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Health law implementation largely untouched by automatic spending cuts

The Associated Press reports that only a small fraction of the overhaul's funding is subject to the sequester's cuts. Meanwhile, the Obama administration indicates that insurers will have to report rate increases no matter how small and offers rules to clarify other provisions.

5 Mar 2013

Commission urges big changes in Medicare doctor pay, including the elimination of fee-for-service approach

The panel, the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform, released a dozen recommendations to ultimately change how physicians are paid.

5 Mar 2013

Hospital costs under microscope

An article that appeared in Time Magazine, "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us," has fueled a new round of discussions about health care cost excesses -- especially in the hospital setting.

5 Mar 2013

Automatic budget cuts lead Republicans to sharpen focus on Medicare cost-cutting plans

With the deadline for averting sequestration having come and gone, lawmakers and the White House are jockeying for position in the next round of budget battles.

5 Mar 2013

Medicare patients enrolled in hospice receive better care at lower cost

Medicare patients who enrolled in hospice received better care at a significantly lower cost to the government than those who did not use the Medicare hospice benefit.

5 Mar 2013

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

For the first time in more than 20 years, there was a decrease in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs — primarily pills people take to treat more common diseases such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure — according to new data released today by Express Scripts.

5 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Daschle, Frist urge Senate to confirm CMS chief; 'Insane' incentives in health law; Medicaid does better job than private insurance so why change it?

Imagine a large company operating for seven years without a CEO. A company with a product that accounts for more than 15 percent of our nation's gross domestic product. A company implementing the largest national effort at reform since its creation. A company set to gain an additional 30 million customers in the next year. Unfathomable.

4 Mar 2013

Older patients with head and neck cancers less likely to die in high-volume hospitals

A study of older patients with advanced head and neck cancers has found that where they were treated significantly influenced their survival.

4 Mar 2013

Regeneron, Sanofi announce pooled data from Phase 1b trials with dupilumab for atopic dermatitis

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that pooled data from two Phase 1b trials with dupilumab (REGN668/SAR231893), an investigational, high-affinity, subcutaneously administered, fully-human antibody targeting the alpha subunit of the interleukin 4 receptor (IL-4R alpha), were presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in Miami.

4 Mar 2013

The clock runs out on averting sequestration

Time ticked down to March 1 -- also known as sequestration D-day -- without the White House and lawmakers finding a way to avert the scheduled cuts.

3 Mar 2013

GOP bills would kill health law's employer mandate

The legislation, which has little chance of passage, would undo requirements that large employers offer workers insurance or pay a fine. Meanwhile, two Senate committees examine changes to Medicare.

3 Mar 2013

Improvements needed to safeguard medical records

Hacking into patient medical records can be as easy as tapping into a hospital's unsecured wireless network from a laptop in the parking lot. Government auditors proved it "by sitting in hospital parking lots with simple laptop computers" and obtaining "patient information from unsecured hospital wireless networks," according to Julie K. Taitsman, M.D., J.D., and colleagues from the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services.

3 Mar 2013

American College of Radiology supports Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act

The American College of Radiology supports the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act, recently introduced by Reps. Pete Olson (R-TX), Peter Roskam (R-IL), John Barrow (D-GA), Betty McCollum (D-MN) and 38 House cosponsors.

2 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: A failure to govern; Democrats 'moved the goal posts' in Va. deal on Medicaid panel; Hospitals 'squeeze' the uninsured

To govern is to choose. By missing Friday's deadline for averting $85 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, Congress and President Obama have chosen not to govern. Instead, each side has concluded that its interest lies in letting the "sequester" proceed as scheduled - and then trying to win the political blame game.

2 Mar 2013

NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.8 receives ONC HIT certification

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today that its NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.8 is compliant with the ONC 2014 Edition criteria and was certified as a Complete EHR on March 1, 2013 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, an ONC-ACB, in accordance with the applicable Eligible certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

2 Mar 2013

Does sequestration offer a budgetary bright side?

News outlets set the scene for the impact on the health care sector and the Medicare program by the sequester's scheduled cuts, which kick in March 1.

1 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 1, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports: "David P. Blom is one of thousands of hospital executives across the country who are bracing for a reduction in Medicare payments as part of a series of federal spending cuts that begin Friday. Blom, 58, is president and chief executive officer of OhioHealth, a Columbus, Ohio, based not-for-profit health care system that includes 18 hospitals, 23 health and surgery centers, home-health providers and other facilities."

1 Mar 2013

Health law, Medicare benefit design draw congressional attention

House GOP doctors released a "health care state of the union" video that included health law criticisms, but no talk of repeal. Meanwhile, issues like Medicare copays and quality were discussed during a Ways and Means hearing earlier this week.

1 Mar 2013

Wright Medical Group acquires BioMimetic Therapeutics

Wright Medical Group, Inc. today announced that it has completed its acquisition of BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. The transaction combines BioMimetic's breakthrough biologics platform and pipeline with Wright's established sales force and product portfolio, to further accelerate growth opportunities in Wright's Extremities business.

1 Mar 2013

Report: Medicare paid $5.1B to nursing homes that provided substandard care

Medicare paid billions in taxpayer dollars to nursing homes nationwide that were not meeting basic requirements to look after their residents, government investigators have found.

1 Mar 2013

Medicare News and Research

Health law implementation largely untouched by automatic spending cuts

Commission urges big changes in Medicare doctor pay, including the elimination of fee-for-service approach

Hospital costs under microscope

Automatic budget cuts lead Republicans to sharpen focus on Medicare cost-cutting plans

Medicare patients enrolled in hospice receive better care at lower cost

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

Viewpoints: Daschle, Frist urge Senate to confirm CMS chief; 'Insane' incentives in health law; Medicaid does better job than private insurance so why change it?

Older patients with head and neck cancers less likely to die in high-volume hospitals

Regeneron, Sanofi announce pooled data from Phase 1b trials with dupilumab for atopic dermatitis

The clock runs out on averting sequestration

GOP bills would kill health law's employer mandate

Improvements needed to safeguard medical records

American College of Radiology supports Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act

Viewpoints: A failure to govern; Democrats 'moved the goal posts' in Va. deal on Medicaid panel; Hospitals 'squeeze' the uninsured

NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.8 receives ONC HIT certification

Does sequestration offer a budgetary bright side?

First Edition: March 1, 2013

Health law, Medicare benefit design draw congressional attention

Wright Medical Group acquires BioMimetic Therapeutics

Report: Medicare paid $5.1B to nursing homes that provided substandard care

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