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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Study reveals economics behind high U.S. teen birth rates

New research reveals the surprising economics behind the high U.S. teen birth rates, and why Texas teens are giving birth at triple the rate of Massachusetts youth: high income inequality and low opportunity cost.

6 Apr 2012

African-Americans and Hispanics with MDD less likely to get antidepressants

African-Americans and Hispanics with major depressive disorder are less likely to get antidepressants than Caucasian patients, and Medicare and Medicaid patients are less likely to get the newest generation of antidepressants.

6 Apr 2012

AHS announces acquisition of COMPUDATA

AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions (AHS), one of the nation's leading providers of medical billing, practice management, and coding services for specialty physicians, hospitals, and surgery centers, announced today that it has acquired COMPUDATA, Inc., an Ohio-based medical billing company. This represents AHS' fifth acquisition since mid-2009, and expands the company's footprint in Ohio and Pennsylvania while strengthening the company's anesthesia practice customer base.

6 Apr 2012

Understanding how key decision makers assess prescription drugs for health plan coverage

As medical advancements and an expanding pharmaceutical industry bring new prescription drugs into the market, deciding which ones to cover is becoming an even more difficult choice for health plans to make. How those decisions are made - and what information is used in the process - was the focus of a recent study by researchers at RTI International.

5 Apr 2012

Health plan settles lawsuits in Fla.; Minnesota HMOs to return $73M to state, feds

In Florida, a health plan in Tampa will pay $137.5 million to settle lawsuits over Medicare and Medicaid claims, while Magic Johnson plans to invest in a new HIV plan there. In Minnesota, the federal government and the state will split $73 million nonprofit HMOs are returning while other Minnesota health plans profits jump 21 percent.

5 Apr 2012

Quantifying the health law's Medicaid expansion

Taking the recession's impact and reform together, the Obama years' Medicaid expansion (assuming the president and reform survive) will come to about 26 percent, higher than the Clinton years, no doubt, but significantly smaller than the increases experienced under either of the Bushes.

5 Apr 2012

President lashes out at GOP budget and Medicare plan, Romney

In a Tuesday speech billed by many as a preview of the Obama reelection campaign's favorite themes, President Barack Obama blasted the treatment of Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs by the Republicans and warned that their spending blueprint is a form of "Social Darwinism."

5 Apr 2012

Catholic University ends birth control coverage; Texas plans grant applications to free money for Women's Health Program

A Catholic University in Ohio ends its health plan coverage of birth control, and Texas is planning to apply for federal block grants to free up money to use on its Women's Health Program, which is closing.

5 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'diatribe' on Ryan budget; President 'recovers' on statements about the court; Other health care mandates

If there's a Laffer Curve for Presidential invective - some point at which dishonest political abuse yields diminishing returns - the White House political team must not think their boss has hit it. Even in this hyperpartisan age, President Obama's speech to the Associated Press yesterday was a parody of the form. This was a diatribe that managed to invoke "Social Darwinism" and "a Trojan Horse" in the same paragraph, amid the other high crimes that Mr. Obama says Paul Ryan wants to commit.

5 Apr 2012

State roundup: Feds deny Hawaii Medicaid hospital limit; Ariz. prison health care gets operator; States consider ins and outs of health law implementation

The Obama administration has rejected Hawaii's proposal to limit most adult Medicaid recipients to 10 days of hospital coverage per year, which would have been the strictest in the nation. Instead, Hawaii has been approved to implement a 30-day hospital coverage limit starting July 1, state and federal health officials say.

5 Apr 2012

Trends in diagnostic coding may explain the cause of decline in pneumonia hospitalizations

Although data indicate that between 2003-2009 there was a substantial decline in the U.S. in hospitalizations for pneumonia and inpatient deaths, analysis suggests that trends in documentation and diagnostic coding, rather than improvements in actual outcomes, may explain much of the observed changes, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Apr 2012

Wash. state suspends ER-payment plan; Penn. 'slashes' kids from Medicaid rolls

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has suspended a plan for the state's Medicaid agency to stop paying for certain emergency-room visits. The planned cuts, which were designed to reduce health-care costs and were set to go into effect April 1, drew opposition from hospitals and doctors, who said they would be stuck with bills for care they often would be legally required to provide.

4 Apr 2012

CMS: Medicare Advantage, Part D to get 3 percent boost in 2013 reimbursements

Also in the news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced nearly $50 million in grants to state agencies to help seniors better understand Medicare.

4 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 4, 2012

In today's headlines, President Barak Obama goes on attack against GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and the Republican budget blueprint; a federal court judge asks for clarifications regarding Obama's comment on judicial activism and the high court's consideration of the health law; as well as reports that doctors are stepping into the effort to curb unnecessary medical treatments.

4 Apr 2012

State roundup: Docs fight over HMO in Fla.; Striking health law wouldn't stop reform in Minn.; Calif. mulls public employee 'Bill of Rights'

Two doctors who are among Florida's most aggressive fundraisers for the Republican Party have had a nasty falling-out over control of an HMO. Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, a prominent Broward cardiologist, has filed suit against Dr. Akshay Desai, the chairman and CEO of Universal Health Care. Universal, founded in 2002, is a fast-growing Medicare HMO based in St. Petersburg.

4 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 3, 2012

In today's health policy headlines, President Barack Obama's expresses confidence that the health law will stand.

3 Apr 2012

Medicare: Republicans face uphill battle to find like minds across the aisle

House GOP lawmakers are having a hard time making the case that plans to revamp Medicare have broad bipartisan support.

3 Apr 2012

Health insurers continue to rally after high court hearings

Certain segments of the health care marketplace appeared to be optimistic about signals from the court's consideration of the individual mandate and the sweeping health law.

3 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: 'Outrageously high fee' for emergency services; Mysterious rise in autism cases

The calculus for medical charges in general is beyond comprehension, with outrageously high fees used as a starting point in a bizarre game of bargaining. Glenn Melnick, who teaches hospital finance at USC, told me it's as crazy as if he asked to buy the TV in my living room, and I gave him a price of $1 million to start the conversation.

3 Apr 2012

Views on the Supreme Court review: No matter what the decision, reform will go on; The case threatens the court's legacy

Listening to the lawyers talking nonstop last week about health care gave me a headache, so I decided to consult one of the nation's top doctors. He offered a real-world diagnosis of what's happening in health care - and a reminder of how much it's changing, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides about Obamacare. My medical guru is Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, chief executive of Cleveland Clinic, a $6 billion network that's one of the biggest and best providers in the country.

3 Apr 2012

Medicaid News and Research

Study reveals economics behind high U.S. teen birth rates

African-Americans and Hispanics with MDD less likely to get antidepressants

AHS announces acquisition of COMPUDATA

Understanding how key decision makers assess prescription drugs for health plan coverage

Health plan settles lawsuits in Fla.; Minnesota HMOs to return $73M to state, feds

Quantifying the health law's Medicaid expansion

President lashes out at GOP budget and Medicare plan, Romney

Catholic University ends birth control coverage; Texas plans grant applications to free money for Women's Health Program

Viewpoints: Obama's 'diatribe' on Ryan budget; President 'recovers' on statements about the court; Other health care mandates

State roundup: Feds deny Hawaii Medicaid hospital limit; Ariz. prison health care gets operator; States consider ins and outs of health law implementation

Trends in diagnostic coding may explain the cause of decline in pneumonia hospitalizations

Wash. state suspends ER-payment plan; Penn. 'slashes' kids from Medicaid rolls

CMS: Medicare Advantage, Part D to get 3 percent boost in 2013 reimbursements

First Edition: April 4, 2012

State roundup: Docs fight over HMO in Fla.; Striking health law wouldn't stop reform in Minn.; Calif. mulls public employee 'Bill of Rights'

First Edition: April 3, 2012

Medicare: Republicans face uphill battle to find like minds across the aisle

Health insurers continue to rally after high court hearings

Viewpoints: 'Outrageously high fee' for emergency services; Mysterious rise in autism cases

Views on the Supreme Court review: No matter what the decision, reform will go on; The case threatens the court's legacy

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