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Nursing home chain agrees to pay $38M to settle government poor care claims

Extendicare, which owns 150 nursing homes in 11 states and denied any wrongdoing, was accused of inappropriate billing and providing inadequate care.

14 Oct 2014

Johns Hopkins Medicine starts Healthy Beverage Initiative to improve community health

Johns Hopkins Medicine announces the start of its Healthy Beverage Initiative, a program designed to ensure that beverages containing relatively low levels of sugar are more readily available in the hospital cafeterias, vending machines and retail outlets on many Johns Hopkins Medicine campuses.

13 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Walmart and Obamacare; negative views continue of health law; Ebola preparedness

Walmart announced today that as of the beginning of next year it will be dropping health insurance for 30,000 employees who work less than 30 hours per week. Many liberals will react to the news by saying that it's just a profit-hungry corporation once again screwing over its employees. Conservatives are likely to say that this just shows what a mess Obamacare has created and why it should be repealed (Paul Waldman, 10/8).

10 Oct 2014

International Biophysics files patent protection for revolutionary AffloVest

International Biophysics Corporation of Austin, Texas announces its filing of U.S. patent protection for its revolutionary AffloVest. The company has also recently confirmed exclusive ownership rights concerning the manufacture, sale and distribution of the AffloVest in its markets.

9 Oct 2014

Obama administration delays home-care worker minimum-wage, overtime protections

In a Tuesday announcement, the administration said it won't enforce this rule, which involves an estimated 2 million home-care workers, for the first six months after its Jan. 1, 2015, effective date.

9 Oct 2014

COMS Interactive, PointRight partner to integrate advanced clinical services and predictive analytics

PointRight Inc., the industry-standard analytics leader for healthcare providers and payers, and COMS Interactive, also known as Clinical Outcomes Management Systems, the leading disease management software provider in the post-acute care marketplace, announce that the two companies will leverage their collective clinical strengths and sales and marketing resources.

7 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Another troubled website rollout; insurers fight consumer measures in Calif.

If the federal government's new Open Payments website were a consumer product, it would be returned to the manufacturer for a full refund. Open Payments is the government's site for publishing payments made to doctors and teaching hospitals by drug and medical device manufacturers. It includes 4.4 million payments, worth $3.5 billion, to more than half a million doctors and almost 1,360 teaching hospitals (Charles Ornstein, 10/1).

3 Oct 2014

Agingcare.com introduces Prescription Drug Assistance Locator tool

Paying for prescription medications just got easier for families who frequent AgingCare.com, the go-to destination for family caregivers.

1 Oct 2014

Bridgestone Group to donate $1M to combat Ebola outbreak in Liberia

The Bridgestone Group (Bridgestone) today announced it will donate one million dollars (USD) to critical efforts underway in Liberia and the region to combat the Ebola outbreak.

30 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Hospitals helped by Medicaid expansion; why GOP candidates back OTC contraceptives

Now the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a report showing that ... thanks to the Affordable Care Act, hospitals across the country will save $5.7 billion in uncompensated care costs in 2014.

29 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: 'Feud' over health care compact; humane end-of-life care

Never has an issue of The Best Times, Johnson County's monthly magazine for seniors, been so eagerly awaited. I know I've been on the edge of my seat. At first the draw was to read the article that had gotten some Kansas legislators so worked up that 11 of them stormed en masse into a meeting to berate the volunteer members of the Johnson County Commission on Aging for writing it.

27 Sep 2014

Medicaid expansion concept gains momentum in some initially reluctant states

Reuters reports that this development has to do with financial pragmatism -- especially in GOP-led states that were at the forefront of opposition to the health law. The Associated Press provides a status check on Indiana's expansion request.

27 Sep 2014

Caring Brands International acquires Australia-based Just Better Care

Caring Brands International, which includes Interim HealthCare Inc., a national network of home care, hospice and health staffing franchises founded in 1966 and known for its continuum of care in the United States, today expands its global operations with the acquisition of Australia-based Just Better Care.

25 Sep 2014

West Virginia home health community takes part in Save Home Health rally

Representatives of the West Virginia home health community – including Parkersburg area clinicians, family members and advocates as well as national leaders – today took part in a Save Home Health rally to commend special guest Congressman David McKinley (WV-1) and speak out against unprecedented Medicare cuts of 14 percent to home health services that went into effect on January 1 as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

24 Sep 2014

New report shows lifestyle changes, new technology make people stay healthy in old age

If we embrace lifestyle changes and new technology, we improve our prospects of staying healthy in old age, getting good care and reducing our dependence on others. This is the message of a new report summarising the conclusions from the Uppsala Health Summit in June.

24 Sep 2014

Research roundup: Home health nurses' workloads; readmissions at the VA; SHOP choices

In anticipation of next year's premium announcements and given some information already made public, concerns have surfaced about the potential for double-digit percent increases in nongroup and small-group health insurance premiums. This analysis shows that, although average annual increases in small-group premiums over the past 13 years averaged roughly 5.5 percent, double-digit average premium increases are common for states and large metropolitan areas.

22 Sep 2014

Wis. says it needs $760M for Medicaid over next two years

The state was already projected to have a budget gap of $1.8 billion. Elsewhere, North Carolina plans a Medicaid reorganization.

18 Sep 2014

Home health care nursing lowers hospitalizations and transfers to nursing homes

In the largest study of its kind, a University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing investigation shows that home health agencies providing organizational support to their nurses get better outcomes.

17 Sep 2014

State highlights: States want home care worker wage changes delayed; Ga. delays nursing home rate hike

State officials that argued against providing overtime and minimum wage protections to the nation's 2 million home care workers are asking the Department of Labor to push back a Jan. 1 start date for the policy to take effect. State Medicaid officials concerned that their costs will rise are asking for a delay and tweaks to the policy, even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized the rule a year ago.

15 Sep 2014

Non-invasive delivery of drugs for effective pain relief

Individuals who are squeamish about injections or are looking for a way to let collagen penetrate deeper into the skin may soon have a solution that is faster, more effective and painless.

8 Sep 2014