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African American patients more likely to receive replacement surgery in low-quality hospitals

Racial minorities have reduced access to high-quality joint replacement care, according to Dr. Xueya Cai and colleagues from the University of Iowa in the US. Their work, published online in Springer's journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, shows that African American patients are more likely than Caucasians to receive total knee arthroplasty (or replacement surgery) in low-quality hospitals.

14 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

Sometimes they challenged Perry from the left (on Social Security and Medicare) and sometimes from the right (on immigration, taxes and mandatory vaccines), but it all came back to the same thing: The frontrunner was befuddled – seemingly stunned that his rivals would question his right to the Republican presidential nomination.

14 Sep 2011

CBO: Medicaid, health sector likely to fare better with trigger cuts then with 'super committee' trims

Meanwhile, the deficit panel is getting input from a variety of sources - Medicare patients, actuaries, policy analysts and physician groups - on how critical issues about health care costs and spending should be considered.

14 Sep 2011

Update to federally mandated system significantly expands number of diagnostic codes used by health care providers

Today, hospitals and doctors use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. Apparently, that doesn't allow for quite enough nuance. A new federally mandated version will expand the number to around 140,000 - adding codes that describe precisely what bone was broken, or which artery is receiving a stent.

14 Sep 2011

ACP offers menu of options to reduce health care spending and promote high-value care

Recommendations to reduce federal health care spending in a socially and fiscally responsible manner today were made in a letter to the Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction from the American College of Physicians.

14 Sep 2011

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Use of this doctrine allows federal officials to hold health care executives personally and criminally responsible for corporate violations. Meanwhile, in other news related to health care fraud and abuse, a number of states have reached settlements with firms accused of defrauding the Medicaid program.

14 Sep 2011

Data on veterans affairs hospitals shows high rates of readmissions

The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated health care system in the country, has long employed many of the approaches Medicare is pushing on all hospitals to reduce unnecessary readmissions. But new data show VA hospital patients are just as likely to end up back in a hospital bed as are patients at private hospitals.

13 Sep 2011

Roundup: Ga. rejects rule to curb dental hygienists' work; Ohio high-risk pool faces higher than expected costs

The Georgia Board of Dentistry on Friday rejected a proposed rule that public health officials feared would have restricted dental hygienists' work with low-income patients. Several health groups had said the provision, if approved, would require a dentist to examine a patient before a hygienist can apply sealants, clean teeth and perform other preventive dental services in a public health setting.

13 Sep 2011

Marquette General Health System joins Premier healthcare alliance

Marquette General Health System of Marquette, Mich., has joined the Premier healthcare alliance, consisting of more than 2,500 hospitals and 76,000 other healthcare sites, to improve care delivery.

12 Sep 2011

Pressure on 'super committee' to 'go big' mounts as usual budget-cutting options are explored

Health care advocates are getting nervous as they hone their pitches and prepare for this week's stepped up level of action.

12 Sep 2011

CO-OPs, ACOs in the news

Meanwhile, a survey by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions finds that Americans still don't believe the health law is working and have questions about the federal government's priorities.

12 Sep 2011

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

Capsules: Private Medicare plans grow despite health law cuts

Now on Capsules, KHN's news blog, Christopher Weaver writes, "The industry of private Medicare health plans is continuing to grow, despite steep cuts enacted in the 2010 federal health law, according to a report released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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

GOP contentiousness on Medicare, health law to emerge in Monday debate

The tea party movement roars into the Republican presidential spotlight Monday night, as grassroots conservative-coalition members are scheduled to question GOP candidates at a Tampa, Florida debate. ... in his economic blueprint, released last week, Romney lauded the movement, saying, "The rise of the tea party is a classic instance of the self-correcting forces of American democracy in action." He still has a fight ahead.

12 Sep 2011

Research roundup: U.S. doctors' pay exceeds foreign counterparts; Medicare Advantage prevents some hospitalizations

Higher Fees Paid To US Physicians Drive Higher Spending For Physician Services Compared To Other Countries -- Researchers focused on primary care visits and hip replacements in the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada, France and Germany and found that, "public and private payers paid somewhat higher fees to US primary care physicians.

9 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

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

Medicare News and Research

African American patients more likely to receive replacement surgery in low-quality hospitals

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

CBO: Medicaid, health sector likely to fare better with trigger cuts then with 'super committee' trims

Update to federally mandated system significantly expands number of diagnostic codes used by health care providers

ACP offers menu of options to reduce health care spending and promote high-value care

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Data on veterans affairs hospitals shows high rates of readmissions

Roundup: Ga. rejects rule to curb dental hygienists' work; Ohio high-risk pool faces higher than expected costs

Marquette General Health System joins Premier healthcare alliance

Pressure on 'super committee' to 'go big' mounts as usual budget-cutting options are explored

CO-OPs, ACOs in the news

Transcendental Meditation practice reduces health care costs

Capsules: Private Medicare plans grow despite health law cuts

First Edition: September 12, 2011

North Clinic to implement eClinicalWorks EHR solution

Tenet Healthcare refines 2011 Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA

GOP contentiousness on Medicare, health law to emerge in Monday debate

Research roundup: U.S. doctors' pay exceeds foreign counterparts; Medicare Advantage prevents some hospitalizations

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

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

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