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Seniors deeply concerned about Medicare, Medicaid future as 'super committee' decisions loom

Seniors, gathered in downtown Los Angeles this week for the annual conference of the AARP, expressed fear and anxiety about aging when Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are under attack both in Washington and on the campaign trail. More than 20,000 seniors are attending ... Seniors are increasingly relying on Social Security and Medicare to finance their retirement and healthcare, AARP chief executive officer A. Barry Rand told a packed house.

26 Sep 2011

Roundup: Texas House Dems ask CMS to reject Medicaid waiver request; Jobs lost as Ariz. mental health Medicaid cuts kick in

The nine House Democrats from Texas want the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reject their state's request that Medicaid beneficiaries get their prescription drugs through managed care plans.

23 Sep 2011

New poll reveals continued public confusion about health law, little faith in 'Super Committee'

A second survey, this one from National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, found that public opinion opposes cutting Medicare and Social Security to reduce the deficit, and that this view cuts across partisan lines.

23 Sep 2011

Humana to acquire California-based Medicare Advantage HMO

Humana Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire MD Care, a California-based Medicare Advantage HMO with approximately 15,000 members in Southern California.

23 Sep 2011

'Super Committee' hears pleas to protect health program enrollees and providers

Some say the recession's toll could be even greater if Medicaid funding for mental health services hits the deficit panel's chopping block. Meanwhile, provider groups continue to make their cases to the committee.

23 Sep 2011

Imaging cuts in deficit reduction proposal would restrict patient care, raise Medicare costs: ACR

The American College of Radiology (ACR) states that imaging cuts in the Obama Administration's deficit reduction proposal would restrict patient access to care and may actually raise Medicare costs. The ACR urges the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reject the administration's imaging recommendations and work with ACR and other imaging stakeholders to create policies that ensure safe, appropriate care, promote quality and protect patient access.

23 Sep 2011

Medicare, health reform hot topics as Romney, Perry spar in GOP presidential debate

GOP hopefuls across-the-board criticized President Obama's policies while Mitt Romney and Rick Perry accused each other of flip-flopping on health care issues.

23 Sep 2011

Complications requiring hospitalization after prostate biopsy rise: Study

In a study of complication rates following prostate biopsy among Medicare beneficiaries, Johns Hopkins researchers have found a significant rise in serious complications requiring hospitalization.

23 Sep 2011

First Annual ACR Imaging Informatics Summit and Dose Monitoring Forum to be held from Nov. 3-4

Top radiology and policy experts will offer solutions to critical imaging informatics and radiation dose challenges at the First Annual ACR Imaging Informatics Summit and Dose Monitoring Forum.

23 Sep 2011

Momenta, Sandoz file patent suit against Amphastar and Watson over Enoxaparin Sodium Injection

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sandoz Inc. have filed suit against Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Watson on September 21, 2011 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

23 Sep 2011

AARP launches ad campaign urging debt panel to steer clear of Medicare

According to the national ad campaign's script, which urges the deficit panel to take Medicare cuts off the table, Social Security payments have been earned by a lifetime of work and Medicare, the health insurance plan for seniors, is paid for by participants.

23 Sep 2011

NYT: Ethics probe involves kidney transplant center, Rep. Berkley

In 2008 Ms. Berkley helped lead an effort to block a move by federal regulators to close Nevada's only kidney transplant center, which her husband's medical practice helps run under a $738,000-a-year contract. She also successfully pushed regulators, as recently as March, to reverse a plan to cut Medicare reimbursement to dialysis centers, including the dozen her husband's medical practice owns.

23 Sep 2011

Lawmakers explore savings potential of Medicare extenders

During a Wednesday House Ways and Means Committee hearing, health industry witnesses defended the Medicare "extenders," which, in many cases, are payment policies enacted to address specific problems faced by specific types of health care providers. Ending some of them would save less than $100 million a year. One economist said, however, that when added up, they can tally an estimated $2.5 billion in savings.

23 Sep 2011

Longer looks: Breast cancer fundraising; treating autism

Though breast cancer researchers and advocates perpetually plead for more money, the disease is, in fact, awash in it. Last year, the National Institutes of Health, the nation's top agency for health-related research, allocated $763 million to the study of breast cancer, more than double what it committed to any other cancer.

23 Sep 2011

BlueCross report examines national health care reform's impact on Tennessee

A research based report from the newly-established BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Institute takes an in-depth look at national health care reform's possible positive and negative effects on Tennessee.

23 Sep 2011

State roundup: N.Y. to pay $5 million to end suit over autistic teen's death

The State of New York has agreed to pay $5 million to settle two civil suits brought by the family of a boy with autism who died in state care, among the larger wrongful-death settlements ever paid by the state.

23 Sep 2011

As Congress searches for health care savings, care coordination for dual eligibles may offer an opportunity

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said during a Wednesday Senate Finance Committee hearing that the current lack of coordination for people who are on both Medicare and Medicaid leads to massive amounts of waste and low-quality care, but an Obama administration official said more time was needed to address this issue. Also, a new report written by Emory University's Kenneth Thorpe and funded by America's Health Insurance Plans sets a high possible savings estimate if this coordination goal can be achieved.

23 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Ron Paul, USA Today on individual mandate; NYT's Greenhouse on court challenges to health law

Massachusetts leads the nation in health insurance coverage of its citizens, and Texas is dead last. You'd think that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney would be bragging about his role in making his state No. 1, and that Texas Gov. Rick Perry would be embarrassed by how poorly his state is doing. But that's not how the script is playing out … That's odd, though, because the mandate was born as a conservative response to President Clinton's much maligned health reform proposal.

23 Sep 2011

Cambridge Heart enters agreement with EO Medical for MTWA technology

Cambridge Heart, Inc., a developer of non-invasive diagnostic tests for cardiac disease, today announced that it has executed an exclusive agreement with EO Medical Pte Ltd to distribute its HearTwave II System and proprietary Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) software and Micro-V Alternans Sensors in Singapore upon regulatory approval.

22 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 22, 2011

In today's headlines, reports that young adults are making gains in health coverage rates.

22 Sep 2011

Medicare News and Research

Seniors deeply concerned about Medicare, Medicaid future as 'super committee' decisions loom

Roundup: Texas House Dems ask CMS to reject Medicaid waiver request; Jobs lost as Ariz. mental health Medicaid cuts kick in

New poll reveals continued public confusion about health law, little faith in 'Super Committee'

Humana to acquire California-based Medicare Advantage HMO

'Super Committee' hears pleas to protect health program enrollees and providers

Imaging cuts in deficit reduction proposal would restrict patient care, raise Medicare costs: ACR

Medicare, health reform hot topics as Romney, Perry spar in GOP presidential debate

Complications requiring hospitalization after prostate biopsy rise: Study

First Annual ACR Imaging Informatics Summit and Dose Monitoring Forum to be held from Nov. 3-4

Momenta, Sandoz file patent suit against Amphastar and Watson over Enoxaparin Sodium Injection

AARP launches ad campaign urging debt panel to steer clear of Medicare

NYT: Ethics probe involves kidney transplant center, Rep. Berkley

Lawmakers explore savings potential of Medicare extenders

Longer looks: Breast cancer fundraising; treating autism

BlueCross report examines national health care reform's impact on Tennessee

State roundup: N.Y. to pay $5 million to end suit over autistic teen's death

As Congress searches for health care savings, care coordination for dual eligibles may offer an opportunity

Viewpoints: Ron Paul, USA Today on individual mandate; NYT's Greenhouse on court challenges to health law

Cambridge Heart enters agreement with EO Medical for MTWA technology

First Edition: September 22, 2011

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