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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.

Viewpoints: Dems vs. Ryan on entitlement cuts; defending planned parenthood

Every time Republicans have proposed serious entitlement reform, they've taken a beating. ... But it's far from clear the average voter appreciates what's at stake. Incredibly, 54 percent of those in a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll said they didn't believe Medicare cuts were essential to meaningfully trim the deficit. I'd say Republicans have a lot of work to do.

15 Apr 2011

Obama’s next target - medical error reduction for patient safety

Finally serious efforts are being made to ensure patient safety. The Obama administration announced this Tuesday an aggressive approach called ‘The 'Partnership for Patients Program’ to reduce medical errors, partnering with private insurers, business leaders, hospitals and patient advocates to tackle a problem that kills thousands of Americans every year.

12 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 12, 2011

Today's headlines include details of what made up the short-term budget deal's $38 billion in cuts and how President Obama's longer term budget vision may take shape.

12 Apr 2011

CMS, AAPC partner to conduct 'Code-A-Thon' webinar for health care providers

AAPC is collaborating with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to plan and conduct an AAPC-sponsored ICD-10 "Code-A-Thon" webinar on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

12 Apr 2011

Teva presents new CNS products study data in RRMS, Parkinson's at AAN meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced that several new studies further support the efficacy and safety of the company's innovative central nervous system products.

12 Apr 2011

Next up: New round of budget battles; Medicare, Medicaid spending debates

Democrats and Republicans are bracing for the next round of confrontations over federal spending, which will include issues involving the future of entitlement programs as well as the debt ceiling.

12 Apr 2011

Medicaid news: Govs split on block grants; Kansas begins 'makeover'

Even as states try to move forward with a Medicaid makeovers, transforming this state-federal program into a block grant comes with complications.

12 Apr 2011

Positive results from laquinimod Phase III ALLEGRO study in multiple sclerosis to be presented at AAN

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced today results from the two-year Phase III ALLEGRO study of laquinimod, an oral, once-daily, investigational immunomodulator for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). These data will be presented as late-breaking research at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

12 Apr 2011

The politics of health reform: Picking the strategies

In the political fight surrounding the health law, The Washington Post reports that "individual stories" have emerged as a weapon of choice for Democrats and supporters of the measure.

12 Apr 2011

Short-term budget deal details take shape

As the dust settles from last-minute budget negotiations to avert a government shutdown, specific outlines of the final agreement are taking shape -- including how proposals fared for spending cuts to health law programs as well as to Planned Parenthood, and other controversial measures.

12 Apr 2011

State roundup: Texas hospital tax; IBM challenges Vt. single payer

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the state can cut off medical assistance to legal noncitizens who have been in the country fewer than five years, clearing the way to implement a 2009 budget cut that had been stalled because of legal action.

12 Apr 2011

Obama's new vision for deficit reduction

In a Wednesday speech, President Barack Obama will outline a new approach to the nation's budget deficit, including proposals to address spending on Medicare and Medicaid.

12 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 11, 2011

In today's headlines, as details emerge regarding the last-minute budget deal for current-year spending, President Barak Obama is poised to lay out a new long-term budget vision which will include everything from Medicare and Medicaid to tax hikes for the wealthy.

11 Apr 2011

ACP's paper provides brief updates on changes to Medicaid program

A reformed Medicaid program must put coordinated primary care at the forefront of its efforts, the American College of Physicians said in a new position paper released today at Internal Medicine 2011, ACP's annual scientific meeting.

11 Apr 2011

Budget agreement preserves funding for Planned Parenthood, Title X and the health law

President Obama and Democratic and Republican congressional leaders reached a last-minute deal Friday to avoid a government shutdown. The agreement, which came after days of partisan sparring and rhetorical drama, would fund the government through the end of September and cut $78.5 billion compared to Obama's proposed but never enacted fiscal 2011 budget.

11 Apr 2011

Obama adviser Plouffe, Rep. Ryan dispute Medicare, Medicaid reform

The Sunday talk shows brought out fundamental differences on what to do about entitlement programs.

11 Apr 2011

Research Roundup: The cost of medical errors; 'Unreasonable rate increases'

Health Affairs: The $17.1 Billion Problem: The Annual Cost Of Measurable Medical Errors - "The estimated total cost of measurable medical errors in the United States was $17.1 billion in 2008, which was 0.72 percent of the $2.391 trillion spent on health care," write the authors of this study that used an "an actuarial approach to measure the frequency and costs of measurable U.S. medical errors, identified through medical claims data."

8 Apr 2011

State News: N.Y. billing for disabled patients questioned

While the nation's attention has been focused on state worker battles in union strongholds such as Ohio and Wisconsin, quiet but consequential labor battles are breaking out in Kansas, Texas and other states where collective bargaining rights for public workers were weak or non-existent to begin with. The outcome of these confrontations will have a big impact.

8 Apr 2011

Viewpoints abound on impact of Ryan plan, government showdown

If the federal government shuts down at midnight on Friday — which seems likely unless negotiations take a sudden turn toward rationality — it will not be because of disagreements over spending. It will be because Republicans are refusing to budge on these ideological demands: No federal financing for Planned Parenthood. ... No local financing for abortion services in the District of Columbia. ... No funds for health care reform.

8 Apr 2011

States mull Medicaid grants

Republicans talk a lot about how Medicaid block grants could help governors bring down their costs, but they don't talk as much about what, exactly, the states would do with them. It's not that they have no answers. Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi has said he'd like to provide home-based care for children with special medical needs, rather than resort to more expensive hospital care, but federal rules get in the way.

8 Apr 2011