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Matrix Medical Network announces acquisition of Ascender

Matrix Medical Network, a national leader in prospective medical assessment services, announced today that it has acquired Ascender, a leading provider of integrated, advanced information technology to healthcare clients, in an all-cash transaction.

28 Aug 2012

Virtua achieves significant clinical milestone in the adoption of electronic health records

Today, Siemens Healthcare has announced that Virtua, a multi-hospital healthcare system, has achieved a significant clinical milestone in the adoption of electronic health records.

27 Aug 2012

CardioDx completes two-tranche equity financing

CardioDx, Inc., a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, today announced the completion of a $58 million two-tranche equity financing.

27 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 27, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about this week's GOP convention, the politics of Medicare and abortion, and the latest health policy news from the states.

27 Aug 2012

Obama, Romney exchange barbs on Medicare, abortion

The former Massachusetts governor, responding to charges of a GOP "war on women," says his state health overhaul provided health care for "all women and men." The president, meanwhile, fights back against charges that he is taking money out of Medicare by asserting he wants to strengthen and preverve the program. Both campaigns also debut new ads on Medicare.

27 Aug 2012

Medicare, health policies stay in spotlight at top of the ticket

The Washington Post compares how Medicare fares under the health law versus under the Ryan plan, while NBC questions whether the GOP effort to hammer President Obama for reducing Medicare spending to pay for the health overhaul will work -- especially since GOP budget proposals make the same cuts.

27 Aug 2012

Calif. insurer agrees to pay record settlement over excess Medicaid payments

A health plan in California has agreed to pay a record $320 million settlement over allegations it was overpaid by the state's Medicaid program. Also in the news, a California hospital chain will pay $16.5 million to settle with the California Medicaid program and Medicare after a patient "kickback" investigation.

27 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Romney in WSJ column offers lessons from Bain; Ryan's ideological vote against curbing the deficit

My presidency would make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get the investment dollars they need to grow, by reducing and simplifying taxes; replacing Obamacare with real health-care reform that contains costs and improves care; and by stemming the flood of new regulations that are tying small businesses in knots.

26 Aug 2012

On campaign trail, polls and politics swirl around Medicare, abortion debates

A New York Times/CBS News/Quinnipiac poll finds that even in the midst of the Medicare debate, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appears to have gained ground in Florida and other swing states.

24 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 24, 2012

Now on Kaiser Health News blog, KUHF's Carrie Feibel, working in partnership with KHN and NPR, reports: "When Ashley Beecher had her first daughter, nursing was a struggle, and she sometimes had to supplement her baby's diet with formula. But when she had her second daughter in January, it was a very different story. … Beecher was reluctant to throw away the milk – mothers and doctors call it 'liquid gold' because of its health benefits - so she was excited to find out about the donor milk bank at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston."

24 Aug 2012

Quantitative look at the whole experience of patients with pancreatic cancer

Every year, nearly 45,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The odds against those stricken by the disease are truly dismal; pancreatic cancer almost always kills within two years after diagnosis, no matter how it is treated. Even aggressive intervention with chemotherapy, radiation or surgery rarely yields more than an extra month to a year of survival, depending on the stage of the disease.

24 Aug 2012

CBO: Medicare spending growth slower than expected

The Congressional Budget Office released new projections for the country's economic outlook Wednesday, forecasting that despite slower-than-anticipated spending growth, Medicare will account for an even larger share of the economy in the next decade.

24 Aug 2012

Presidential campaigns jockey for upper hand in Medicare debate

Just as new polls find that voters in three key swing states are more likely to trust President Barack Obama than GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney on Medicare, the Romney campaign is struggling to quiet controversies related to this issue.

24 Aug 2012

CMS moves forward with initiative to coordinate Medicare primary care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Innovation Center will administer the program, which was created by the 2010 health law. Five hundred medical practices have been selected to participate.

24 Aug 2012

Senate, congressional races focus on Medicare positions, health law votes

Medicare moves to the forefront of House races in Pennsylvania while Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, defends his policies -- including his health law vote -- against TV ads and record spending brought by outside groups.

24 Aug 2012

Views on Akin and abortion: Both parties energized by candidate's remarks on rape, but does it clarify abortion debate?

There's something off -- something a bit cowardly, actually -- about the positions of both parties in the abortion debate refueled by the asinine remarks of Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.). Akin's comments have left Republicans scrambling to avoid the politically unpalatable implications of the anti-abortion views central to their party.

24 Aug 2012

Views on Ryan's Medicare plan: A change from 'petty' politics; 'Creative approach' to solving the problem; Time for a 'serious national debate'

By picking Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney introduced Medicare into his campaign for the presidency. Veterans of the entitlement wars immediately said that in doing so Gov. Romney was suiciding his candidacy.

24 Aug 2012

FDA approves Watson’s ANDA for lidocaine topical patch 5%

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for lidocaine topical patch 5%, the generic equivalent to Endo's Lidoderm.

24 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 23, 2012

Today's headlines offer more coverage of how Medicare and abortion issues are emerging both in the presidential campaign and congressional races.

23 Aug 2012

CMS announces participation of PCPs in Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its announcement of primary care practices to participate in a historic public-private partnership to strengthen primary care, the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative (CPCI).

23 Aug 2012