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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.

WARFARIN Study initiated to assess utility of genetic testing to reduce warfarin-related adverse events

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced that the WARFARIN Study was initiated at Colorado Heart & Vascular, P.C. in Denver and other major hospital systems nationwide to assess the utility of genetic testing to determine a personalized warfarin dose for individual patients to reduce their risk of serious bleeding or clotting events.

30 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Sanders on angry Americans; Sebelius on Md. exchanges; Samuelson: 'it's the elderly, stupid'

If the Republicans have their way, the entire burden of deficit reduction will be placed on the elderly, the sick, children and working families. In the midst of a horrendous recession that is already causing severe pain for average Americans, this approach is morally grotesque. ... The Reid plan is bad. The constantly shifting plan by House Speaker John Boehner is much worse. ... Those cuts would mean drastic reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

30 Jul 2011

Amgen reports 8% increase in second quarter total product sales to $3,893 million

Amgen reported total revenue increased 4 percent during the second quarter of 2011 to $3,959 million versus $3,804 million in the second quarter of 2010. Total product sales increased 8 percent in the second quarter of 2011 to $3,893 million versus $3,613 million in the second quarter of 2010. The increase in total revenue in the second quarter of 2011 included a decline in other revenue due to certain milestone payments earned in the second quarter of 2010.

29 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 29, 2011

Today's headlines include speculation about how the debt-ceiling debate may have altered the discussion regarding changes to Medicare.

29 Jul 2011

LifePoint Hospitals second quarter revenues increase 11.0% to $877.6 million

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. today announced results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2011.

29 Jul 2011

HMS second quarter revenue increases 26% to $89.3 million

HMS today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2011.

29 Jul 2011

Amerigroup second quarter total revenues increase 6.3% to $1.53 billion

Amerigroup Corporation today announced that net income for the second quarter of 2011 was $44.3 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, versus net income of $67.2 million, or $1.31 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2010 and compared to $70.5 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2011.

29 Jul 2011

Magellan reports second quarter net revenue of $698.3 million

Magellan Health Services Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2011, as summarized below. For the quarter ended June 30, 2011, the company reported net revenue of $698.3 million, segment profit of $75.9 million, and net income of $34.2 million or $1.07 per diluted common share.

29 Jul 2011

Coventry Health Care second quarter operating revenues increase 6% to $3.0 billion

Coventry Health Care, Inc. today reported consolidated operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

29 Jul 2011

Debt-ceiling pressure increases as deadline approaches

News outlets report that states are getting more nervous and are taking steps to prepare for the loss in federal dollars. Meanwhile, in the background, political maneuvering surrounding Medicare and Medicaid continues.

29 Jul 2011

States struggle with exchange planning; more guidance from feds coming soon

States that didn't create an insurance exchange this year say they're now facing a time crunch that requires them to push the entire process forward at once. Governors in 10 states have signed laws authorizing an exchange — the new insurance marketplaces created by health care reform.

29 Jul 2011

Nation's health care tab continues to grow

The nation's health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report out Thursday. How much is that? Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare's Office of the Actuary.

29 Jul 2011

Stateline: Detailing how a Medicaid 'blended rate' plan would work

House Republicans already have voted to convert Medicaid into a block grant program. ... The Obama administration has issued its alternative — a plan to cut $100 billion from federal Medicaid spending over the next decade.

29 Jul 2011

Longer looks: Expensive cities for health care; mapping Medicaid

It's bewildering for anyone who has ever paid for a health procedure out of pocket when health insurance doesn't cover the full cost: Why does health care cost the way it does, and why do the costs fluctuate depending on where you go and who you see? A colonoscopy, for example, can range from $500 to $3,000 — a large difference depending on how health insurance providers negotiate rates.

29 Jul 2011

State roundup: Mass. communities look to new law for health savings

Area cities and towns are salivating at the prospect of saving millions of dollars in insurance costs in coming years, under a new law making it easier to change health coverage for their employees.

29 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Pessimism on partisan debt dealings; supporting community clinics; 'mystery shopper' should go forward

FDR began the entitlement era with the New Deal and Social Security, but for decades it remained relatively limited. … That changed in the mid-1960s with LBJ's Great Society and the dawn of the health-care state. Medicare and Medicaid were launched in 1965 with fairy tale estimates of future costs. Medicare, the program for the elderly, was supposed to cost $12 billion by 1990 but instead spent $110 billion.

29 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 28, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the ever-growing US health health care tab and about the petition filed by a conservative legal center to bring their health law challenge to the Supreme Court.

28 Jul 2011

Des Moines hospital faces review; $9 million hospital bill in Tampa

In state hospital news, federal regulators have ordered Iowa officials to study the Mercy Medical Center, and Florida officials say a Tampa hospital has filed a $9.2 million claim against the estate of a former patient. In other news, officials begin the process of closing Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

28 Jul 2011

PCMA President releases statement on new Medicare Part D study

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO Mark Merritt released the following statement today on a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found "implementation of Medicare Part D was followed by a significant reductions in nondrug medical spending, particularly on acute and post acute care, for elderly Medicare beneficiaries with limited prior drug coverage".

28 Jul 2011

Moody's: States face Medicaid budget issues, cuts will affect hospitals

Modern Healthcare reports that hospital reimbursements — because of the end of the enhanced federal matching rate that became law as part of the 2009 stimulus package — will be pinched. In addition, congressional action and the federal debt debate is also causing concern at the state level.

28 Jul 2011