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President's budget adds to CMS for health law implementation, cuts Medicare/Medicaid

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed more aggressive deficit reductions through savings from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs than the White House put forward just five months ago.

14 Feb 2012

Insight into factors that affect Medicare decisions on CMS's coverage of medical technology

A new study by researchers at Tufts Medical Center provides unique insight into factors that affect Medicare decisions on whether to pay for medical technologies.

14 Feb 2012

InComm announces acquisition of Medagate

InComm, a leading prepaid product and transaction services company, announced today that it has acquired Medagate Corporation, the company that powers OTCNetwork, the only national closed loop over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare benefits payments platform.

13 Feb 2012

Lawmakers facing showdown on payroll tax, Medicare bill

A weekend of talks between the two top tax writers in Congress failed to bridge gaping partisan differences over the payroll tax cut package, increasing the odds of another Washington showdown ahead of an end-of-the-month deadline.

13 Feb 2012

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for feeding pumps, sets, tubes and devices

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced new agreements for feeding pumps, sets, tubes and devices have been awarded to Abbott Nutrition of Columbus, Ohio; CORPAK MedSystems Inc. of Buffalo Grove, Ill.; Covidien of Mansfield, Mass.; Kimberly-Clark Global Sales LLC of Roswell, Ga.; and Moog Inc. Medical Devices Group of Salt Lake City, Utah.

13 Feb 2012

President's budget to call for Medicare, Medicaid cuts - but no major changes

News organizations got a preview of the multi-trillion-dollar federal budget President Barack Obama is expected to propose on Monday.

13 Feb 2012

Radiation therapy may not benefit many older lung cancer patients

A new study has found that many older lung cancer patients get treatments that may not help them live longer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that physicians should not routinely use radiation after surgery to treat lung cancer that is advanced but has not widely spread, at least in older patients.

13 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 13, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations preview President Barack Obama's budget, which will be released today, and examine the lingering controversy over mandates on contraceptive coverage.

13 Feb 2012

PORT may not prolong life in older people with NSCLC

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that post-operative radiation therapy (PORT), a controversial yet frequently administered treatment for lung cancer, may not prolong life in older people with locally advanced disease.

13 Feb 2012

Health plans must provide consumer-friendly health plan summaries by this fall

Moving to implement one of the new consumer protections in the health law, the Obama administration issued regulations Thursday requiring insurers to describe costs and benefits in clear, standardized language.

13 Feb 2012

State roundup: Fraud crackdowns, searching for more doctors, immigrant health care

Illinois Democrats running state government have waited more than a year to win federal approval for a new plan to fight fraud in the health program for 2.7 million of the state's poorest residents. Facing increasing Republican pressure to put reforms in place, this week Quinn's team told the Obama administration that Illinois will wait no longer.

13 Feb 2012

President's budget not expected to tackle entitlement costs

President Barack Obama's budget proposal Monday will offer several measures to trim the federal deficit in the next 10 years. But it would leave largely unchanged the biggest drivers of future government spending: the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programs that are expanding rapidly as the baby boom turns into a senior boom. Calling for major changes in the popular programs would be politically treacherous in an election year because of fierce opposition from seniors, who vote in large numbers.

13 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Predicting the health law's effects on small business, uninsured, disparities

Using a RAND assessment tool, researchers aimed to "predict the effects of self-insurance and grandfathering exemptions on coverage and premiums available" on policies for small businesses sold in the insurance exchanges.

13 Feb 2012

Negotiations stalled on House-Senate package that would avert Medicare pay cuts for doctors

The Republican plan to pay for the package, which includes extending a payroll tax cut, calls for a premium increase for upper-income Medicare patients that has been rejected by Democrats. Democrats have offered to trim unemployment benefits by six weeks.

13 Feb 2012

Watson seeks FDA approval to market generic Beyaz

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol and Levomefolate Calcium Tablets, 3.0 mg/0.02 mg/0.451 mg and Levomefolate Calcium Tablets, 0.451 mg.

13 Feb 2012

Study reveals racial disparities in renal transplant access

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that racial disparities exist in both the early and late steps in access to kidney transplantation. This study is part of the February special themed issue of the journal on racial disparity.

10 Feb 2012

Medicaid changes eyed in Georgia, California and Connecticut

State officials are creating two task forces to gather input on a consulting firm's report on the future of Georgia's Medicaid and PeachCare programs. One task force will involve medical provider groups, including representatives of hospital and physician organizations. The second grouping will review the Navigant report's recommendation to revamp services for the "aged, blind and disabled" populations.

10 Feb 2012

Shorter stay protocols for TKR patients may increase risk of mortality, readmission

No previous research has quantified and compared the costs and outcomes between total knee replacement (TKR) patients who have differing lengths of hospital stay following surgery.

10 Feb 2012

Democrats to unveil options to pay for 'doc fix,' other measures

Republicans expect to receive on Thursday a list of Democratic options to pay for a large tax-cut extension measure that includes a freeze in scheduled cuts to Medicare physician pay rates. However, at least one Republican expects negotiations on the legislation to make little progress before a law freezing current policy in place expires at the end of the month.

10 Feb 2012

New program aims to reduce early elective deliveries

The Obama administration launched a $40 million effort Wednesday to reduce premature births, especially early elective deliveries, but it has no plans to stop Medicaid from paying for those deliveries.

10 Feb 2012

Medicare News and Research

President's budget adds to CMS for health law implementation, cuts Medicare/Medicaid

Insight into factors that affect Medicare decisions on CMS's coverage of medical technology

InComm announces acquisition of Medagate

Lawmakers facing showdown on payroll tax, Medicare bill

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for feeding pumps, sets, tubes and devices

President's budget to call for Medicare, Medicaid cuts - but no major changes

Radiation therapy may not benefit many older lung cancer patients

First Edition: February 13, 2012

PORT may not prolong life in older people with NSCLC

Health plans must provide consumer-friendly health plan summaries by this fall

State roundup: Fraud crackdowns, searching for more doctors, immigrant health care

President's budget not expected to tackle entitlement costs

Research roundup: Predicting the health law's effects on small business, uninsured, disparities

Negotiations stalled on House-Senate package that would avert Medicare pay cuts for doctors

Watson seeks FDA approval to market generic Beyaz

Study reveals racial disparities in renal transplant access

Medicaid changes eyed in Georgia, California and Connecticut

Shorter stay protocols for TKR patients may increase risk of mortality, readmission

Democrats to unveil options to pay for 'doc fix,' other measures

New program aims to reduce early elective deliveries

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