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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.

MHS wins EPA's 2011 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management

Centene Corporation announced today that Managed Health Services (MHS), its Indiana subsidiary, won the 2011 National Environmental Leadership Award (Health Plan Division) in Asthma Management from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

10 Jun 2011

GOP senators ask HHS to let Indiana cut Planned Parenthood funding

Twenty-eight Republican senators said Thursday that the Obama administration should not stop the state of Indiana from implementing a new law designed to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Earlier this month, the federal Medicaid agency denied Indiana's proposal to prevent state residents from using Medicaid at any entity that provides abortions.

10 Jun 2011

State news: Mass. immigrant care; Pension benefit changes in Calif. cities

Thousands of legal immigrants may have to wait weeks longer to find out whether the state's highest court will order Massachusetts to restore their full health insurance benefits. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Robert J. Cordy today ordered lawyers for the state to file their motions by June 23.

10 Jun 2011

Large medical groups urge OMB to be careful with ACO budget expectations

The American Group Management Association asked the Obama administration to scale back the anticipated savings that are expected from the creation of accountable care organizations. Setting the savings bar too high, the organizations said, could cause the ACO program to be unsuccessful.

10 Jun 2011

Senate Dems pledge to fight big Medicaid cuts

Meanwhile, a left-leaning advocacy group released a report on how GOP budget plans to change the program would impact New Hampshire -- a clear step designed to bring Medicaid into the realm of presidential politics.

10 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 10, 2011

Today's health policy headlines include reports about health law funding and policy particulars, as well as Dems' push to protect Medicaid.

10 Jun 2011

Dental Systems urges consumers about proposed cuts to Medicaid

Dental Systems, Inc., a leading western Pennsylvania dental network, is urging consumers to contact Governor Tom Corbett as well as their senators to protest proposed cuts to Medicaid dental benefits.

10 Jun 2011

Longer looks: Dr. Oz as patient; Utah puts Medicaid enrollees to work

As a federal judge considers whether to block the implementation of a recently-passed law that defunds Planned Parenthood of Indiana, more than 20,000 low-income patients are on the verge of losing their primary health care provider.

10 Jun 2011

Roundup: Maryland program treats prisoners' medical problems

A sweeping deal to cut pensions and health-care benefits for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey public workers was teetering Wednesday, as rank-and-file Assembly Democrats refused to go along with an agreement struck between top legislative Democrats and Gov. Chris Christie.

10 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Health law's latest day in court; Obama's "abdication" on Medicare; Blue Shield profits vs. premiums

Provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, "may violate the constitution of Ayn Rand, but they do not violate the Constitution of the United States," acting solicitor general Neal Kumar Katyal told a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday. Conversely, attorney Paul Clement, representing Georgia and 25 other states, framed the issue of mandated purchase of health insurance as an issue of liberty.

10 Jun 2011

Health law's independent payment board draws new opposition

Politico reports on the Independent Payment Advisory Board's growing unpopularity and CQ HealthBeat details the complexities that will be involved in the overhaul's expansion of health coverage for children and families. In the background, politics come into play as part of the run up to 2012.

9 Jun 2011

A big day for the multi-state challenge to the health law

Florida already leads a lawsuit challenging the federal health care law, but state officials are going a step further and ignoring the law almost entirely — rejecting millions of federal dollars to provide health care for retirees, seniors, children and people with disabilities.

9 Jun 2011

Massachusetts 'pay for performance' health care program finds no signs of racial, ethnic disparities

Massachusetts' innovative use of "pay-for-performance" bonuses to try to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the case of Medicaid patients has turned up no evidence of the problem at any of the state's 66 acute-care hospitals, according to a new study that raises questions about the effectiveness of the state's novel approach.

9 Jun 2011

Older people who engage in moderate to intense exercise less likely to have silent strokes

Older people who regularly exercise at a moderate to intense level may be less likely to develop the small brain lesions, sometimes referred to as "silent strokes," that are the first sign of cerebrovascular disease, according to a new study published in the June 8, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Jun 2011

New After-Hours Walk-In Clinic now open in Rancho Cucamonga

Pinnacle Medical Group is pleased to announce the opening of a new After-Hours Walk-In Clinic at their Rancho Cucamonga office. People who have a non-emergent medical need that requires treatment right away can just come on in! The group added the clinic to help out working families who need to be seen after regular business hours.

9 Jun 2011

State roundup: N.J. plan would cut Medicaid by $500 million

States and territories are eligible for up to $40 million to strengthen and coordinate efforts to prevent chronic disease, the Health and Human Services Department announced Tuesday. The initiative is funded by the healthcare reform law and targets the nation's five leading chronic diseases: heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and arthritis.

9 Jun 2011

Health care law in the Appeals court

In the U.S. this Wednesday one of the federal appeals court took up a significant legal challenge to last year's health law. Judges are deliberating over the fact that whether it was constitutional to require people to carry insurance or pay a penalty.

9 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 8, 2011

Health insurer Blue Shield of California, under fire for a series of recent rate hikes and the pay of its chief executive, plans to cut this year's premiums by 2.5% for many of its 3.3 million policyholders as part of a new initiative to hold down costs (Helfand, 6/8).

8 Jun 2011

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy to host National Leadership Roundtable on June 9

With a collective eye on ongoing health care reform efforts, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy on June 9 will be hosting a timely and wide-ranging National Leadership Roundtable on how an expanded role for pharmacists is improving health outcomes and health care expenditures in communities nationwide.

8 Jun 2011

Indiana official offers new option to keep Medicaid for Planned Parenthood

An attorney for the state of Indiana told a judge Monday that Planned Parenthood could still receive taxpayer funds -- even if it continues providing abortions. Thomas Fisher, the state's solicitor general, said Planned Parenthood would still be eligible for Medicaid funding if it spun off its abortion clinic into a separate corporate entity.

8 Jun 2011