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Longer looks: Conservatives vs. liberals on Medicare - who's winning?

What you really need to know is that Tuesday was a great day in court for supporters of the Care Act and a very tough one for its opponents. That dynamic could easily change within the next six weeks or so when the 11th Circuit, the 6th Circuit, and the 3rd Circuit also hold their oral arguments on Care Act appeals. Either way, we are one step closer to the end of all of this, and you can bet that the justices were paying attention up the road a bit from Richmond.

13 May 2011

Viewpoints: Romney on his health plan; Enthoven, Aaron on Medicare reforms; WSJ on 'millionaire' retirees

Health care is more than just one-sixth of the American economy. It is a source of well-being for individuals and families. We are blessed with much that is good in American health care. But we have taken a turn for the worse with ObamaCare, with its high taxes and vastly expanded federal control over our lives. I believe the better course is to empower the states to determine their own health care futures.

13 May 2011

Mental health initiatives get a major boost

The Federal Government is taking initiatives in introducing preventive metal health steps. One of them is introduction of mental health checks for three-year-olds.

12 May 2011

Florida plan to revamp Medicaid raises questions; Texas hospitals complain about Medicaid rate cuts

To visit the low-rise medical offices dotting the sun-bleached highways of Broward County is to meet doctors and patients who complain of being guinea pigs in a social experiment gone wrong.

12 May 2011

First Edition: May 12, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about the upcoming speech by GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, during which he is expected to confront what many say is his main vulnerability: his home state's health reform.

12 May 2011

Florida's largest insurer enters Medicaid system; Texas may ask feds for block grant

In a potentially huge change, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida plans to enter the Medicaid program and compete in what likely will become a statewide managed-care system. Blue Cross, the state's largest health insurer, has stayed out of Medicaid in the past. But its new stance comes as Florida lawmakers seek to enroll almost all Medicaid beneficiaries in managed-care plans -- and as last year's federal health law prepares to funnel more people into the system.

12 May 2011

Appeals Court judges appear skeptical of health law arguments, pepper lawyers with frequent questions

The first federal appeals court hearing related to the health overhaul offered a preview of how the Obama administration will likely approach the case before the Supreme Court, which is expected to be its final destination.

12 May 2011

HHS announces new initiatives to improve patient care and reduce Medicaid costs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced a series of initiatives to work with states to save money and better coordinate care for the 9 million Americans enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid.

12 May 2011

State roundup: Daniels signs Ind. law to ban Planned Parenthood funding

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican considering a run for president, signed legislation Tuesday to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding in his state, a move widely seen as a bid to woo influential social conservatives. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and the American Civil Liberties Union went to court to try to block the measure from taking effect.

12 May 2011

Viewpoints: Tea Party on entitlement reform; Boehner's 'trillions' demand; California's silver tsunami

In a speech on Monday, the speaker of the House said that Republicans would insist on trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for votes to raise the debt limit. He did not mention a time frame. He also did not offer specifics on how he planned to make those cuts. After the beating Republicans took for their plan to slash Medicare, he clearly decided generalities were politically safer. There is no way to solve the country's fiscal ills without an accurate diagnosis and rigorous prescriptions for a cure. Mr. Boehner's speech was devoid of both.

12 May 2011

Plans for Medicare, deficit reduction continue to be political flashpoints

President Barack Obama will welcome Democratic congressional leaders to the White House this week to discuss the continuing budget debate.

11 May 2011

Analysis: Ryan's GOP budget plan would cause deep reductions in Medicaid coverage

The analysis, advanced by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Urban Institute, could lead to as many as 44 million people being cut from the rolls in the next decade. Meanwhile, Politico reports that, in the background, some states are fast-tracking their efforts to expand coverage — in keeping with the requirements of the health law.

11 May 2011

SunLink Health Systems third quarter net earnings increases to $2,683,000

SunLink Health Systems, Inc. today announced earnings from continuing operations for its fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2011 of $2,515,000, or $0.31 per fully diluted share, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $469,000, or $0.06 per fully diluted share, for the comparable quarter ended March 31, 2010.

11 May 2011

First Edition: May 11, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Hilary Abramson writes: "Now comes the hard part. California, which has had a long, sometimes-tortured history of trying to overhaul its health care markets, beat every other state last year when it passed a law creating a health insurance exchange - an online marketplace where millions of uninsured residents will be able to get insurance".

11 May 2011

AspirinWorks Test now available in greater Boston and surrounding area

A simple urine test that measures aspirin effect is now available in the greater Boston and surrounding area. The AspirinWorks Test is available to eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire area doctors through Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine.

11 May 2011

Medicare, entitlement reform continue to trigger political rifts

The AP reports that, as unlikely as it may seem, the Obama administration and congressional Republicans may share some common ideas regarding Medicare costs. Still, the issue of how to address the programs — and the related proposals — still are causing rifts within the GOP.

11 May 2011

Govt. audit finds antipsychotic drugs often overused in nursing homes

More than half of the antipsychotics paid for by Medicare in the first half of 2007 were "erroneous," the audit found, costing the program $116 million during those six months.

11 May 2011

Single-payer bill slated for introduction

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plans to introduce legislation to establish a single-payer health care system. His measure comes on the heels of a successful push within his state to implement single-payer. This step, however, adds to federal-level interest in allowing states waivers to pursue their own reforms.

11 May 2011

Boehner draws line in sand on debt-limit vote

One of his main themes was the need for "honest conversations" about how to control the costs of the Medicare program — a statement some viewed as a signal that the GOP is still committed to restructuring at least some elements of the health insurance program for the elderly.

11 May 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times warning on women's rights; WSJ on 'Romneycare'; Dutch model for Medicare

The ObamaCare preview that Massachusetts has been conducting for the last several years grows more ominous by the month, not that anyone in Washington is paying attention. A new survey released yesterday by the Massachusetts Medical Society reveals that fewer than half of the state's primary care practices are accepting new patients, down from 70% in 2007, before former Governor Mitt Romney's health-care plan came online.

11 May 2011

Medicare News and Research

Longer looks: Conservatives vs. liberals on Medicare - who's winning?

Viewpoints: Romney on his health plan; Enthoven, Aaron on Medicare reforms; WSJ on 'millionaire' retirees

Mental health initiatives get a major boost

Florida plan to revamp Medicaid raises questions; Texas hospitals complain about Medicaid rate cuts

First Edition: May 12, 2011

Florida's largest insurer enters Medicaid system; Texas may ask feds for block grant

Appeals Court judges appear skeptical of health law arguments, pepper lawyers with frequent questions

HHS announces new initiatives to improve patient care and reduce Medicaid costs

State roundup: Daniels signs Ind. law to ban Planned Parenthood funding

Viewpoints: Tea Party on entitlement reform; Boehner's 'trillions' demand; California's silver tsunami

Plans for Medicare, deficit reduction continue to be political flashpoints

Analysis: Ryan's GOP budget plan would cause deep reductions in Medicaid coverage

SunLink Health Systems third quarter net earnings increases to $2,683,000

First Edition: May 11, 2011

AspirinWorks Test now available in greater Boston and surrounding area

Medicare, entitlement reform continue to trigger political rifts

Govt. audit finds antipsychotic drugs often overused in nursing homes

Single-payer bill slated for introduction

Boehner draws line in sand on debt-limit vote

Viewpoints: NY Times warning on women's rights; WSJ on 'Romneycare'; Dutch model for Medicare

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