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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.

Dems introduce bills to push for Medicare negotiated drug pricing

Congressional Democrats have introduced legislation to let Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices - a move that could result in significant savings, the bill supporters say. They are urging that their measure be included in the effort to raise the debt ceiling.

18 Jun 2011

Budget talks focus on 'the hard stuff' with tough decisions in play on health care, new revenues

Partisan differences on core issues such as taxes and Medicare spending continue to be a part of the deficit-reduction negotiations being led by Vice President Joe Biden, who says the talks will go on "around the clock" next week as lawmakers work to resolve the stand-off over raising the nation's debt limit.

18 Jun 2011

House appropriators ok measure that prohibits feds from enforcing individual mandate

By defunding this health law provision next year, even though it doesn't actually kick in until 2014, the measure could prevent the administration from hiring and training the necessary Internal Revenue Service personnel.

18 Jun 2011

News highlights: Report urges smoke-free laws; N.J. state workers rally against pension and health care changes

A million people would quit smoking, nearly 400,000 teenagers would never start, and more than 700,000 lives would be saved if the 27 U.S. states that don't have good antismoking laws would adopt them, the American Cancer Society projected on Wednesday.

18 Jun 2011

Longer looks: Turning doctors' views of alternative therapies; a male birth control pill; teenagers and tanning beds

Medicine has long decried acupuncture, homeopathy, and the like as dangerous nonsense that preys on the gullible. Again and again, carefully controlled studies have shown alternative medicine to work no better than a placebo. But now many doctors admit that alternative medicine often seems to do a better job of making patients well, and at a much lower cost, than mainstream care — and they're trying to learn from it.

18 Jun 2011

Research roundup: Kids on Medicaid have trouble seeing a specialist; safety in outpatient facilities; community health center patients linking to electronic health care

In this study, researchers posing as parents sought specialty care for children in Cook County, Ill., to examine access opportunities for families on Medicaid. They found a major disparity between children with public insurance versus private insurance -- 66 percent of the callers saying the children were insured by Medicaid were denied an appointment, compared to 11 percent with a private plan.

18 Jun 2011

Premier healthcare alliance today announces new group buy for wind turbines

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that a new group buy for wind turbines is available with Southwest Windpower of Flagstaff, Ariz. The group buy supports wind energy, the nation's fastest growing source of energy.

17 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 17, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how health entitlement programs are faring in the ongoing deficit-reduction negotiations.

17 Jun 2011

ECCHC, Kool Smiles open new dental office in East Chicago

East Chicago residents will soon have something new to smile about. Kool Smiles, a leading dental health provider dedicated to expanding access to quality dental care for children and families in underserved communities, is opening a new office in East Chicago in partnership with the East Chicago Community Health Center.

17 Jun 2011

Federal health law implementation drives state policy debates

Examples of implementation activity at the state level stem from preparations underway for health insurance exchanges.

17 Jun 2011

GOP governors continue push for Medicaid flexibility as part of debt-cutting deal

These Republican officials argue that as federal funding for Medicaid has expanded, so has federal control. Their argument to include the measure in debt-ceiling legislation is raising concern among some Medicaid advocates.

17 Jun 2011

Budget talks continue; options to reduce entitlement program spending gain traction

A report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission bolstered some of the options to squeeze billions in savings from Medicare — options currently under consideration in the budget negotiations being led by Vice President Joe Biden. In addition, the Wall Street Journal reports the Medicaid is facing significant cuts in the emerging budget deal.

17 Jun 2011

With stimulus money soon to run out, Medicaid benefits are about to drop

Even though unemployment has gone up, the increased federal Medicaid match will expire at the end of the month. As a result, benefits will likely be cut for many. Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that children with Medicaid are far more likely than those with private insurance to be turned away by medical specialists or be made to wait more than a month for an appointment.

17 Jun 2011

AHRQ finds more rural emergency department visits among low-income adults

Low-income adults ages 18 to 64 accounted for 56 percent of the 8 million visits made to rural hospital emergency departments in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

17 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare eligibility age; Medicare 'scares'; questions about Fla. Medicaid managed care

The bottom line is that we probably need to start raising Medicare's eligibility age incrementally, given today's life-expectancy realities. But it is not going to be the silver bullet that saves Medicare.

17 Jun 2011

Roundup: Few states raise taxes to ease budgets; Ala. Gov. signs abortion law; Texas House advances bill to turn Medicaid, Medicare into block grants

As 2011 began, the budget situation in state capitals looked more dire than just about anybody could remember. ... With Medicaid, the states had their hands tied. The new federal health care law prohibits states from cutting eligibility or making it harder for people to apply for coverage. So states had to find other ways to control costs. Idaho reduced the amount paid to hospitals and doctors to treat Medicaid patients, an idea that some 30 governors proposed this year.

17 Jun 2011

Ankota introduces TherapEZ web-based, mobile tablet-based solution for home health therapy agencies

Ankota, the developer of the first Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM) solutions, introduced today its TherapEZ software as a solution for streamlining many of the operational issues faced by home health therapy agencies as they seek to provide services for patients at home and to coordinate care with home health agencies.

16 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 16, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the prospect for Medicaid cutbacks in an emerging bipartisan budget deal, as well as how a report from a Medicare advisory panel may bolster Medicare options currently on the table.

16 Jun 2011

Budget woes lead GOP governors to push feds to relax Medicaid rules

President Barack Obama has the power to relax rules, which would allow cash-strapped governors more flexibility in spending Medicaid dollars, including allowing them to tighten eligibility requirements. But allowing such changes would outrage many of the president's core supporters and be at odds with the health law's goal of expanding coverage.

16 Jun 2011

Majority of publicly-insured children unable to get doctor's appointment for medical conditions

Sixty-six percent of publicly-insured children were unable to get a doctor's appointment for medical conditions requiring outpatient specialty care including diabetes and seizures, while children with identical symptoms and private insurance were turned away only 11 percent of the time, according to an audit study of 273 specialty physician practices in Cook County, Ill.

16 Jun 2011

Medicaid News and Research

Dems introduce bills to push for Medicare negotiated drug pricing

Budget talks focus on 'the hard stuff' with tough decisions in play on health care, new revenues

House appropriators ok measure that prohibits feds from enforcing individual mandate

News highlights: Report urges smoke-free laws; N.J. state workers rally against pension and health care changes

Longer looks: Turning doctors' views of alternative therapies; a male birth control pill; teenagers and tanning beds

Research roundup: Kids on Medicaid have trouble seeing a specialist; safety in outpatient facilities; community health center patients linking to electronic health care

Premier healthcare alliance today announces new group buy for wind turbines

First Edition: June 17, 2011

ECCHC, Kool Smiles open new dental office in East Chicago

Federal health law implementation drives state policy debates

GOP governors continue push for Medicaid flexibility as part of debt-cutting deal

Budget talks continue; options to reduce entitlement program spending gain traction

With stimulus money soon to run out, Medicaid benefits are about to drop

AHRQ finds more rural emergency department visits among low-income adults

Viewpoints: Medicare eligibility age; Medicare 'scares'; questions about Fla. Medicaid managed care

Roundup: Few states raise taxes to ease budgets; Ala. Gov. signs abortion law; Texas House advances bill to turn Medicaid, Medicare into block grants

Ankota introduces TherapEZ web-based, mobile tablet-based solution for home health therapy agencies

First Edition: June 16, 2011

Budget woes lead GOP governors to push feds to relax Medicaid rules

Majority of publicly-insured children unable to get doctor's appointment for medical conditions

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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