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Ryan Medicare plan may split GOP as Senators prepare to vote on it

After denouncing the House Republican budget plan for Medicare as "right-wing social engineering" and "radical change" on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) found himself on the defensive and his nascent presidential bid in shambles.

21 May 2011

Coordinated efforts required to close gaps in preventive behavior: American Cancer Society

A new report from the American Cancer Society details cancer control efforts and outlines improvements as well as gaps in preventive behavior that contribute to cancer mortality.

21 May 2011

Coburn writing his own budget, Sebelius helps Dems refine Medicare message

Sen. Tom Coburn is writing his own budget, which he started before leaving the "gang of six" talks on deficit reduction. Meanwhile, HHS Sec. Sebelius is helping Democrats refine their message on the GOP budget.

21 May 2011

Survey finds consumers face higher health care costs; Employer costs also expected to rise in 2012

Meanwhile, an Associated Press poll finds that college graduates have been hit by the recession — and their health insurance coverage is one of the key indicators.

20 May 2011

OMB review could lock-in ACO rule; Long-term care providers say health law doesn't help with their problems

If there's a fight between CMS and the Office of Management and Budget over the final shape of the accountable care organization regulations, OMB may have an ace in its pocket.

20 May 2011

Medicare politics play out as possible presidential candidates vie for position and in a special congressional election

Medicare is again a hot-button issue as news outlets speculate on how Republican plans to revamp the program could play into the upcoming election season.

20 May 2011

Roundup: Private prison costs; GOP lawmakers in Wis. break with Governor on cuts to senior services

The conviction that private prisons save money helped drive more than 30 states to turn to them for housing inmates. But Arizona shows that popular wisdom might be wrong: Data there suggest that privately operated prisons can cost more to operate than state-run prisons — even though they often steer clear of the sickest, costliest inmates (Oppel, 5/18).

20 May 2011

Health Endeavors releases ACO WebCenter 1.0 and Physician Alignment WebCenter 2.0

ACO WebCenter Version 1.0 is a web-based product developed to assist hospitals, IPAs and physicians with the implementation of a Medicare or Non-Medicare Accountable Care Organization. Physician Alignment WebCenter 2.0 is a web-based product utilized by hospitals to enhance physician alignment with medical staff members. The 2.0 version includes a communications portal and Meaningful Use/EMR Center.

20 May 2011

Reid seizes political opportunity, readies Senate vote on Ryan budget plan

Seizing on a political opportunity, the Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid, told USA TODAY on Wednesday that he will schedule a vote next week in an effort to tie Senate Republicans to a House GOP plan to dramatically revamp the popular Medicare health care program.

20 May 2011

Analysis of 'Gang of Six' tensions: What will the impact be on deficit-reduction and entitlement reform plans?

News outlets examine what led to the exit of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., from this group of negotiators and what the new outlook is for the group to have a positive impact on congressional efforts to develop long-term deficit reduction strategies.

20 May 2011

HealthGrades identifies major flaws in hospital ratings study

The findings of a journal article published in the May issue of the Archives of Surgery are fundamentally flawed and could undermine patients ability to find high quality hospital care, according to HealthGrades. The article, Evaluating Popular Media and Internet-Based Hospital Quality Ratings for Cancer Surgery, compared outcomes for gastrointestinal cancer patients who underwent surgery at hospitals on HealthGrades' "America's 50 Best Hospitals" and US News and World Report's "America's Best Hospitals" lists.

20 May 2011

Longer looks: Tough health care questions for GOP presidential contenders; Robotics help spike use of prostate treatment

For my money, the most interesting thing about Mitt Romney's health-care speech last week wasn't his struggle to defend Romneycare and distance it from Obamacare, but the largely hostile reception of the speech from the right.

20 May 2011

Viewpoints: Coburn on his dropout; Malpractice reform and states

For the past several months I have been meeting with a small group of senators from both parties, informally known as the Gang of Six, that was designed to force the idle — not gridlocked — Senate, and then the House and the president, to enact a long-term deficit-reduction package.

20 May 2011

First Edition: May 19, 2011

Today's headlines continue to analyze the impact of the departure of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., from the 'Gang of Six' on the efforts to address long-term budget issues such as Medicare spending.

19 May 2011

Latest development in Gingrich-Ryan Medicare dust-up: An apology

Newt Gingrich's presidential candidacy is only days old, and more than a decade after he last campaigned for public office, he's clearly shaking off some rust. On Tuesday, the former House speaker stepped up outreach to conservatives in an attempt to backtrack from comments he made Sunday calling Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed changes to Medicare "right-wing social engineering," as Democrats sought to use his remarks to attack the GOP.

19 May 2011

'Gang of six' budget talks hit wall as Sen. Coburn withdraws

The already weak prospects for a bipartisan debt-reduction deal this year dimmed further on Tuesday when a Republican member of the Senate's "Gang of Six," Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, withdrew after months of private negotiations amid differences over changes to Medicare.

19 May 2011

Health law faces legal challenges and political battles

Senate Republicans target the law's Independent Payment Advisory Board and issue a top-10 list of its biggest problems. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat reports on the merits of the "imminent injury" argument that is in play in at least one legal challenge to the law.

19 May 2011

HHS offers new initiatives to add momentum to ACOs

The Obama administration on Tuesday announced three new initiatives to encourage physicians and hospitals to better coordinate care after a key regulation came under intense criticism over the past week.

19 May 2011

Study: 10% of cancer patients fail to fill initial oral oncolytic prescriptions

Ten percent of cancer patients failed to fill their initial prescriptions for oral anti-cancer drugs, according to a new study published jointly today in the Journal of Oncology Practice and American Journal of Managed Care.

19 May 2011

XTRAC Excimer Laser treatment offers new hope for patients with psoriasis

With XTRAC® Excimer Laser treatments, psoriasis patients can say goodbye to the red, dry patches of scaly, thickened skin they have been covering up all winter. Developed by PhotoMedex, Inc., an innovator of medical devices, the XTRAC laser offers new hope to the 7.5 million Americans suffering from this embarrassing and socially isolating disease.

19 May 2011

Medicare News and Research

Ryan Medicare plan may split GOP as Senators prepare to vote on it

Coordinated efforts required to close gaps in preventive behavior: American Cancer Society

Coburn writing his own budget, Sebelius helps Dems refine Medicare message

Survey finds consumers face higher health care costs; Employer costs also expected to rise in 2012

OMB review could lock-in ACO rule; Long-term care providers say health law doesn't help with their problems

Medicare politics play out as possible presidential candidates vie for position and in a special congressional election

Roundup: Private prison costs; GOP lawmakers in Wis. break with Governor on cuts to senior services

Health Endeavors releases ACO WebCenter 1.0 and Physician Alignment WebCenter 2.0

Reid seizes political opportunity, readies Senate vote on Ryan budget plan

Analysis of 'Gang of Six' tensions: What will the impact be on deficit-reduction and entitlement reform plans?

HealthGrades identifies major flaws in hospital ratings study

Longer looks: Tough health care questions for GOP presidential contenders; Robotics help spike use of prostate treatment

Viewpoints: Coburn on his dropout; Malpractice reform and states

First Edition: May 19, 2011

Latest development in Gingrich-Ryan Medicare dust-up: An apology

'Gang of six' budget talks hit wall as Sen. Coburn withdraws

Health law faces legal challenges and political battles

HHS offers new initiatives to add momentum to ACOs

Study: 10% of cancer patients fail to fill initial oral oncolytic prescriptions

XTRAC Excimer Laser treatment offers new hope for patients with psoriasis

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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