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U-M saves more than $22M during Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration Project

Medicare patients received better care at the University of Michigan Health System, and U-M staff have saved more than $22 million on the cost of that care during a five-year demonstration project.

9 Aug 2011

Roundup: Calif. adult day care plan?; R.I. shift to Medicare; Texas mental health coverage

State health officials are circulating a plan they say will help keep about 35,000 elderly and disabled Californians out of institutionalized care when Medi-Cal stops offering an adult day healthcare benefit in December.

9 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Emanuel on cancer care; George Bush - 'health reformer?'; Hiassen on Fla. 'trolls'

Right now cancer care is being rationed in the United States. Probably to their great disappointment, President Obama's critics cannot blame this rationing on death panels or health care reform. Rather, it is caused by a severe shortage of important cancer drugs.

9 Aug 2011

K-V sells assets of Nesher to Zydus and Zynesher Pharmaceuticals

K-V Pharmaceutical Company today announced the completion and closing of the previously announced sale of assets of Nesher Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Company's wholly-owned generic subsidiary, and the Company's generic business and assets to Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc and Zynesher Pharmaceuticals (USA) LLC.

9 Aug 2011

SUNY Downstate signs new three-year agreement with Aetna

Aetna and the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center announced a new agreement for SUNY Downstate's resumed participation in the Aetna network, and the continuing participation of University Hospital of Brooklyn's recently acquired Long Island College Hospital campus.

9 Aug 2011

Provider groups weigh in with Supreme Court on Calif. Medicaid case; Fla. docs oppose Medicaid revamp

In other Medicaid news, Texas switches its Medicaid recipients to cards instead of using monthly proof-of-coverage letters to save cash while some advocates worry that children's health could be at risk.

9 Aug 2011

Male breast cancer patients denied Medicaid coverage

The American Cancer society's pages on breast cancer in men lay out the facts. About 2,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, which makes it rare: about 100 times more women get the disease. It is known that men, like women, are more likely to develop cancer if they have certain mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Family history and age contribute to a man's likelihood of developing the disease as well.

9 Aug 2011

USA Today: Medicare's hospice costs show dramatic increase

Medicare costs for hospice care have increased more than in any other health care sector as for-profit companies continue to gain a larger share of the end-of-life medical market, government records show.

8 Aug 2011

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for restraints and fall prevention products

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that new agreements for restraints and fall prevention products have been awarded to J.T. Posey Company of Arcadia, Calif.; and Personal Safety Corporation of Hiawatha, Iowa, a small business enterprise.

8 Aug 2011

CMS unveils updated website to help consumers compare quality data

Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Friday that site includes updated data to help consumers compare hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, home care or dialysis providers.

8 Aug 2011

Fallout from S&P downgrade could add heightened 'super committee' focus on entitlement cuts

Speculation continues about whether the yet-to-be named panel, created by the debt deal, will be able to find the necessary budget cuts to reach the goal of $1.2 trillion in savings over the next 10 years. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is among those who have low expectations.

8 Aug 2011

Most leading health plans see enrollment gains in first quarter 2011

Most of the nation's leading health plans saw enrollment gains in the first quarter of 2011 and all saw improved profit margins both year-over-year and for the quarter, a promising start for 2011. Between December 2010 and March 2011 top plans saw an aggregate increase of more than 2.0 million members. While aggregated fully-insured business continued to experience losses, the administrative services only (ASO) segment gained over 2.2 million members during the primary 2011 open enrollment season.

8 Aug 2011

BioScrip second quarter revenue increases 7.1% to $441.4 million

BioScrip, Inc. today announced 2011 second quarter financial results. Second quarter revenue for the period ended June 30, 2011, was $441.4 million with a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.04 per share, including $8.7 million in restructuring charges and a legal settlement. Excluding the after tax effect of these charges, the Company earned $0.10 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $18.1 million.

8 Aug 2011

FDA accepts Teva's NDA for BDP Nasal HFA to treat allergic rhinitis

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing Teva's New Drug Application (NDA) for beclomethasone dipropionate hydrofluoroalkane (BDP Nasal HFA), a nasal aerosol corticosteroid in development for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) and perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR).

8 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 8, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Marilyn Werber Serafini reports: "GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has scorned the health plans engineered by President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, even linking them with the term Obamneycare. Instead, the former Minnesota governor is brandishing a health plan his state passed in 2008 as a model for the nation".

8 Aug 2011

Medicare prescriptions premiums expected to decrease for seniors

According to an Obama administration announcement last Thursday as the health costs continue to rise, Medicare beneficiaries will see the average price of a Part D drug plan decline slightly next year. This is expected to offer some relief amid pressure to cut the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

8 Aug 2011

S&P downgrade puts pressure on 'super committee' to fix entitlements

"S&P sees the debt agreement as falling short of what's necessary to fix the nation's finances. The spending cuts Democrats and Republicans agreed on were relatively modest".

8 Aug 2011

Turning from debt debate, some GOP House members renew health law attack

Healthcare reform still loomed large in voters' minds last week as members of Congress began their traditional series of recess town hall meetings. The issue had drifted down the political agenda after the 2010 midterm elections.

8 Aug 2011

Patient perceptions don't match Medicare hospital data

More than 120 hospitals given top marks by patients for providing excellent care also have a darker distinction: high death rates for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia, a USA Today analysis of new Medicare data has found (Sternberg and Schnaars, 8/5).

6 Aug 2011