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Viewpoints: Screening for prostate cancer, stem cell research and free coverage for Iowa lawmakers

As a practicing internist, I need all the help I can get in diagnosing the many diseases that threaten the life and well-being of my patients. So perhaps you'll understand why I'm angered by the reckless new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (a panel of primary care experts) that I don't use the prostate-specific antigen to screen men older than 40 for prostate cancer.

13 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 12, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver reports: "Competition is fiercest in places like Boston, where high-ranking plans are near their goal, but shades of this quality arms race are visible throughout the country. Insurers have rarely competed on quality measures, but as the federal government prepares to unleash an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion next year in bonus payments, the industry is following the money. Star-ratings are bleeding into bottom lines, board meetings, and corporate strategy as the insurers chase top scores."

12 Oct 2011

HHS OIG will investigate 'incident to' Medicare billing

A watchdog agency in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wants to know how many office visits, consultations, eye exams, skin grafts, and other services are performed by unqualified nonphysicians under Medicare's "incident-to" billing rules.

12 Oct 2011

Democrats and Republicans agree: Super committee's work should be less secret

The New York Times reports that both parties are calling for a window into the deficit-reduction panel's deliberations. Meanwhile, Politico Pro offers scenarios regarding how the committee could potentially address Medicare's "doc-fix" issue.

12 Oct 2011

Final ACO regs face last looks before public release

The final regulations to implement the accountable care organization provisions of the 2010 health care reform law have entered one of their last steps, according to an online notice. The Office of Management and Budget began its review of the final rule for the ACO program, also known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program, on Oct. 5. Such OMB reviews are usually the last or one of the last steps that regulations take before they are publicly issued.

12 Oct 2011

COPAXONE reduces loss of brain volume in patients with RRMS

Results from a five-year study of treatment-naïve patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) demonstrated that patients treated with COPAXONE (glatiramer acetate injection) showed significant reduced loss of brain volume compared to patients treated with other disease modifying therapies.

12 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: The value of testing for prostate cancer; rewards for transplant donors; Calif.'s medical marijuana problem

For men older than 50, a simple blood test to screen for prostate cancer is as much a part of annual physicals as weigh-ins and stethoscopes. The PSA test is painless, inexpensive and the only way to detect the disease - the most common male cancer - before symptoms turn up.

12 Oct 2011

NovaSom enters unique agreement with HealthAmerica to treat sleep disorders

NovaSom, Inc., the market leader in technology-driven, payer-aligned cost-saving solutions for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management, today announced it has entered a preferred relationship to aid HealthAmerica with managing its sleep disorder diagnostic expenses.

11 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 11, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how Mitt Romney taking heat from the other GOP hopefuls, with some of the fire focusing on his Massachusetts health overhaul.

11 Oct 2011

Leading U.S. health insurance provider to implement Kofax's Atalasoft DotImage SDK

Kofax plc, a leading provider of capture driven business process automation solutions, today announced it will provide the Atalasoft DotImage software development kit (SDK) to a leading health insurance provider in the United States. The value of the contract to Kofax exceeds $150,000.

11 Oct 2011

Feds approve parts of Arizona's plan to reduce state's Medicaid burden

In Florida, a class-action lawsuit alleges that state officials did not adequately market the Medicaid program.

11 Oct 2011

Familiar themes, deadlocks emerge in deficit panel developments

USA Today reports on the strategies interest groups are employing to reach the "super committee's" members. And, Reuters reports the Medigap plans are one of the items being considered by the panel for cuts.

11 Oct 2011

Georgia hospitals present varying financial pictures

One hospital run by Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta had its best financial results of the decade in 2010, but many of the state's independent hospitals are facing hard times. Medical staff issues and attempted aquisitions are also in the news.

11 Oct 2011

Johns Hopkins USFHP recognized as the best private health insurer in Maryland

The Johns Hopkins US Family Health Plan (USFHP), a Department of Defense-sponsored managed care plan, was ranked by Consumer Reports as the best private health insurer in Maryland, while Priority Partners, a joint venture between Johns Hopkins HealthCare LLC and the Maryland Community Health System, placed as the state's top Medicaid health plan.

11 Oct 2011

Brown signs Calif. measures to aid children with autism, ban kids younger than 18 from using tanning beds

In other state news, Wisconsin last month began scrutinizing health insurance rate increases, Los Angeles County steps in ahead of health law's mandated coverage expansions and a Georgia report notes the state's progress in providing services for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

11 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Obama fighting back; putting a price on compassion; questions for GOP candidates

As part of his newfound assertiveness, President Obama is using the term "Obamacare," the Republicans' sneering dismissal of the Democratic health care reforms. We are skeptical that he will be able to turn it into a term of approbation. But it is heartening to see him finally out there defending his pioneering policy with no apologies and an uncharacteristic feistiness.

11 Oct 2011

Takeda, Affymax announce data from multiple studies of peginesatide on anemia

Affymax, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Global Research & Development Center, Inc., U.S., today announced data from multiple studies of peginesatide have been accepted for presentation at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2011 taking place November 8-13, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa.

11 Oct 2011

The health law's future: Prose on politics and policies

Politico reports on how the elections of 2012 will dictate the future of the health law. Also, other news outlets report on states' efforts to figure out what to do if the individual mandate is struck down, the essential benefits package, the development of health exchanges and where things stand with accountable care organizations.

10 Oct 2011

For issues that can drive physicians to quit

One news article details the reasons that drove a primary care physician to quit practicing medicine. Meanwhile, the American Medical Association is launching a media campaign to permanently fix the formula that is used to calculate Medicare payments to doctors.

10 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 10, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the 'super committee's' moving parts and how the fate of the health law may be determined by what happens in 2012.

10 Oct 2011