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State roundup: Md.'s medical home; N.Y. malpractice action; Texas nursing homes

Instead of a doctor seeing patients mostly when they're sick - and the physician is getting paid for that visit or service - this program gives financial rewards to practices that use a team of doctors, nurses and other staff to treat the whole person on a continuing basis, not just for one illness. ... The state initiative is among dozens of public and private experiments across the country that are trying to fundamentally change the way doctors practice medicine.

15 Nov 2011

Risk of heart failure appears to be higher among low-income seniors

The risk of heart failure appears to be higher among low-income seniors — even those with a college education — according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presented during the 2011 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

15 Nov 2011

N.J. plans to use managed care system for Medicaid enrollees with mental health problems

The N.J. effort must secure federal approval first. Also in Medicaid news, a judge in California this week will hear arguments in the challenge to the state's plans for adult health care.

15 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Conservative legal path on health law; Romney's plans for Medicare and vets; States moving on reform

A federal appeals court in the District of Columbia endorsed the constitutionality of health care reform this week in an opinion as notable for its authorship as for its legal reasoning. The majority opinion in the 2-to-1 decision was written by Judge Laurence Silberman, a stalwart of conservative jurisprudence whose views are said to be enormously influential in conservative legal circles.

14 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 14, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the Supreme Court's expected health law announcement; about where things stand with the super committee and its fast-approaching deadline; and other health policy news.

14 Nov 2011

Professional tooth scaling associated with fewer heart attacks, strokes

Professional tooth scaling was associated with fewer heart attacks and strokes in a study from Taiwan presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011.

14 Nov 2011

Medicaid update: Wis. approves big cuts; Wash. state lawsuit on ER visits; Kansas electronic medical records initiative

The Wisconsin Legislature's Republican-controlled state budget committee voted Thursday to approve about $225 million in Medicaid cuts expected to result in about 65,000 poor adults and children leaving health insurance programs, either because they would no longer be eligible or they could no longer afford coverage.

11 Nov 2011

Research roundup: Cutting speciality care by raising co-payments; Asthma diagnosis and insurance coverage; GAO on early retirees

Mayo Clinic Employees Responded To New Requirements For Cost Sharing By Reducing Possibly Unneeded Health Services Use -- Researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined the effects of changes in the clinic's self-funded health plan "to decrease the use of potentially inappropriate health care services and foster a deliver system centered on primary care."

11 Nov 2011

More high deductible plans, new individual policies helping to reshape insurance market

Local news accounts detail changes in the market. In Iowa, Wells Fargo employees are choosing between high deductible options, while in Minnesota one insurer is rolling out a new individual policy that may help buoy its position when the state health exchanges begin operation.

11 Nov 2011

Health law alphabet soup: ACOs, MLR and other implementation news

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the application for its shared savings program, and Health News Florida reports which of that state's providers will likely throw their hats into the ring.

11 Nov 2011

Consumer advocates push for insurance oversight promised by health law

A letter was sent to the White House by more than 50 organizations demanding that the administration require simple, standardized health insurance forms starting next year, as called for in the law. Also in the news, Politico Pro reports on a political fight brewing in Michigan over the health law's medical-loss ratio requirements.

11 Nov 2011

Next chapter in health law legal challenges could be decided Thursday

Meanwhile, some conservative activists are renewing their calls for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to step aside in regard to cases that involve the health law. And, a judge makes a case for delaying a final decision until after 2014 in a dissenting opinion regarding the DC Circuit Court's ruling.

11 Nov 2011

Romney has strong debate showing; Obama takes on congressional Republicans

With eight weeks left before Republicans start voting for a presidential nominee, things could hardly be going better for Mitt Romney. ... Romney, more so than the seven other debate participants, used almost every question as a chance to criticize not his GOP rivals but Obama's record on jobs, health care and overall leadership.

11 Nov 2011

Pediatric racial minorities less likely to get kidney transplants

Among children with kidney disease, certain races are less likely to get kidney transplants and are more likely to die than other races, according to two studies from Emory University that were presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Kidney Week.

11 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: The role of IT in transforming health care; the GOP raises super committee stakes

Why can't Americans tap into the ingenuity that put men on the moon, created the Internet and sequenced the human genome to revitalize our economy? I'm convinced we can. We are in the early phases of the next big technology-driven revolution, which I call "consumer health." When fully unleashed, it could radically cut health care costs and become a huge global growth market.

11 Nov 2011

State roundup: Storms' huge impact on health care; Brooklyn's hospital quest; Calif. election results

Only a few private hospitals have survived in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and Bushwick to serve poor patients like them. Now all are in such dire financial shape that a small group of veteran health care planners appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is debating last-ditch measures to save them.

10 Nov 2011

AOK selects SAP HANA platform to increase focus on preventive care

SAP AG today announced that AOK, Germany's largest health insurance provider, has chosen the SAP HANA platform to further its focus on preventive care.

10 Nov 2011

Massachusetts seniors and workers rally against cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

From the packed Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston, Sue Rummel of Danvers exclaimed, "I can't afford any cuts to my benefits!" The 64-year-old AARP member who is self-employed and still working, added her voice to thousands of others saying, "Stop the Cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid!"

10 Nov 2011

States cope with health law's MLR, insurance exchange requirements

Georgia was granted some delay in the law's MLR requirements, and in Tennessee and Minnesota, insurance exchange decisions are slowly being made.

10 Nov 2011

D.C. Court of Appeals upholds health law's individual mandate

One of the nation's most closely watched federal courts ruled Tuesday that the new health care law's requirement that most Americans get health insurance is constitutional, giving a surprise boost to President Obama's signature domestic achievement.

10 Nov 2011

Health Insurance News and Research

State roundup: Md.'s medical home; N.Y. malpractice action; Texas nursing homes

Risk of heart failure appears to be higher among low-income seniors

N.J. plans to use managed care system for Medicaid enrollees with mental health problems

Viewpoints: Conservative legal path on health law; Romney's plans for Medicare and vets; States moving on reform

First Edition: November 14, 2011

Professional tooth scaling associated with fewer heart attacks, strokes

Medicaid update: Wis. approves big cuts; Wash. state lawsuit on ER visits; Kansas electronic medical records initiative

Research roundup: Cutting speciality care by raising co-payments; Asthma diagnosis and insurance coverage; GAO on early retirees

More high deductible plans, new individual policies helping to reshape insurance market

Health law alphabet soup: ACOs, MLR and other implementation news

Consumer advocates push for insurance oversight promised by health law

Next chapter in health law legal challenges could be decided Thursday

Romney has strong debate showing; Obama takes on congressional Republicans

Pediatric racial minorities less likely to get kidney transplants

Viewpoints: The role of IT in transforming health care; the GOP raises super committee stakes

State roundup: Storms' huge impact on health care; Brooklyn's hospital quest; Calif. election results

AOK selects SAP HANA platform to increase focus on preventive care

Massachusetts seniors and workers rally against cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid

States cope with health law's MLR, insurance exchange requirements

D.C. Court of Appeals upholds health law's individual mandate

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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