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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Transcendental Meditation practice reduces health care costs

According to a study published this week in the September/October 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, people with consistently high health care costs experienced a 28 percent cumulative decrease in physician fees after an average of five years practicing the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique compared with their baseline.

12 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 12, 2011

Today's health policy headlines include reports about the pressures faced by the 'super committee' as well as the latest on how states are doing with the implementation of the health law.

12 Sep 2011

North Clinic to implement eClinicalWorks EHR solution

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announced that Minnesota's North Clinic has chosen the eClinicalWorks comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) solution for its 84 employed providers. The multi-specialty group will integrate eClinicalWorks with a neighboring Hospital System's Epic in-patient system for labs, radiology and Continuity of Care Document (CCD) to further enhance care coordination.

12 Sep 2011

Tenet Healthcare refines 2011 Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA

In advance of scheduled investor meetings and the Company's participation at an industry conference, Tenet Healthcare Corporation today refined its 2011 Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA.

12 Sep 2011

Lung cancer patients treated in high safety-net burden facilities less likely to undergo surgery

A new study finds that lung cancer patients treated in hospitals that care for a high percentage of uninsured and Medicaid-insured patients, so-called "high safety-net burden facilities," were significantly less likely to undergo surgery that was intended to cure the cancer compared to patients treated at low safety-net burden facilities.

12 Sep 2011

Roundup: Scott's plan stalls to outsource Fla. prison health care; Calif. Blue Shield begins issuing credits after profit cap

Florida's plan to outsource health care in the third-largest U.S. prison system to save $30 million has stalled, hindering efforts by Governor Rick Scott and lawmakers to hire private operators for state services. Requests for proposals on the prison work were withdrawn last month less than a week after they were issued.

9 Sep 2011

State-by-state scorecard shows which states are best at long-term care support

The report, developed by AARP and the SCAN Foundation, found that Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Maine are performing best in a variety of ways, but still have room to improve.

9 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: 4th Circuit decision; Advice for the FDA; Docs and the AMA

Minutes after President Obama signed his health-care program into law on March 23, 2010, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II raced to become the first state official to challenge it in court. But as a federal appeals court panel concluded Thursday, being first isn't the same as being right. ... Even if timing were not an issue, the notion that a state could nullify a federal program in this way is absurd (9/8).

9 Sep 2011

Obama would pay jobs plan tab with Medicare, Medicaid cuts and tax hikes

The jobs packaged unveiled Thursday by President Barack Obama includes a "pay for" plan that relies in part on trims to Medicare and Medicaid - a provision that Republicans may use to undermine his political messages during the upcoming campaign season.

9 Sep 2011

Deficit reduction, entitlement programs become key buzz words as debt panel sets to work

The 'super committee' held its first meeting this week, kicking off its mission with a note of bipartisanship. Many observers worry, though, that this might be the end of this spirit of cooperation. Meanwhile, a groups of Senators from both parties also met this week - privately - to revive the hope for a "grand debt-cutting bargain."

9 Sep 2011

'Super committee' faces big challenges, lots of input from stakeholders

In order to lay out some specific options from which the panel might extract savings, House Ways and Means Democrats have provided a list of Medicare trims.

9 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 9, 2011

Appeals courts have ruled on five challenges to the health law, and two more currently await appeals courts rulings. On Sept. 8, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on two challenges to the health law, brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia and Liberty University, and in both cases they vacated the district court ruling and instructed the lower court to dismiss the challenges.

9 Sep 2011

Health law subject to attack during GOP presidential debate

As candidates threw accusations at Democratic policies and each other, they didn't always get the specifics right. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney especially clashed on health policy issues. Meanwhile, Romney expressed his support for Medicaid block grants and Perry blamed the federal government for Texas' high number of people without health insurance.

9 Sep 2011

State roundup: Calif. hospitals fined for errors; Va. dental health concerns

Grady Memorial Hospital and Fresenius Medical Care have reached a basic agreement on providing dialysis services for 22 immigrants whose regular treatment ended last week. The Grady spokesman, Matt Gove, said that under the new deal, Grady will help cover the cost of dialysis for the patients, who up until two years ago were regularly treated at the hospital's outpatient facility.

9 Sep 2011

UC research: Physicians report similar degrees of work intensity

Although society's perception might be that surgeons endure greater mental challenges and stress in their work duties than a primary care doctor, new research from experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that this isn't necessarily the case.

9 Sep 2011

Medicare fraud investigation nets 91 offenders

A nationwide sweep on lawbreakers has charged 91 people - including doctors and other medical professionals - with participating in Medicare fraud schemes involving $295 million in false billing.

8 Sep 2011

Study confirms low income couples have negative impact on marital quality

For better or worse, marital quality influences the well-being of couples and those around them. In addition, economic and social hardships can reduce overall happiness within marriages. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, low-income couples who receive government assistance, such as Medicaid or Food Stamps, are significantly less satisfied and committed in their marriages.

8 Sep 2011

Suit accuses generic drugmakers of overcharging Medicaid

Three generic drugmakers are being accused in a whistleblower lawsuit of scheming to overcharge the government by tens of millions of dollars for medicines.

8 Sep 2011

In releasing economic plans, Romney vows to roll back health law on Inauguration Day

Facing new trouble in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney released a detailed plan Tuesday to revive the nation's stumbling economy, proposing tax cuts and rollbacks in environmental, health and banking rules. He proposed a 10 percent cut in the federal workforce and a $200-billion-per-year reduction in the Medicaid health care program for the poor. Romney would convert Medicaid into a block grant for states.

8 Sep 2011

Medicare actuary: HHS' safety plan savings projections 'reasonable'

CMS chief actuary Rick Foster says the Obama administration's expected savings for its patient safety program are "reasonable," but will be difficult to achieve by 2013.

8 Sep 2011