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Feds stepping up action on medical scooter fraud

The federal government is cracking down on medical-equipment providers who either overcharge Medicare for motorized wheelchairs or obtain them for people who don't need them, Medicare and Justice Department records show.

14 Jul 2011

Health interests dislike proposed Medicare and Medicaid cuts

While lawmakers continue efforts to come to terms in the debt-ceiling negotiations, health interests ranging from public and teaching hospitals to the drug industry are making their positions known.

14 Jul 2011

HMS receives Maine contract to perform hospital, long term care financial reviews

HMS, a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp., today announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to perform hospital and long term care credit balance reviews and cost of care recoveries on behalf of the state's MaineCare program.

14 Jul 2011

Home health care payments under scrutiny — in debt talks and newly released payment rules

One GOP governor has asked his Republican colleagues in Congress to reject debt-ceiling proposals that would cut home health services while recently released rules will further squeeze corporate margins.

14 Jul 2011

Teva acquires Taiyo

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has completed the acquisition of effectively 100% of the outstanding shares of Taiyo Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Ltd. for $934 million in cash.

14 Jul 2011

Political fault lines in budget discussion

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., appears to be trying to push President Barack Obama in one direction and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is standing firm on Obama's left. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is taking a go-big-or-go-home position on the need to reach a "grand deal" on entitlement cuts and revenue raisers.

14 Jul 2011

Capsules: Tauzin: Home health care is 'not an elective thing'

Today from the Capsules blog: Mary Agnes Carey reports that former House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin has some advice for Republicans who want Medicare beneficiaries to pick up part of the tab for home health services: It won't work.

14 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Prominent Republicans against IPAB; docs defend health law; medical marijuana research

The IPAB has created "immediate uncertainty at hand," says Scott & White Healthcare in central Texas, for their 12 hospitals and more than 800 physicians. Many more organizations and associations have expressed similar concerns and urged me to do what I can to repeal this ill-conceived bureaucratic board. That's why I have introduced the Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act, and why I'm testifying Wednesday on the other side of the Capitol to build support in the House.

14 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 13, 2011

Today's headlines detail the next moves in the ongoing budget discussion, including a "last-choice option" proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and reports about how the health industry is lining up against possible cuts.

13 Jul 2011

ActiveRx introduces Fall Prevention Program for Medicare-eligible senior patients

ActiveRx Rehabilitation, a Chandler, Arizona-based wellness-oriented rehabilitation company specializing in active aging, is introducing a breakthrough Fall Risk Assessment and Fall Prevention Program for Medicare-eligible senior patients.

13 Jul 2011

If Berwick exits, is quality care 'in jeopardy?'

As Medicare is put under the microscope in the debt-ceiling talks, the clock is running out for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick to be confirmed by Congress.

13 Jul 2011

Proposed cuts in Medicare pay increase access-to-care concerns

A new government proposal would cut reimbursement rates for doctors who accept Medicare by 30 percent in 2012.

13 Jul 2011

Report: The fed's system to detect Medicaid fraud is inadequate

The federal government's systems for analyzing Medicare and Medicaid data for possible fraud are inadequate and underused, making it more difficult to detect the billions of dollars in fraudulent claims paid out each year, according to a report released Tuesday.

13 Jul 2011

NPR: IPAB inspires antipathy across party lines

One thing both Democrats and Republicans agree on is that they can't solve the deficit problem without slowing the growth of the massive Medicare program for the elderly and disabled.

13 Jul 2011

Budget talks: Partisan divisions become more entrenched

Included in the negotiations are proposals that would trim more than $350 billion from the federal Medicare and Medicaid health programs. Much of that would come from Medicare, where Republicans proposed to squeeze $246 billion in savings by reductions in payments for home health care, as well as increasing co-payments for laboratory services.

13 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Partisanship, debt ceiling talks and Medicare; health cost frustration; praising Betty Ford

After initially endorsing the idea of an ambitious deficit deal, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) retreated over the weekend, calling for only about $2 trillion in savings. ... That position rules out a deal that would make real progress on the deficit while also achieving some top GOP goals, including curbing the growth of Medicare and Medicaid and simplifying the tax code with lower rates and a broader base.

13 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 12, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the new HHS rule on health exchanges rule and how its nod to state flexibility may help states move forward.

12 Jul 2011

Affymetrix commences shipment of gene profiling reagents

Affymetrix, Inc. today began shipping its FDA-cleared Gene Profiling Reagents. Affymetrix also announced the availability of the new Gene Profiling Array cGMP U133 P2, a version of the widely cited Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array, as another component to its GeneChip Instrument System, which is used by Affymetrix partners for assay development.

12 Jul 2011

Study: 82% of Georgia hospitals do not offer palliative care services

Hospitals across the nation are increasingly implementing palliative care programs to help patients manage the physical and emotional burdens of serious illnesses, but a new University of Georgia study finds that 82 percent of the state's hospitals do not offer palliative care services.

12 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: N.Y. health exchange stalemate; Dick Cheney's heart; vaccine debate refuses to die

Just in case you hadn't noticed, no one has elected Grover Norquist to anything. Still, he looms as a major obstacle to Congress reaching a deficit-reduction agreement needed to raise the federal debt ceiling. … what's revealing about Norquist's passionate advocacy against taxes is that it virtually ignores the main causes of bigger government: Social Security and Medicare.

12 Jul 2011