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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.

CABG offers higher survival rates for older adults with CHD than PCI

A new comparative effectiveness study found older adults with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) who underwent bypass surgery had better long-term survival rates than those who underwent a non-surgical procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle, also called revascularization.

28 Mar 2012

Roundup: Abortion-restriction bills stopped in Ga.; Minnesota can cut health care aide pay; Guidelines for Ore. coordinated care released

One of the most controversial bills this legislative session, that sought to put new restrictions on late-term abortions, was all but gutted Monday after a bipartisan coalition in the state Senate forced key changes. The original proposal would have cut by about six weeks the time women in Georgia may have an elective abortion. With the changes, it would now also include an exemption for "medically futile" pregnancies, giving doctors the option to perform an abortion when a fetus has congenital or chromosomal defects. The change hits at the heart of the controversy: Should fetuses once they hit 20 weeks be protected even if those protections mean women are forced to continue medically risky pregnancies?

28 Mar 2012

Research briefs analyze health centers' and Medicaid's role in growth

Two new policy research briefs analyze health centers' growth over the past two decades and Medicaid's role in propelling and sustaining that growth. The analyses chronicle federal health center growth initiatives pursued by Republican and Democratic Administrations alike, as well as the 2011 retrenchment in the growth trajectory.

27 Mar 2012

New CMS requirement increases ICD placement costs

The cost to place an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) increased by $844 per case after a new requirement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) went into effect in February 2010, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 27, 2012

In today's headlines, the Supreme Court chronicles continue, with reports detailing what happened during yesterday's opening-day oral arguments and previewing what's on tap for today.

27 Mar 2012

Improved clinical quality leads to decline in quality of patients' experiences

Hospitals that adopt strategies to reduce errors and meet government requirements face an initial tradeoff between improved clinical quality and a decline in the quality of individual patients' experiences, according to new research.

27 Mar 2012

N.Y. seeking Medicaid waiver; Calif. adult services lawsuit now 'unsettled'

New York plans to overhaul the nation's most expensive Medicaid health care system to save $18.3 billion over five years, and will ask the federal government for half of those savings.

27 Mar 2012

State roundup: Wash. state exchange bill now law

Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday signed into law a bill setting rules for insurers preparing for the state's online-insurance exchange. ... The state exchanges for individual and small-group plans are set to go live on Jan. 1, 2014. ... State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said that his office is committed to getting the exchange in place on schedule. "If we slowed down to be anxious, we'd be in trouble," Kreidler said. "It's the health law, and we're proceeding as quickly and as prudently as we can."

27 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Walter Dellinger's health care myths; A 'moment of truth' or end of health reform?

Commentators from around the country offer their views of the historic case being heard at the Supreme Court today.

27 Mar 2012

Doctors adjusting (or not) to e-prescribing, smartphones

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will penalize doctors who fail to reach electronic prescribing rules.

26 Mar 2012

Medica Foundation awards $2.5 million in grants to 104 recipients

The Medica Foundation in 2011 awarded $2.5 million in grants to 104 recipients across five funding priority areas. The awards include $1 million in longitudinal grants to five Minnesota organizations. Those grant amounts range from $100,000 to $300,000 each and are designed to provide funding to the recipients over a three-year period.

26 Mar 2012

FDA approves Teva's QNASL nasal aerosol corticosteroid

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved QNASL Nasal Aerosol, a new, "dry" nasal aerosol corticosteroid that treats seasonal nasal and year-round nasal allergy symptoms in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older.

26 Mar 2012

States brace for impact of health law ruling

Even with the health law's future in question, news reports indicate that some states are pressing forward with implementation, while another -- Massachusetts -- considers itself untouched by what becomes of the federal law. All the while, the politics of the health overhaul will play a significant role at the state level, too.

26 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 26, 2012

Today marks the beginning of the Supreme Court's three days of oral arguments regarding the health law. Headlines break down the key points of those arguments, as well as the political and historical context in which they will be advanced.

26 Mar 2012

Romney assails health law; Obama embraces 'Obamacare'

Mr. Romney used much of the event to mark the two-year anniversary of Democrats' national health care law, something he described as the "centerpiece" of President Barack Obama's failure as a president. "It's amazing how many things are wrong with it," Mr. Romney said. "I got a whole list here." That list did not include the law's requirement for individuals to buy health insurance, the subject of a closely watched Supreme Court case. While Mr. Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he signed a state law with a similar mandate.

26 Mar 2012

Court's review of Medicaid expansion could affect other federal programs

A major issue in the Supreme Court battle over the new health care law is whether Congress can force states to make a huge expansion of Medicaid, to add millions of low-income people to the rolls. States say the federal law is unconstitutionally coercive because all their Medicaid money would be at risk if they flout the new requirement. The states argument has implications that go far beyond health care.

26 Mar 2012

Supreme Court watch: Counting down to health law's historic arguments

Two years and three days after President Barack Obama signed into law a health care overhaul aimed at extending medical insurance to more than 30 million Americans, the high court begins three days of hearings over the law's validity. The challenge from 26 states and a small business group puts the court smack in the middle of a heavily partisan fight over the president's major domestic accomplishment and a presidential election campaign in which all his Republican challengers oppose the law.

26 Mar 2012

Quest, LabCorp currently involved in multi-billion dollar Medicare scam

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest) and Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), the nation's two largest laboratories, are currently involved in a multi-billion dollar Medicare scam, according to a lengthy and critical expose published in one of the medical laboratory industry's leading trade publications.

From Quest Diagnostics 26 Mar 2012

TPPF introduces PPACAction.com website

The Texas Public Policy Foundation announces the launch of PPACAction.com, a special website devoted to live coverage of next week's U.S. Supreme Court argument in Florida v. HHS. The case, to be taken up by the Court March 26 through 28, involves the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010.

26 Mar 2012

State highlights: Mass. enforcing individual mandate; Improving kids' dental coverage; Health 'navigators'

Getting the word out is half the battle, and the state is well into a $3 million media campaign ... [E]very adult must have insurance by December. If they don't and if the state determines that insurance was affordable for them, they will be fined $219 next year. The penalty increases substantially in 2009.

23 Mar 2012