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IASIS Healthcare acquires St. Joseph Medical Center

IASIS Healthcare LLC today announced the completion of its acquisition of a 79% ownership interest in St. Joseph Medical Center a 792 licensed bed facility in downtown Houston, Texas.

3 May 2011

Viewpoints: Ryan plan politics; senior care; health care consumerism

Democrats spent the last week of Easter recess bashing the GOP on the Medicare reforms in the Paul Ryan budget, and Republicans tell me they are feeling the heat back home.

3 May 2011

Watson introduces generic version of Concerta

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has launched an authorized generic version of Concerta as part of an exclusive agreement with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

2 May 2011

Teva signs definitive agreement to acquire Cephalon shares for $6.8 billion

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Cephalon, Inc. today announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Cephalon for $81.50 per share in cash, or a total enterprise value of approximately $6.8 billion. The transaction is not conditioned on financing and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.

2 May 2011

First Edition: May 2, 2011

With Congress due back to work in Washington, D.C., after its spring recess, the next stage of the budget battle is expected to heat up. News reports detail the part Medicare and Medicaid will play in the debate.

2 May 2011

Humana reports EPS of $1.86 for quarter ended March 31, 2011

Humana Inc. today reported diluted earnings per common share for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 of $1.86, compared to $1.52 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.

2 May 2011

GOP link of Medicare plan to FEHBP faulted; 'premium support' once had bipartisan support

During the congressional recess, Rep. Ryan and other Republican lawmakers have been selling their proposal to restructure Medicare with what appears to be a poll-tested phrase: It will be similar to a system "just like" what members of Congress have. ... The focus on "a system just like members of Congress and federal employees have" suggests that this would be something better than the typical employee plan.

2 May 2011

Clinton says Supreme Court might strike the individual mandate from the health law

There's a chance that the Supreme Court could rule the so-called "individual mandate" in the healthcare reform law unconstitutional, but on the whole the bill will stay intact, former President Bill Clinton said.

2 May 2011

Childs Medical Clinic uses Greenway Medical Technologies' PrimeSUITE 2011

Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc. announced today that Childs Medical Clinic of Samson, Ala. is the first Greenway customer utilizing the company's integrated electronic health record, practice management and interoperability solution PrimeSUITE 2011 to successfully attest and receive payment notice within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Stage 1 meaningful use incentives program within the Medicare pathway.

30 Apr 2011

Kindred Healthcare responds to CMS' proposed Medicare rule

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today issued a response to the proposed rule issued late yesterday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding Medicare payment rates for skilled nursing facilities for fiscal year 2012.

30 Apr 2011

Hospitals: Another merger; patient satisfaction as a quality indicator

Alexian announces merger with St.Louis-Based Ascension Health while a war of words continues between Community Health and Tenet. Also, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is finalizing the specifics of a new hospital reimbursement method that will link payment to patient satisfaction.

30 Apr 2011

THCA expresses deep concern about CMS' proposed Medicare regulations

In the context of the unfolding Texas budget debate, the Texas Health Care Association today expressed deep concern about a proposed regulation just issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that could result in Medicare-funded nursing home care reductions of approximately $4 billion in 2012.

30 Apr 2011

GOP Medicare plan triggers town hall rage — but is it real?

News outlets examine what's behind the activity during recent town-hall meetings as activists voice concerns about the GOP spending plan, which was advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Experts wonder, though, whether the mounting criticism is organic or rooted in Washington political theatrics.

30 Apr 2011

UAM closes Medicare Part D business sale for $1.25 billion to CVS Caremark

Universal American Corp. today announced that it closed the sale of its Medicare Part D business to CVS Caremark on Friday April 29, 2011 for a purchase price of $1.25 billion plus excess capital relating to the Part D business.

30 Apr 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb first quarter net sales increase 5% to $3.3 billion

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced first quarter results that included strong sales and earnings growth, and several key R&D milestones—most notably U.S. regulatory approval for YERVOY. The company also confirmed guidance for the year.

30 Apr 2011

Coventry first quarter revenues increase 6.6% to $3.0 billion

Coventry Health Care, Inc. today reported consolidated operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

30 Apr 2011

Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care acknowledges importance of fine-tuning Medicare payment system

Expressing alarm about a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that could result in funding reductions as high as $4 billion to seniors' Medicare-funded skilled nursing care, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care today acknowledged the importance of fine-tuning the complex and evolving Medicare payment system in a manner that "gets it right" while also protecting seniors' care quality, preserving caregivers' jobs, and ensuring accountability to U.S. taxpayers.

30 Apr 2011

Washington magazine releases list of peer-selected top physician specialists

Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States announced today that 75 Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group physicians were named among the region's best doctors in Washington Consumers' Checkbook magazine's Spring/Summer 2011 edition.

30 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Suggestions for modifying proposals on Medicare

In recent weeks, our country has continued an important conversation about our fiscal future. Washington doesn't agree on much, but we all agree that we need to reduce our deficit and debt. Reforming Medicare and reducing health-care spending is crucial to meeting that goal. But there's a right way to reform Medicare and a wrong way.

30 Apr 2011

Black cardiac arrest victims less apt to survive at hospitals: Study

Black cardiac arrest victims are more likely to die when they're treated in hospitals that care for a large black population than when they're brought to hospitals with a greater proportion of white patients, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

30 Apr 2011