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Viewpoints: Michelle Obama makes a business case for healthy food; Orszag weighs reforms to Medical malpractice

For years, America's childhood obesity crisis was viewed as an insurmountable problem, one that was too complicated and too entrenched to ever really solve. According to the conventional wisdom, healthy food simply didn't sell - the demand wasn't there and higher profits were found elsewhere - so it just wasn't worth the investment. But thanks to businesses across the country, today we are proving the conventional wisdom wrong.

28 Feb 2013

Medicaid physician pay boost stalled by delay in federal regs

No states appear to have implemented a temporary Medicaid physician pay boost more than eight weeks after it was supposed to have gone into effect, according to provider groups tracking the issue.

28 Feb 2013

Sequester scare touches issues related to Medicare, Medicaid spending

The $85 billion in scheduled spending cuts to defense and discretionary accounts are scheduled to kick in Friday, and movement toward a last-ditch strategy has not been evident.

28 Feb 2013

House Ways and Means Committee chair says 'doc fix' is on his to-do list

And a Tuesday hearing of the House Ways and Means health subcommittee focused on options for finding cost savings in the traditional Medicare program.

28 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Former Sen. Gramm criticizes Obama on budget cuts; Debate on revamping Medicare needs less heat, more deliberation

While history shows that a divided government can enact significant spending cuts as an alternative to sequesters, that doesn't appear to be the path Mr. Obama intends to follow. Instead of protecting civilian defense workers, the president will continue to force the Pentagon to buy biofuels at $27 per gallon to promote his green agenda.

27 Feb 2013

Methodology masking true variations in Medicare spend

Variations in regional mortality and spending rates in the US Medicare system are being blurred by inadequate risk adjustment methodology, researchers suggest.

27 Feb 2013

Almost Family reports net service revenues of $87M for fourth quarter

Almost Family, Inc., a leading regional provider of home health nursing and personal care services, announced today its financial results for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2012.

27 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 27, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about N.J. Gov. Christie's decision to pursue the health law's Medicaid expansion.

27 Feb 2013

Is avoiding sequestration possible?

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., told the Wall Street Journal that he would consider a tax increase if it is accompanied by reductions in entitlement spending.

27 Feb 2013

Capitol Hill hot topics: Mental health, abortion and entitlement cuts

Roll Call explores how some lawmakers have strong personal connections to issues related to mental health and gun violence.

27 Feb 2013

Truven Health Analytics names UCSD Medical Center in 100 Top Hospitals list

University of California, San Diego Medical Center has been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals for the second time by Truven Health Analytics, formerly the health care business of Thomson Reuters.

27 Feb 2013

Restricting coverage to COEs not associated with improved outcomes for bariatric surgery

In an analysis of data on patients who underwent bariatric surgery 2004-2009, there was no significant difference in the rates of complications and reoperation for Medicare patients before vs. after a 2006 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy that restricted coverage of bariatric surgery to centers of excellence, according to a study appearing in the February 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Feb 2013

State roundup: Kan. eyes rural residencies to solve doc shortage; More hats in Mass. Gov. race

Rural hospitals could provide critical help addressing the state's expected doctor shortage, according to Dr. Douglas Girod, the new executive vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center.

27 Feb 2013

Bridging the Divides model can help patients with chronic heart disease

Christiana Care Health System has partnered with ColdLight and Medecision to provide more coordinated personalized care to patients with chronic heart disease with breakthrough analytics technology.

27 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: GOP faces pressure from spending cuts effects on daily life; President needs to lead on Medicare cuts

Cuts this draconian have no place in a tottering economy. But, realistically, the only way to break this standoff is for the cuts to exact their toll on daily life, causing Republicans to face pressure from the public to negotiate an alternative plan with higher revenues in March as part of talks to finance the government for the final six months of the fiscal year.

26 Feb 2013

Societies advocate some change for colonoscopy patients with Medicare

The federal government has issued an important clarification on preventive screening benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Patients with private insurance will no longer be liable for cost sharing when a pre-cancerous colon polyp is removed during screening colonoscopy.

26 Feb 2013

Govs. Jindal, Walker offer views on averting sequester, reducing deficit

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal suggested delaying implementation of parts of the health law. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recommends focusing on paring back Medicare and Social Security spending.

26 Feb 2013

With sequester day looming, partisan differences become more entrenched

Some news outlets take a hard look at the impact that health programs would feel if the scheduled cuts go forward.

26 Feb 2013

Research roundup: Patients hesitant to focus on costs; Increase in primary care demand is uneven

One way to contain health care spending is to get patients involved in weighing costs of treatment options with their doctors. Researchers recruited 211 medically insured participants to assess their willingness to consider costs when choosing treatments. The authors found that participants generally "preferred better care, even when the relative benefit it offered was marginal, and even when told that the second-best choice still met the threshold of 'good enough' care from a clinician's perspective.

26 Feb 2013

FDA approves Actavis’ generic Suboxone ANDA to treat opioid dependence

Actavis, Inc. today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Buprenorphine HCl and Naloxone HCl Dihydrate SL Tablets, 2 mg/0.5 mg and 8 mg/2 mg, the generic equivalent to Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare's Suboxone.

26 Feb 2013