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First Edition: June 6, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver reports: "Short on cash and time, officials in California and at least a dozen other states have turned to philanthropies to help pay for the extra work required under the federal health law".

6 Jun 2011

Medicare debate highlights competing views among young and old

The future of Medicare continues to be a hot topic in politics. The New York Times examines how the current debate over revamping the program is playing out among different age groups. And on Capitol Hill Friday, two Democratic senators urged that Medicare spending be debated independently from the current negotiations on raising the federal debt ceiling. Republicans quickly challenged that view.

6 Jun 2011

ACP strongly supports ACO proposed rule on primary care

The ACP strongly supports the intent of the proposed rule, and believes that an ACO model has the potential of supporting such important care delivery goals as enhancing quality, efficiency, integration, and patient-centeredness.

4 Jun 2011

Indiana officials say they will defy federal order on Planned Parenthood

State lawyers say they must obey a law signed by the governor last month that bars funding to clinics offering abortions. Medicaid officials warned this week that denying payments for covered health services was illegal and could endanger all federal Medicaid payments to the state.

4 Jun 2011

GOP debates how to refine Medicare message; Democrats see program as key to winning back the House

Republicans are having an intra-party debate regarding whether a short and simple Medicare message or a more nuanced version would play better with voters. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says Democrats have a good chance of taking back the lower chamber in 2012.

4 Jun 2011

For physicians, electronic medical records continue to pose challenges

This pair of stories offers insights — based on interviews and a hearing held by the House Small Business Committee — about how physicians are faring as they try to move toward digital systems.

4 Jun 2011

Consumer groups, market experts support repeal of Medicare bidding program

Providers of home medical equipment and services in Oregon support H.R. 1041, a bipartisan bill in Congress that would repeal the controversial Medicare "competitive" bidding program for certain medically required equipment and services used at home.

4 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Debating the best ways to 'fix' Medicare; ACO rule; states 'punishing' women?

The truth is, there is no perfect plan — we all know that. We also know that the only way this works is through a bipartisan effort where everyone prods their own sacred cows into the cattle chute, and everyone gives up something they like to protect the country they love. ... Members of both parties and both houses must publicly support the work of the Gang of Six. This is the time for heroes.

4 Jun 2011

CARE in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy bill introduced in House of Representatives

Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that will set federal minimum education and certification standards in the Medicare program for the technical personnel providing, planning and delivering all medical imaging examinations and radiation therapy treatments.

4 Jun 2011

House Dems urge Obama not to yield to GOP pressure to cut Medicare

In the context of ongoing budget talks, House Democrats urged President Barack Obama to maintain the Medicare program and stand firm against Republican efforts to cut the program's spending.

4 Jun 2011

Research roundup: More spending can lead to better care; Calif. exchange lessons; high-volume hospitals

Medical Spending And The Health Of The Elderly -- Does more medical spending lead to better health care for people over age 64? To answer that question, "researchers from George Mason University and the Urban Institute used data of 17,438 elderly who entered the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey in the fall of each year from 1991 to 1999, and conducted multiple interviews over three years," according to one description of the study.

4 Jun 2011

Acos, medical loss ratio among health law elements drawing scrutiny

Hospitals and doctors are pushing back against an Obama administration initiative that urges them to create new organizations to coordinate the care of groups of Medicare patients.

4 Jun 2011

News highlights: Study finds reform didn't slow ER visits in Mass.; 2 ACOs take shape in Calif.; Md. hospitals report problems

Health care reform in Massachusetts only had a small impact on the number of trips residents took to the emergency room, according to a new study.

4 Jun 2011

Message is key in debate over Medicaid block grant plans

Some congressional Democrats are concerned that Medicaid will become even more of a target for funding cuts and, as a result, are rallying the troops.

3 Jun 2011

Highest percentage of readmissions occur in 45 to 64 age group

In 2008 nearly 12 percent of hospital stays were readmissions within 30 days of a previous stay, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

3 Jun 2011

Longer looks: Is American medicine destroying itself?

Ever since Republicans took control of half the country's statehouses this year, the anti-abortion movement has won one victory after another. At least 64 new anti-abortion laws have passed, with more than 30 of them in April alone. The campaign is the largest in history and also the most creative.

3 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 3, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Marilyn Chase writes: "Memorial, a 278-bed hospital in this city 55 miles north of San Francisco, sued California to try to stop the payment reductions. Now it is part of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could redefine states' responsibilities on Medicaid services and ultimately determine whether Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown can go forward with cuts he says are vital to closing the state's budget gap.

3 Jun 2011

IOM finds flaws in Medicare payments to hospitals, doctors

Medicare uses inaccurate, unreliable data to pay doctors and hospitals, the National Academy of Sciences said Wednesday. Although Medicare is a national program, it adjusts payments to health care providers to reflect regional differences in wages, rent and other costs.

3 Jun 2011

Medicaid no longer paying for hospital mistakes

Left a sponge inside the patient? Transfused the wrong blood type? Don't look for the federal government to pay for fixing the mistake. Medicaid will no longer pay hospitals or doctors for certain preventable illnesses and injuries, such as operating on the wrong body part, the Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday.

3 Jun 2011

UC review finds rate of rtPA treatment for ischemic stroke in the U.S. doubled since 2005

In a review of nationwide hospital databases, University of Cincinnati (UC) emergency medicine and neurology researchers have found that the rate of treatment with the standard therapy for acute ischemic stroke patients has doubled since 2005.

3 Jun 2011