Health Care News and Research

RSS

Arcadia Resources to meet institutional investors at Barrington Research Healthcare Conference

Arcadia Resources, Inc. (NYSE Amex: KAD), a leading provider of innovative consumer health care services under the Arcadia HealthCare(SM) brand, today announced President and CEO Marvin R. Richardson and CFO Matthew Middendorf will attend the Barrington Research Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, August 25.

19 Aug 2009

H1N1 vaccine administration coverage from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire has announced that it will offer coverage for the administration of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine when it becomes commercially available to the general public. The vaccine administration will be covered for members whose benefit plans provide coverage for vaccines.

19 Aug 2009

Cost of physician reimbursement for diabetic leg amputations misconstrued

The cost of doctors performing lower-limb amputations for people with diabetes has been misconstrued during recent health care reform discussions, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA).

19 Aug 2009

AMG-SIU to discuss the essentials of audit preparation at the NAMPI conference

Allied Management Group – Special Investigation Unit (AMG-SIU) will be speaking at the National Association for Medicaid Program Integrity (NAMPI) conference later this month to educate members on the essentials of audit preparation. AMG-SIU began as an audit firm providing consulting services to the health care industry more than 35 years ago. The company is now actively working with health groups across the U.S. to prepare for MIP audits in addition to their other services.

19 Aug 2009

Advantage Capital Partners' funding enables Current Solutions to acquire Koalaty Products

Advantage Capital Partners, a leading venture capital and small business finance firm, has provided $3.15 million in financing to Current Solutions, LLC, a wholesale distributor of electrotherapy devices and accessories to medical supply organizations throughout the United States and Canada. The funding, made in connection with the Texas Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program, enabled Current Solutions to acquire Koalaty Products, Inc. and will support the company’s move from Tampa, Fla. to Austin, Texas.

19 Aug 2009

Affiliated Computer Services collaborates with clients to develop business solutions for managing downturn

As companies and government agencies navigate unprecedented economic challenges, some organizations are finding innovative ways to save money but also improve services and productivity. Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS) is working closely with its clients to develop successful business solutions designed to help them manage the economic downturn and prepare for the eventual rebound.

19 Aug 2009

ASA members upset with Medicare cuts

CBS News "has learned that up to 60,000 people have cancelled their AARP memberships since July 1, angered over the group's" support of Democratic health care proposals. "Many are switching to the American Seniors Association, a group that calls itself the conservative alternative … 'I think that probably the seniors are most upset with cuts in Medicare,' said ASA President Stuart Barton. The American Seniors Association is flat-out against President Obama's plan, which calls for $313 billion dollars in Medicare cuts over ten years ... Last week, Obama told a town meeting in Portsmouth, NH, 'We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors'" (Attkisson, 8/17).

19 Aug 2009

Texas Heart Institute receives $4.1 million to determine the effect of pulseless blood flow on bodily functions

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $4.1 million grant to the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (THI at SLEH) to determine the effect of pulseless blood flow on bodily functions. This knowledge will be used in the development of a total artificial heart (TAH) that produces continuous, pulseless blood flow.

18 Aug 2009

GOP sees chance for revival as Democrats struggle with health proposals

"Republicans finally have a little spring back in their step thanks to a health care debate that has done more to cool off Obama-mania and reignite the conservative base than even most of its leaders had hoped," Politico reports.

18 Aug 2009

High cost of Tennessee's state program under the reform microscope

TennCare, the plan enacted in the mid-1990s to cover the Tennessee's uninsured through a public insurance program which nearly bankrupted the state, is fueling national debate about a public option, The Wall Street Journal reports.

18 Aug 2009

Medicare pilot project links hospital payments to quality

Data to be released today examines a pilot project by Medicare that links hospital payments to the quality of care.

18 Aug 2009

H1N1 pandemic: no time for complacency

Prevention of H1N1 influenza virus through vaccination must be our top priority if disease patterns in the northern hemisphere follow those in the southern hemisphere this fall, writes Paul Hébert, Editor-in-Chief of CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) in an editorial.

18 Aug 2009

Consumer driven health plans overtake HMO plans in popularity with employees

Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs) in the U.S. have surpassed HMO plans in covered employees, according to preliminary results released by United Benefit Advisors (UBA) from its 2009 UBA Health Plan Survey, the nation's largest health plan benchmarking survey with 17,655 plans from 12,316 employers reporting.

18 Aug 2009

Sebelius to discuss health care fraud prevention

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will give the keynote address at the U.S. Administration on Aging’s Annual SMP (formerly called Senior Medicare Patrol) Conference taking place August 18-20 in Washington, D.C.

18 Aug 2009

Signs of racism occur in the midst of health care reform debate

NPR and Georgia Public Broadcasting report that Georgia congressman David Scott is dealing with signals of racism and heated passions in the midst of this summer's efforts toward health care reform.

18 Aug 2009

Obama pledges reform won't change veterans' health care

During his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix, Ariz., on Monday, President Barack Obama "noted that his administration was committed to increased spending on VA health care," The Associated Press reports.

18 Aug 2009

Opinion: Chronic disease in Africa; education can help combat disease; climate change and health; TB vaccine

"An epidemic of chronic, non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, mental illness, cancer, diabetes, and obesity is growing in Africa, a continent still struggling with infectious and nutritional diseases," according to a Boston Globe opinion piece by Michelle Holmes and Shona Dalal.

18 Aug 2009

Sleep apnea increases chances of dying

Nightly bouts of interrupted, oxygen-deprived sleep from a collapsed airway in the upper neck raises the chances of dying in middle-aged to elderly people by as much as 46 percent in the most severe cases, according to a landmark study on sleep apnea by lung experts at Johns Hopkins and six other U.S. medical centers.

18 Aug 2009

$Denosumab reduces fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis$

Denosumab reduces fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Fractures are a major cause of disability and health care costs among postmenopausal women. Now a study in the New England Journal of Medicine highlights an alternative therapy that prevents fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

18 Aug 2009

Cost-saving value of some medical tests challenged

The Boston Globe: "One of President Obama's favorite arguments for his health care overhaul plan is that he would require insurance companies to pay for tests and other preventive care that can determine whether a person has a life-threatening disease,"

18 Aug 2009