNSI (11/7).

11 Nov 2013

State highlights: Calif. hospital chain settles anesthesia billing suit; study shows graduate medical education funding imbalance

A major California hospital chain, Sutter Health, agreed to pay $46 million and disclose more pricing information to consumers to resolve a whistle-blower complaint alleging false and misleading charges for anesthesia. Sutter Health, which runs 24 acute-care hospitals in Northern California, said it reached the settlement Monday just prior to a trial starting this month over the allegations that it added thousands of dollars for "Code 37x" anesthesia charges that were already covered by other billing for the hospital operating room (Terhune, 11/4).

6 Nov 2013

COMS OPAL Award program recognizes top performers on a national basis

COMS Interactive, also known as Clinical Outcomes Management Systems, has launched the Outcomes Performance Achievement Leader (OPAL) Award program. The program is an extension of the company's focus on improving health care and clinical outcomes in the long-term care marketplace by leveraging Daylight IQ™, the COMS' flagship Disease Management Product Suite.

31 Oct 2013

MEDNAX reports revenue growth of 17.3% to $555M

MEDNAX, Inc., the national medical group specializing in neonatal, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, other pediatric subspecialties and anesthesia physician services, today reported earnings of $1.52 per share for the three months ended September 30, 2013 resulting from strong revenue growth, primarily from recent acquisitions.

31 Oct 2013

Courts in Texas, Okla. wrestle with state abortion laws

Oklahoma's high court on Tuesday set the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether states can restrict doctors from prescribing two drugs used to induce abortion in the early stages of prnegancy.

30 Oct 2013

State highlights: Ala., Catholic media group file new lawsuit; L.A. free clinic events still draws thousands; autism coverage in Calif.

The state of Alabama and a Roman Catholic broadcasting network based near Birmingham are again suing over the nation's new health care law. Attorney General Luther Strange and Eternal Word Television Network filed suit Monday in federal court.

30 Oct 2013

State highlights: Vt. readies universal health care launch; Fla. adds four contractors to Medicaid managed care

As states open insurance marketplaces amid uncertainty about whether they're a solution for health care, Vermont is eyeing a bigger goal, one that more fully embraces a government-funded model. The state has a planned 2017 launch of the nation's first universal health care system, a sort of modified Medicare-for-all that has long been a dream for many liberals (Gram, 10/26).

29 Oct 2013

State highlights: 'Habilitation' an essential benefit, but what is it?; Va. gov. candidates differ on mental health system; Calif. pays $2.7M for late hearings

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, California, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Texas.

25 Oct 2013

State highlights: Cuccinelli blasts health law, Sebelius in bid to gain ground in Va. governor's race; N.Y. residents split over law; medi-cal cuts threaten access

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, New York, California, Oregon, Michigan, Texas and Georgia.

24 Oct 2013

GW researcher explores successful interventions implemented outside ED to reduce existing ED use

In recent years, many groups, including policy makers and health systems, have looked for ways to reduce the number of visits to the emergency department (ED) as a way to lower costs and improve the quality of care. Research conducted by Jesse Pines, M.D., director of the Office of Clinical Practice Innovation and professor of emergency medicine at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences, explored interventions that had been implemented outside of EDs that were designed to reduce ED use.

24 Oct 2013

Cancellation notices, uncertainty over doctors in new plans, spur concerns

News outlets report on a range of policy issues related to the health law's implementation.

22 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 21, 2013

Today's headlines include the latest reports about how the Obama administration plans to make the necessary fixes in the health law's online insurance marketplace.

21 Oct 2013

Medicaid 'coverage gap' causing anxiety in non-expansion states, especially in the south

In states that decide not to expand Medicaid under the health law, more than 5 million people may be left without coverage. Oregon's expansion has already lowered the number of people there without coverage. Exchange issues are also examined in Maryland, Florida, Ohio and Alabama.

19 Oct 2013

HMS Holdings reports third quarter 2013 financial and operating results

HMS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:HMSY) today announced it will report its third quarter 2013 financial and operating results at 8:00 a.m. Central/9:00 a.m. Eastern on Friday, November 8, 2013. Supplemental financial information including the press release and presentation will be available at http://investor.hms.com/events.cfm at approximately 7:30 a.m. Eastern on November 8.