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GenomeQuest's genomic decision support system achieves HIPAA compliance

GenomeQuest Inc., a global provider of large-scale genomic software applications, today announced that its GQ-Dx genomic decision support system for the production of clinical-grade diagnostic reports from next-generation sequencing (NGS) runs now meets Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security and privacy standards.

30 Jul 2012

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Today's headlines include recent reports about both the policies and politics related to the health law's implementation.

30 Jul 2012

Insurers, health care providers respond to the needs of Elite athletes

Kaiser Health News details how many Olympic athletes get health insurance, while the Associated Press reports on a new wellness program for NFL players.

30 Jul 2012

Research roundup: Slowdown in medical imaging; Hospitals' efforts mixed on reducing readmissions

Recent research showed a slowdown in the use of medical imaging for people enrolled in Medicare. This article follows up and finds that annual imaging growth slowed down from an average of 14 percent between 2000 and 2005 to 2.6 percent between 2006 and 2009. An analysis of commercial insurance claims shows a similar trend outside of Medicare. Based on

28 Jul 2012

Roundup: Mass. lawmakers struggle to reach agreement on cost controls; $100M grant for Calif. stem cell research; N.C. to move mentally ill from elderly homes

The House and Senate are under the gun to reach an agreement on how to lower health care costs while improving care. A conference committee aims to have a bill out on Sunday. Their deadline is Monday evening. In the meantime, several major issues are still unresolved, including what to do about hospitals that use their market clout to demand high prices that are not based on higher quality. Attorney General Martha Coakley, the state's top insurers and several consumer groups argue that price is a critical issue.

28 Jul 2012

Minnesota expanding health coverage to 16,000 kids

Minnesota, after getting federal approval of a 2009 law, will expand health care coverage to more than 16,000 lower-income kids without a waiting period or premiums.

27 Jul 2012

Mo. gov. expects health law questions to be settled by lawmakers in 2013

States are implementing the health law: In Missouri, the governor says legislators will likely wait until the 2013 legislative session to settle their decisions on the health law's Medicaid expansion and exchanges, Texans get insurance rebates and Georgia works to define "basic" health coverage.

27 Jul 2012

Medicaid expansion could save lives, study finds

A Harvard study published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that low-income residents of three states that expanded Medicaid generally lived longer, were healthier and had better access to health care than residents of neighboring states that did not expand the program.

27 Jul 2012

Obama administration and insurers to unveil new plan to crack down on health care fraud

President Obama and health insurance executives plan to announce a new joint effort on Thursday to crack down on health care fraud by sharing and comparing claims data, administration officials say (Pear, 7/25).

27 Jul 2012

Hospitals may give free care to some Colo. theater shooting victims

Several hospitals are giving some free care to or forgiving the bills of the victims of the Colorado theater shooting.

27 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 27, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about a new effort launched by the Obama administration and insurers to fight health care fraud.

27 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: AIDS spread in U.S. South; Abortion opponents battle in Ariz.; GOP's costly effort to kill health law

More than 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, a combination of safe-sex education and a new generation of pharmaceuticals has left many Americans convinced that HIV/AIDS is a problem that has been, if not solved, at least addressed. But that's certainly not true in the American South, which accounts for nearly 50% of all new HIV infections in the United States.

27 Jul 2012

Longer looks: Religious health care; 'The big lie' about expanding Medicaid

The Affordable Care Act has a section that exempts members of health care sharing ministries from purchasing insurance. The Amish, Mennonite, Christian Science and Indian tribe communities also are exempt from the penalty that will be incurred on Americans who fail to purchase health insurance by 2014.

27 Jul 2012

Roundup: Ore. Gov. suggests malpractice reform; Mass. Gov. proposes new scrutiny for health care providers; Texas has offered HPV vaccine since 2007

The state can cut health care costs and reduce the number of medical-related lawsuits by requiring earlier notification of injuries as well as pretrial mediation, according to a recommendation Gov. John Kitzhaber issued Wednesday. The product of closed-door talks between representatives of interest groups including the Oregon Medical Association and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Kitzhaber's recommendation now goes to a work group including lawmakers, a trial lawyer and doctor that begins public meetings next week.

27 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 26, 2012

Today's headlines include coverage of findings from a new study that indicate Medicaid may help people live longer.

26 Jul 2012

CBO estimates impact of high court decision on health law costs, coverage expansion

The Congressional Budget Office projected the court's decision allowing states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion would decrease costs to the federal government, but result in three million fewer Americans gaining coverage.

26 Jul 2012

GAO: Proposed IRS rule could leave some children ineligible for health insurance subsidies

The report concludes that some children would fall through the cracks because of the definition of affordable health insurance that the IRS used in a rule implementing the health care law.

26 Jul 2012

Study finds disparities in the assessment of patients for kidney transplant

Young black patients and patients without private health insurance are less likely to be assessed for a kidney transplant when they start dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

26 Jul 2012

Roundup: La. lawmakers angry they didn't get to decide on health cuts; New Jersey judges protect selves from health benefit cuts; Detailing Calif. health care budget struggles

Louisiana lawmakers bristled Monday about getting few details and no ability to decide the $523 million in budget cuts Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has made to health care programs, largely to LSU's safety net health care facilities. Several complained the governor's top leaders weren't explaining the gravity of the slashing and the implications on the LSU network of public hospitals and clinics that care for the poor and uninsured in a state where one in five residents don't have health insurance.

26 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 25, 2012

Today's headlines detail new Congressional Budget Office health law estimates that reflect the Supreme Court's decision on the Medicaid expansion.

25 Jul 2012

Health Insurance News and Research

GenomeQuest's genomic decision support system achieves HIPAA compliance

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Insurers, health care providers respond to the needs of Elite athletes

Research roundup: Slowdown in medical imaging; Hospitals' efforts mixed on reducing readmissions

Roundup: Mass. lawmakers struggle to reach agreement on cost controls; $100M grant for Calif. stem cell research; N.C. to move mentally ill from elderly homes

Minnesota expanding health coverage to 16,000 kids

Mo. gov. expects health law questions to be settled by lawmakers in 2013

Medicaid expansion could save lives, study finds

Obama administration and insurers to unveil new plan to crack down on health care fraud

Hospitals may give free care to some Colo. theater shooting victims

First Edition: July 27, 2012

Viewpoints: AIDS spread in U.S. South; Abortion opponents battle in Ariz.; GOP's costly effort to kill health law

Longer looks: Religious health care; 'The big lie' about expanding Medicaid

Roundup: Ore. Gov. suggests malpractice reform; Mass. Gov. proposes new scrutiny for health care providers; Texas has offered HPV vaccine since 2007

First Edition: July 26, 2012

CBO estimates impact of high court decision on health law costs, coverage expansion

GAO: Proposed IRS rule could leave some children ineligible for health insurance subsidies

Study finds disparities in the assessment of patients for kidney transplant

Roundup: La. lawmakers angry they didn't get to decide on health cuts; New Jersey judges protect selves from health benefit cuts; Detailing Calif. health care budget struggles

First Edition: July 25, 2012

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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