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Viewpoints: Contraception conscience vs. political objections; Is the mandate the 'non-tax' tax?

The president's new birth control plan would insure coverage of women's birth control without copayments or deductibles. Sounds fair, especially given that men's anti-impotence Viagra treatments have been covered by insurance plans for years.

17 Feb 2012

States and the health law: Wyoming exchange, N.H. compact legislation, Texas lawsuit

A Wyoming Senate committee has voted to advance a bill that would give lawmakers until 2013 to decide whether the state should create its own health care exchange. … A committee of state lawmakers, health-care representatives and members of the public has been trying to determine if it would be cost-effective for Wyoming to form its own exchange and how one would be managed (2/15).

17 Feb 2012

AstraZeneca launches ARIMIDEX Direct to help cancer patients

AstraZeneca today announced its first-ever direct-to-patient program offering patients with a valid prescription for ARIMIDEX or anastrozole the opportunity to have the brand ARIMIDEX delivered directly to their home by Express Scripts, a specialty pharmacy services provider, for $40 per month, including shipping.

17 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 16,2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include the latest reports on congressional efforts to block a cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

16 Feb 2012

Despite fewer amputations, Medicare's bill for artificial feet rises 60%

The Associated Press examines the complicated issue of health costs by looking at foot amputations from diabetes.

16 Feb 2012

Debate over Medicare, health law already playing out in 2012 races

Nearly all the candidates for president are weighing in on how to make Medicare fiscally sustainable, while Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the health law will factor into which candidate he endorses.

16 Feb 2012

Obama praises congressional deal on doctor pay, payroll taxes

President Obama is praising an emerging congressional deal to extend the 2% payroll tax cut through 2012, and said he wants to sign it into law as soon as possible. "For starters, I'm glad to see that Congress seems to be on the way to making progress on extending the payroll tax cut so that taxes don't go up on you and 160 million working Americans," Obama told employees of the Master Lock company in Milwaukee today.

16 Feb 2012

Hospitals would have to voluntarily return overpayments under new proposal

Even as officials announced record recoveries of fraudulent Medicare claims, they proposed new rules to force providers to voluntarily return overpayments within 60 days of discovering them. The proposal is intended to cut down on the need for criminal or civil investigations.

16 Feb 2012

Tentative deal reached to prevent physician pay cuts, preserve payroll tax cut

One day after House Republican leaders made a major concession on the payroll tax cut, congressional negotiators struck a tentative deal that also would extend long-term unemployment benefits and prevent drastic reductions in doctors' Medicare payments.

16 Feb 2012

CMS signals it may delay deadline on new codes to be used by doctors, hospitals

Acting Director Marilyn Tavenner says the agency will re-examine the October 2013 deadline for the coding system, known as ICD-10. It expands the number of codes used for billing medical services.

16 Feb 2012

Kansas House approves 'compact' bill opposing health law; Conn., Alaska moving ahead with exchanges; Mass. reform very popular

The proposed change has the support of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who chairs the exchange board. The bill would add two voting members to the board. One would be a small employer and ... [the other] would be "a consumer of specialized health care services for a disability, a chronic illness or special needs, or of health care services."

15 Feb 2012

Feds recover record amounts from fraudulent Medicare claims

Federal authorities say they recovered $4.1 billion in health care fraud judgments last year, a record high which officials on Monday credited to new tools for cracking down on deceitful Medicare claims.

15 Feb 2012

Critics find much to fault in Obama budget

Republicans say the budget doesn't do enough to restrain entitlement spending. Health care industry groups, meanwhile, call proposed payment cuts unfair and unworkable.

15 Feb 2012

Obama 2013 budget would cut $360 billion from Medicaid and Medicare

The budget released Monday would trim spending on federal health-care programs by about $360 billion over the next decade, primarily by reducing payments to drug companies and other providers. Starting in 2017, Obama also proposes to raise Medicare premiums for new retirees and seniors with higher incomes, start charging co-payments for home health-care services, and penalize patients who buy Medigap policies to take care of Medicare co-payments and deductibles.

15 Feb 2012

Patient satisfaction not linked with health status

Newly released research has linked higher patient satisfaction scores with greater healthcare costs and increased risk of mortality. Despite the growing reliance on satisfaction scores as a tool for evaluating physician performance, "research suggests a tenuous link between patient satisfaction and healthcare quality and outcomes," according to the study published online Feb. 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Feb 2012

Fewer health care dollars would flow to states under Obama budget plan

The president wants to phase out a Medicaid provider tax that Malloy has used to help balance his budget. The White House also wants to "blend" Medicaid rates with the rates received from the federal government for a health program for children. That could mean fewer federal health dollars for Connecticut.

15 Feb 2012

Teva fourth quarter net revenues increase 28% to $5.7 billion

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today reported results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

15 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's budget, birth control choices; Planning hospital readmissions to save

In poll after poll, the public has made clear that it prefers the president's approach of rebuilding the economy now and tackling the deficit when the fundamentals are stronger. While Republicans have counted on voters blaming Mr. Obama for the hard times, some are beginning to worry that they will be blamed for their obstructionism.

15 Feb 2012

House Republicans propose separating payroll tax extension from 'doc fix,' unemployment debate

Congressional Republicans backed down on Monday from a demand that a payroll tax rollback be paid for with reductions in other programs, clearing the way for an extension of the tax cut for 160 million Americans through 2012. After months of partisan confrontation that left the tax break hanging in the balance, Republicans suddenly offered to extend the two-percentage-point cut while continuing to haggle over added unemployment benefits and a measure to prevent a drop in fees paid to doctors by Medicare.

14 Feb 2012

State roundup: Mass. small biz co-ops start, Miss. Medicaid changes, R.I. hospital overbilling Medicare

Thousands of small businesses will be offered discounts of at least 20 percent on health insurance rates under a new group purchasing cooperative, formed by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, that will begin enrolling members this week. The co-op is the first permitted to do business under a 2010 Massachusetts law that allows small employers to band together in large groups and negotiate for better-priced health coverage.

14 Feb 2012