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Kansas hospitals report sharp increases in uncompensated care

News outlets report on a dramatic increase in uncompensated care at Kansas hospitals because of the economic downturn and a new study that finds poor families with high-deductible plans often put off needed care.

23 Nov 2010

aAetna announces pilot with MCNT to improve diabetes care

Aetna today announced a pilot with the Medical Clinic of North Texas aimed at improving the care of diabetic patients of Hispanic and African American descent.

23 Nov 2010

Frequent hemodialysis improves left ventricular mass, physical health than conventional treatment

Frequent hemodialysis improved left ventricular mass (heart size) and self-reported physical health compared to conventional hemodialysis for kidney failure, according to the Frequent Hemodialysis Network (FHN) Daily Trial funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

23 Nov 2010

'Don't litigate, innovate.' How to implement a fully funded alternative to the new health care overhaul – and it’s already in the law

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Robert Laszewski writes: "What if a Republican governor and a Republican legislature had the ability to implement their version of health insurance reform and the federal government would have to pay for it? It's a great idea.

23 Nov 2010

New law's health insurance regulations could mean rebates for consumers

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports: "Millions of Americans might be eligible for rebates starting in 2012 under regulations released Monday detailing the health care law's requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on direct medical care.

22 Nov 2010

The conservative way forward on health care

The landslide Republican victory, in taking the House and electing some strong conservatives to the Senate, can be interpreted as a mandate to rein in government spending, and specifically to repeal ObamaCare, as these issues were clearly behind the large turnout. There is still a very real possibility the Supreme Court will find the “individual mandate” to buy private insurance unconstitutional. If this provision is thrown out, it’s hard to see how the law survives, since the mandate is needed to finance it.

22 Nov 2010

Today's Op-Eds: The Ryan roadmap; Democrats and the doc fix; Health reform's failed promises; 'Don't litigate, innovate'

According to tax records unearthed by Bloomberg News, the health insurance lobby secretly gave $86.2 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2009 to try to prevent the health care bill from becoming law. The huge contribution — 40 percent of the chamber's spending for that year — allowed the group to run ads against the bill without tainting the insurance industry, which was negotiating with Democrats on the bill at the same time (11/22).

22 Nov 2010

Employers scrutinize dependents for health coverage

The Wall Street Journal: "More employers are scrutinizing employees' health-insurance dependents in order to weed out ineligible beneficiaries" in an effort to cut costs. "Benefits-consulting companies say interest in dependent audits has been growing for the past few years, but has ticked up more recently. … These companies aim to verify the relationships of dependents such as spouses and children, soliciting documents including marriage and birth certificates. In many cases, employers haven't previously asked employees to verify dependents' eligibility" (Mattioli, 11/22).

22 Nov 2010

Research roundup: Health IT and malpractice; Wide variation in hospital rates; Income and insurance offerings

New England Journal of Medicine: Medical Malpractice Liability In The Age Of Electronic Health Records - "Providers can expect a varied and shifting landscape of medical liability risks and benefits as the adoption of [electronic health records] EHRs unfolds," write the authors who explore the ways EHRs may bring about long-term changes in standard of care and affect the course of malpractice litigation.

22 Nov 2010

Humana to acquire Concentra for $790 million

Humana Inc. today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Concentra Inc., a privately held health care company based in Addison, Texas, for approximately $790 million in cash. Through its affiliated clinicians, Concentra delivers occupational medicine, urgent care, physical therapy and wellness services to workers and the general public from more than 300 medical centers in 42 states.

22 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 22, 2010

Today's headlines offer a range of health policy stories, including more reports on deficit reduction issues, the continuing politics swirling around the health law repeal effort and employers' soaring health care costs.

22 Nov 2010

CDS introduces new genre to online learning content

The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based curriculum for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and managed in partnership by Elsevier/MC Strategies and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, has introduced its latest offering in the form of a new genre of its online learning content.

22 Nov 2010

WHO's guidance to governments on ways to finance health care

Governments worldwide are struggling to pay for health care. As populations get older, as more people suffer chronic diseases, and as new and more expensive treatments appear, health costs soar.

22 Nov 2010

Mass. and Minn. officials struggle with controlling health costs, guaranteeing quality

News outlets report that Massachusetts' health reform hasn't adequately addressed the soaring cost of health care, according to the state's Attorney General.

21 Nov 2010

ACLJ files amicus brief with federal court in Florida on behalf of 63 Congress members

The American Center for Law and Justice, focusing on constitutional law, today filed an amicus brief with a federal court in Florida on behalf of 63 members of Congress and more than 70,000 Americans in support of Florida's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care law. The Florida brief is the ACLJ's latest effort - which includes backing Virginia's legal challenge and a lawsuit of its own - contending the individual mandate forcing Americans to purchase health insurance violates the Constitution.

20 Nov 2010

HRSA awards $8 million for Community Health Center Cooperative Agreements

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the awarding of nearly $8 million for existing Community Health Center Cooperative Agreements.

20 Nov 2010

Repeal, replace and revise are the new health overhaul buzzwords as congressional power changes hands

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 32 other GOP senators officially filed a brief on Thursday in favor of a court case challenging healthcare reform. McConnell filed a 16-page brief in a federal case based in Florida arguing that a key part of the new healthcare law, the requirement that all individuals have health insurance, was unconstitutional.

20 Nov 2010

Health industry players offer insights, expectations about overhaul's impact

Republicans made major gains in the midterm election, running vowing to "repeal and replace" the health law passed with solely Democratic votes earlier this year.

20 Nov 2010

State roundup: California PPOs 'low marks'; Geriatric nursing; Physician shortages

News outlets covered a range of developments including workforce issues in Minnesota and California, and a Kentucky order for insurers to provide child-only policies.

19 Nov 2010

Today's OpEds: Opposing views on hospital medical errors; lesson for Andy Harris; Dems and abortion

If a 747 jetliner crashed every day, killing all 500 people aboard, there would be a national uproar over aviation safety and an all-out mobilization to fix the problem. In the nation's hospitals, though, about the same number of people die on average every day from medical "adverse events," many of them preventable errors such as infections or incorrect medications.

19 Nov 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

Kansas hospitals report sharp increases in uncompensated care

aAetna announces pilot with MCNT to improve diabetes care

Frequent hemodialysis improves left ventricular mass, physical health than conventional treatment

'Don't litigate, innovate.' How to implement a fully funded alternative to the new health care overhaul – and it’s already in the law

New law's health insurance regulations could mean rebates for consumers

The conservative way forward on health care

Today's Op-Eds: The Ryan roadmap; Democrats and the doc fix; Health reform's failed promises; 'Don't litigate, innovate'

Employers scrutinize dependents for health coverage

Research roundup: Health IT and malpractice; Wide variation in hospital rates; Income and insurance offerings

Humana to acquire Concentra for $790 million

First Edition: November 22, 2010

CDS introduces new genre to online learning content

WHO's guidance to governments on ways to finance health care

Mass. and Minn. officials struggle with controlling health costs, guaranteeing quality

ACLJ files amicus brief with federal court in Florida on behalf of 63 Congress members

HRSA awards $8 million for Community Health Center Cooperative Agreements

Repeal, replace and revise are the new health overhaul buzzwords as congressional power changes hands

Health industry players offer insights, expectations about overhaul's impact

State roundup: California PPOs 'low marks'; Geriatric nursing; Physician shortages

Today's OpEds: Opposing views on hospital medical errors; lesson for Andy Harris; Dems and abortion

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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