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Politics, posturing swirl around Obama plan

President Barack Obama made clear that any cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid had to be accompanied by increased taxes for wealthy people and corporations. Many news outlets are analyzing the impact of the line in the sand he drew on the issues.

21 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 20, 2011

In today's headlines, details and analysis of President Barack Obama's debt-reduction plan, which would trim health programs by $320 billion and links such entitlement trims to new taxes.

20 Sep 2011

IQL conference explores development of ACO model

The American Medical Group Association is convening nearly 600 participants, representing the leaders of the nation's preeminent healthcare provider organizations, at IQL 2011: Creating High-Performing Care Organizations, September 19 - 21 at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.

20 Sep 2011

Obama's debt-reduction plan: $3 trillion in savings; changes to Medicare, Medicaid less aggressive than previously considered

The proposal, which is scheduled for release today, will include $320 billion in health care savings, but it will not raise Medicare's eligibility age. Half of its savings result from new tax revenue. President Barack Obama is also sending a warning to congressional Republicans: If they send him a bill that cuts programs for poor and elderly Americans but doesn't impose sacrifice on corporations or ask others to sacrifice, he will veto it.

20 Sep 2011

Study explores differences in referral decisions between primary care and specialist physicians

How do physicians decide which colleague to refer their patient to? It differs depending on whether you ask primary care or specialist physicians, according to research from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, USA, led by Michael Barnett.

20 Sep 2011

Roundup: Calif. woman's death at nursing home probed; Minn. orders counseling before patients get long-term care

Johnnie Esco died after a 13-day stay at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville. Her death on March 7, 2008, led to a contentious civil lawsuit, investigations by California's Department of Justice and Department of Public Health – and the exhumation of her body from Arlington National Cemetery. Last week, amid inquiries from The Bee, the state Department of Justice reopened its criminal investigation into Johnnie Esco's treatment at the facility.

20 Sep 2011

FDA approves Amphastar's ANDA for Enoxaparin Sodium Injection

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Enoxaparin Sodium Injection in the 100mg/mL and 150mg/mL strengths.

20 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Controlling entitlement spending; irrationality of bashing health overhaul; need for changes to state workers' benefits; Va. abortion rules

Entitlement spending - Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the rest - is the long-term problem. … But Social Security is the easy case. Medicare and Medicaid have much bigger problems. The rise in their spending is fueled by the aging population and ever-more-expensive advances in medical care. Their problems cannot be solved with taxes unless American workers want government to take an ever-increasing share of their pay.

20 Sep 2011

No room for Medicare patients

When I went into solo practice of internal medicine in 1981, it was very easy to get a doctor to see a Medicare patient. All I had to do was make a phone call. A courteous receptionist answered. If the doctor couldn't come to the phone right away, I could count on a prompt callback.

19 Sep 2011

Feds OK Mich. request to reduce premium costs for state's pre-existing condition insurance plan

Other news reports related to health law implementation include the latest on a push by the Department of Health and Human Services for state insurance exchange partnerships, speculation about the measure's essential benefits rule and efforts on Capitol Hill to block the law's funding.

19 Sep 2011

Republican candidates are unabashed in opposition to 'Obamacare' but stay quiet on Medicare's drug plan

The Associated Press reports that, even with their emphasis on deficit reduction, most of the GOP presidential candidates don't seem to be talking about the Medicare drug program, a massive entitlement with future unfunded costs of about $7 trillion, as much as the 2010 health law.

19 Sep 2011

Phytel launches new suite of automated care management solutions

Phytel today launched the next generation of automated care management solutions with its integrated Atmosphere™ platform, which enables providers to better manage quality and proactively improve chronic and preventive care across their populations. These scalable, Software-as-a-Service automation tools together comprise the first comprehensive, integrated population health management solution designed for providers.

19 Sep 2011

Mayo Clinic recruits patients in Texas; Ga. hospitals' building boom

In state hospital news, Dallas Morning News reports on an advertising campaign by Minn.'s Mayo Clinic and two Georgia news organizations report on developments in the industry there.

19 Sep 2011

'Super committee' members have received $1.6 million from 'bundlers'

These contributions, which have been given over the past year to several members of the panel, come from defense, health care and tax interests.

19 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 19, 2011

Today's headlines offer information about how Medicare and Medicaid will fare in President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction plan.

19 Sep 2011

Obama deficit plan to have cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and a tax hike for millionaires

President Obama on Monday will call for a new minimum tax rate for individuals making more than $1 million a year to ensure that they pay at least the same percentage of their earnings as middle-income taxpayers, according to administration officials. With a special joint Congressional committee starting work to reach a bipartisan budget deal by late November, the proposal adds a new and populist feature to Mr. Obama's effort to raise the political pressure on Republicans to agree to higher revenues from the wealthy in return for Democrats' support of future cuts from Medicare and Medicaid.

19 Sep 2011

MedPAC prepares 'doc fix' proposal with full cost offset

The plan takes the commission into an area it generally tries to avoid: how to pay for such a major change to the Medicare system. Its suggestion is to pay for the SGR fix by reducing payments to specialists and imposing cuts on other parts of the health care sector.

17 Sep 2011

Research roundup: Personalized info helps consumer decision-making; Racial disparities in knee replacement

Comparison Friction: Experimental Evidence From Medicare Drug Plans – Defining comparison friction as "the wedge between the availability of comparative information and consumers' use of it," the authors determined that providing prescription drug pricing information, even though it was free and accessible in other ways, increased the amount of "plan-switching" in the group to 28 percent compared to 17 percent in another that did not get the individual information.

17 Sep 2011

MedPAC recommendations may jeopardize access to care: ACS

Yesterday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) reviewed draft recommendations related to the flawed and unsustainable Medicare Physician Payment system. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is pleased that the MedPAC has recognized the need to eliminate the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and move towards a reimbursement system that is based on quality of care.

17 Sep 2011

Power wheelchairs are not 'government waste', they give freedom and independence to people with disabilities

"The public would be better served if policymakers left their desks in Washington and met with us in our homes, where every day is a struggle."

17 Sep 2011

Medicare News and Research

Politics, posturing swirl around Obama plan

First Edition: September 20, 2011

IQL conference explores development of ACO model

Obama's debt-reduction plan: $3 trillion in savings; changes to Medicare, Medicaid less aggressive than previously considered

Study explores differences in referral decisions between primary care and specialist physicians

Roundup: Calif. woman's death at nursing home probed; Minn. orders counseling before patients get long-term care

FDA approves Amphastar's ANDA for Enoxaparin Sodium Injection

Viewpoints: Controlling entitlement spending; irrationality of bashing health overhaul; need for changes to state workers' benefits; Va. abortion rules

No room for Medicare patients

Feds OK Mich. request to reduce premium costs for state's pre-existing condition insurance plan

Republican candidates are unabashed in opposition to 'Obamacare' but stay quiet on Medicare's drug plan

Phytel launches new suite of automated care management solutions

Mayo Clinic recruits patients in Texas; Ga. hospitals' building boom

'Super committee' members have received $1.6 million from 'bundlers'

First Edition: September 19, 2011

Obama deficit plan to have cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and a tax hike for millionaires

MedPAC prepares 'doc fix' proposal with full cost offset

Research roundup: Personalized info helps consumer decision-making; Racial disparities in knee replacement

MedPAC recommendations may jeopardize access to care: ACS

Power wheelchairs are not 'government waste', they give freedom and independence to people with disabilities

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