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In aftermath of Dem's upset special election, will budget balancers now set sights on Medicaid?

Not that there was much doubt left, but Tuesday's uphill victory by Democrat Kathy Hochul in a special election in a New York congressional district long dominated by the GOP has made it pretty clear that the budget blueprint approved by House Republicans last month, which would effectively privatize Medicare, isn't so popular with lots of actual voters.

27 May 2011

First Medicare Meaningful Use incentive dollars issued to physicians using athenahealth EHR

athenahealth, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based practice management, electronic health record (EHR), and patient communication services to medical groups, today announced that the first Medicare Meaningful Use incentive payment dollars have been issued to its physician clients using athenaClinicals®, the company's EHR offering.

27 May 2011

Dynamics in the health care system trigger ACO concerns

The traditional wariness that exists between doctors and hospitals, as well as worries related to anti-trust issues, raise questions about which players have the advantage as the specifics regarding accountable care organizations take shape. Meanwhile, ACOs finally have an advocate.

27 May 2011

AACE applauds legislation for preservation of access to osteoporosis testing for Medicare beneficiaries

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) applauds the introduction of legislation in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate that will preserve patient access to osteoporosis testing and treatment services under the Medicare program.

27 May 2011

Despite Senate vote on House-passed budget, Ryan presses forward on debt reduction

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan was unbowed Thursday after the expected, but nonetheless stinging, rejection of his budget and Medicare proposal by the Senate. Ryan told NPR reporters he would do it all over again.

27 May 2011

CMS announces dollars doled out to encourage docs, hospitals to adopt electronic health records

The Boston Globe reports on Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is one of the facilities that received one of these grants.

27 May 2011

Candidate Pawlenty says he would sign Ryan budget plan

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, praised the courage and leadership displayed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with his budget plan.

27 May 2011

Report: Budget impact of health law defunding unclear

A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation found the actual impact of GOP proposals to defund the health law "unclear" because too many variables are involved in the calculation.

27 May 2011

States struggle to rein in medical costs

About half of all states are cutting public health care, an area that is already stretched thin by previous cuts in 31 states and a spike in Medicaid enrollment induced by high unemployment. Services for mental health, abused children, the elderly and the underinsured are the primary targets (Hube, 5/27).

27 May 2011

Fallout from NY-26 election makes Dems gleeful, Republicans defensive

The results from the special congressional election in New York earlier this week have caused Democrats to feel that their political fortunes may be turning on the issues of the GOP proposal to revamp Medicare. Republicans are scrambling to refine their message.

27 May 2011

Blue Cross and Blue Shield FEP pharmacy benefit management program awarded to CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a three-year contract to provide integrated pharmacy benefit services for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Government-wide Service Benefit Plan, also known as the Federal Employee Program (FEP), based on the best overall value.

27 May 2011

Everyone has an opinion about Dems' NY victory impact on Medicare, politics

Sooner or later, Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is — its medical costs are out of control ... not all Medicare cuts are the same.

27 May 2011

Senate Democrats force a vote on House-passed Republican budget, put GOP in hot seat

Just a day after Democrats claimed an upset win in the New York special election to fill a historically Republican-controlled congressional seat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a vote on the GOP budget as a means to force Republicans to go on the record with their support. They responded by standing by the plan to revamp Medicare.

27 May 2011

First Edition: May 27, 2011

Kaiser Health News' Insuring Your Health columnist Michelle Andrews talks with Jackie Judd about the provisions in the health law that provide for free preventive tests. While the law doesn't apply to all insurance plans, it should cut costs for many people.

27 May 2011

IDF applauds Representatives for Medicare IVIG Access Act

The Immune Deficiency Foundation applauds Representatives Kevin Brady and Doris Matsui and Senators John Kerry and Lamar Alexander for introducing H.R. 1845 and S. 960, both entitled the Medicare IVIG Access Act.

27 May 2011

GOP presidential hopefuls offer Medicare, health reform opinions

Pawlenty offers his Medicare policy positions with care while California Healthline looks at steps he took during his tenure as Minnesota's governor to refashion the state's health system. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich vows to repeal the health law.

27 May 2011

Longer looks: Stem cells, vaccinating against addictive drugs, the GOP's budget hatchet man

Krista and Tatiana are not like most other sets of twins. They are connected at their heads, where their skulls merge under a mass of shaggy brown bangs. The girls run and play and go down their backyard slide, but whatever they do, they do together, their heads forever inclined toward each other's, their neck muscles strong and sinuous from a never-ending workout. Twins joined at the head — the medical term is craniopagus — are extremely rare.

27 May 2011

State roundup: Budget battles continue in statehouses

Massachusetts labor leaders have given up their full-throated battle to protect certain collective bargaining rights amid an increasing likelihood that the Legislature will empower local governments to raise the health insurance costs of teachers, firefighters, and other municipal employees.

27 May 2011

Americans happy with Medicaid as it is

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released on Wednesday, more than half of Americans do not want Medicaid funding cut and are skeptical of changing how the federal government funds the healthcare program for the poor.

26 May 2011

First Edition: May 26, 2011

"If 60 Plus' goal was to inoculate Corwin from attacks on the Medicare issue, the effort failed badly. Corwin was beaten soundly by Democratic opponent Kathy Hochul, partly because of voter fears about House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's proposal to sharply transform Medicare".

26 May 2011

Medicare News and Research

In aftermath of Dem's upset special election, will budget balancers now set sights on Medicaid?

First Medicare Meaningful Use incentive dollars issued to physicians using athenahealth EHR

Dynamics in the health care system trigger ACO concerns

AACE applauds legislation for preservation of access to osteoporosis testing for Medicare beneficiaries

Despite Senate vote on House-passed budget, Ryan presses forward on debt reduction

CMS announces dollars doled out to encourage docs, hospitals to adopt electronic health records

Candidate Pawlenty says he would sign Ryan budget plan

Report: Budget impact of health law defunding unclear

States struggle to rein in medical costs

Fallout from NY-26 election makes Dems gleeful, Republicans defensive

Blue Cross and Blue Shield FEP pharmacy benefit management program awarded to CVS Caremark

Everyone has an opinion about Dems' NY victory impact on Medicare, politics

Senate Democrats force a vote on House-passed Republican budget, put GOP in hot seat

First Edition: May 27, 2011

IDF applauds Representatives for Medicare IVIG Access Act

GOP presidential hopefuls offer Medicare, health reform opinions

Longer looks: Stem cells, vaccinating against addictive drugs, the GOP's budget hatchet man

State roundup: Budget battles continue in statehouses

Americans happy with Medicaid as it is

First Edition: May 26, 2011

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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