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WellPoint to re-label administrative costs as "medical care": Consumer Watchdog calls for probe

Consumer Watchdog called on the Obama Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services today to probe insurance giant WellPoint Inc. in light of an electronic message to investors describing how it would simply re-label administrative costs as "medical care" in response to the new health reform law. The message follows revelations that WellPoint, parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, also intentionally padded already huge premium increases in California, just in case regulators demanded reductions.

1 Apr 2010

Health Policy Experts to comment on topics related to health insurance reform

As the debate over healthcare insurance reform continues, faculty members of The George Washington University Medical Center are available to comment on topics regarding health insurance reform, including: general policy/political analysis, Medicare, Medicaid, compliance, community health centers, state health reform, affordability, finance and health technology information.

1 Apr 2010

Red Hill Studios, UCSF awarded two grants to develop computer-based physical therapy games

Red Hill Studios, a California-based serious games developer, in partnership with the UCSF School of Nursing, has been awarded two grants totaling $1.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue development, production and testing of computer-based physical therapy games for patients with Parkinson's disease and cerebral palsy.

1 Apr 2010

New health care reform law includes patient safety provisions

While most of the attention surrounding the landmark health care reform measure just signed into law has focused on how it expands access to affordable insurance coverage, it also enacts important initiatives that will improve patient safety, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

1 Apr 2010

Webchat to discuss the benefits of new health reform law

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills will host a webchat today to discuss the benefits of the new health reform law.

1 Apr 2010

Physicians face pressures from increased patient loads, looming payment cuts

Two provisions of the new health overhaul law "may accelerate a trend" of doctors leaving their profession. It points to parts of the legislation that would ask physicians to accept new administrative chores and standards, although some of them might result in better reimbursement rates from insurers and the government.

1 Apr 2010

New medicines to fight diseases of particular concern to African Americans

A recent article in The Triangle Tribune pointed to good news for members of the black community, highlighting new medicines in development to fight diseases of particular concern to African Americans.

1 Apr 2010

Insurers comply with new coverage rules for sick children

Early Tuesday, insurers agreed to new rules for covering sick children, including a ban that will take effect in September on "pre-existing condition exclusions" for children younger than 19.

1 Apr 2010

gloStream launches gloDNA 100% Stimulus Guarantee

gloStream, maker of gloEMR and gloPM – the only electronic medical record software and practice management applications with Microsoft® Office built right in – today announced the gloDNA 100% Stimulus Guarantee.

31 Mar 2010

Insurers agree to administration view on kids' coverage

Uncertainty over whether the health overhaul would deliver promised insurance protections to children came to a quick end Monday when insurers told the administration they would not seek to block regulations clarifying the matter, The Associated Press reports. At issue is whether insurers would be required to offer plans to children with preexisting conditions right away.

31 Mar 2010

Titan Pharmaceuticals commences Phase 3 study of Probuphine for opioid addiction

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of a randomized, placebo and active controlled, multi-center Phase 3 clinical study of Probuphine in the treatment of opioid addiction. This confirmatory Phase 3 study will be conducted at approximately 23 sites in the United States and randomize approximately 250 patients into three arms: Probuphine (100 patients), Suboxone® (100 patients) and placebo (50 patients).

31 Mar 2010

National Donate Life Month: Facts surrounding dire need for organ donations

With Thursday, April 1, 2010, marking the start of "National Donate Life Month," Health Net, Inc. is working to increase awareness regarding the urgent need for organ donations - particularly among minority populations - and also to dispute some of the misperceptions surrounding organ donation.

30 Mar 2010

Few pregnant women meet physical activity guidelines set by health officials: Study

Fewer than 1 in 4 pregnant women meet physical activity guidelines set by doctors and health officials, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.

30 Mar 2010

Research challenges current thinking about TB bacterium

Two new tuberculosis studies by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers provide good news and bad news about the bacterium that infects nearly a third of the world's population and a disease that kills nearly 2 million people each year.

30 Mar 2010

Cangene extends botulism antitoxin contract with BARDA

Cangene Corporation today reports that it has signed a no-cost modification to extend its botulism antitoxin contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA"). BARDA is the department within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that manages the two biodefence-related, stockpiling contracts Cangene has with HHS.

30 Mar 2010

Unrestricted availability of food can trigger overconsumption and obesity

Some of the same brain mechanisms that fuel drug addiction in humans accompany the emergence of compulsive eating behaviors and the development of obesity in animals, according to research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

29 Mar 2010

As CMS nominee, Berwick would face changes and challenges

President Barack Obama will soon nominate Dr. Donald M. Berwick to "run Medicare and Medicaid, the programs that serve nearly one-third of all Americans, administration officials said Saturday," The New York Times reports.

29 Mar 2010

Upgrading to policy with no limits benefits insurance agent

It can be instructive to consider not just what long term care insurance professionals recommend, but what they do -- for their own personal protection. A good example is the case of Kim Galatolo, an agent with LTC Financial Partners LLC one of the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agencies. In California, where Galatolo lives and works, the firm is known as LTC Partners & Insurance Services, LLC.

29 Mar 2010

American obesity problem: Ongoing support to make lifestyle and behavior changes needed

An administration task force chaired by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education and Health and Human Services is asking the public for recommendations to solve the American obesity problem, and a new poll by the American Psychological Association may have some answers.

29 Mar 2010

White House reportedly set to name Dr. Donald Berwick to head Medicare

The New York Times reports that President Barack Obama will soon nominate Dr. Donald M. Berwick to "run Medicare and Medicaid, the programs that serve nearly one-third of all Americans, administration officials said Saturday.

29 Mar 2010