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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Arguments in twenty-state legal challenge to health law begin Thursday; Medicaid expansion central to action

Next step, Florida: On Thursday, arguments will be offered in the lawsuit brought by 20 states that seeks to invalidate the law's expansion of the Medicaid program.

16 Dec 2010

CRS report details regs issued since passage of health overhaul

The Congressional Research Service issued a new report examining the processes followed in the development of the new rules put in place since the passage of the health overhaul. Meanwhile, the omnibus spending bill now moving through Congress includes funds for Medicare and Medicaid fraud prevention.

16 Dec 2010

Today's Opinions: Reviewing judge's ruling on health law's individual mandate

The legal case against it almost certainly will make its way to the Supreme Court before the individual mandate is due to take effect in 2014. But considered in its proper context, it doesn't violate the Constitution (12/15).

15 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 15, 2010

Today's major health policy news is full of second-day stories and analysis regarding Monday's health law decision by a federal court judge in Virginia.

15 Dec 2010

CMS increases reimbursement rate for Cylex's immune cell function assay by 267%

Cylex Incorporated® today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nearly tripled the reimbursement for ImmuKnow®, the immune cell function assay FDA-cleared for the detection of cell-mediated immune response in populations undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for organ transplant. This significant increase was granted in a time when the overall CMS clinical fee schedule experienced a comprehensive decrease in laboratory reimbursement rates.

15 Dec 2010

New HHS Strategy on Multiple Chronic Conditions

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today issued its new Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions - an innovative private-public sector collaboration to coordinate responses to a growing challenge.

15 Dec 2010

Report examines ways to improve care for Medicare's dual eligibles

News outlets explore different issues related to Medicare, including the impact the physician payment system has on patients' access and the particular challenges posed by people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.

15 Dec 2010

Medicaid budget challenges continue to plague states, threaten safety net

States across the country continue to face challenges related to their Medicaid budgets and their abilities to provide care to a growing population of poor and disabled people.

15 Dec 2010

Watson files generic Exalgo ANDA, confirms patent challenge from Mallinckrodt

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc. – Florida, filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Hydromorphone Hydrochloride Extended-release Tablets, 8 mg, 12 mg, and 16 mg.

14 Dec 2010

The Affordable Care Act can benefit 18.3 million men and women ages 50 to 64

18.3 million men and women ages 50 to 64 stand to benefit from provisions in the Affordable Care Act, assure that all health insurance provides a standard comprehensive benefit, prevent insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions, and eliminate lifetime and annual limits in health insurance policies, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report released today.

14 Dec 2010

State roundup: New Dem Gov. and Minn. Medicaid; Fla. docs on Medicaid changes; Iowa Gov. eyes long-term care loopholes; Conn. provider rates

Over the past decade, programs that integrate Medicaid and Medicare have resulted in improved consumer satisfaction, better health outcomes and lower Medicaid costs in Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Washington. In each case, states have had to change their Medicaid rules by attaining a waiver from the federal government (Vestal, 12/13).

13 Dec 2010

OpEds: Ryan on 'welfare state'; Wisconsin health care; Facing AIDS; Penn. safety net

Government health programs can help fulfill the mission of health security, but the current structures of Medicare, Medicaid - and now Obamacare - rely on a faulty architecture that puts the federal government in charge on health care decision-making.

13 Dec 2010

Quality of care for ADHD children poor under Medicaid, says new report

Whatever its final incarnation, the recently enacted landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will expand Medicaid eligibility and is expected by 2013 to provide coverage, including mental health care, to an estimated 4.1 million children currently uninsured.

13 Dec 2010

U-M's participation in Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration Project helps save over $15 million

Medicare patients with a host of physical problems are getting better care at the University of Michigan Health System, and U-M staff have saved more than $15 million on the cost of that care over four years.

13 Dec 2010

Arizona's transplant funding cuts continue to trigger controversy; Florida, Kansas focus on state role in reforms; Wisc. plan would elminate tax on health savings accounts

[Arizona Gov. Jane] Brewer's transplant cutbacks have become a rallying cause for Democrats, who call her decision "Brewercare." It's hypocritical for Republicans to support the program's end while opposing President Barack Obama's health-care legislation on the ground it would create death panels run by bureaucrats, said Anna Tovar, a Democratic state representative from Tolleson (Palmeri, 12/10).

10 Dec 2010

Research roundup: For-profit hospitals' readmission rate, containing self-referrals, children's dental health, revisiting McAllen

For-Profit Hospital Status And Rehospitalizations At Different Hospitals: An Analysis of Medicare Data - "Rehospitalization within the first 30 days of discharge affects 1 in 5 hospitalized Medicare fee-for-service patients and costs approximately $17.4 billion in payments annually ... the top 4 factors most related to the risk for rehospitalization at a different facility were initial admission to a for-profit index hospital … lower-volume index hospital (hospitals with <1000 annual discharges) … hospital with a major medical school affiliation … and being disabled."

10 Dec 2010

GOP lawmaker calls government funding bill a 'trojan horse' for health reform

Politics continue to swirl around health overhaul and deficit reduction issues. A new Bloomberg poll, for instance, indicates that the public wants the deficit addressed, but still wants Congress to stay away from Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Meanwhile, a GOP senator targets the catch-all spending bill to fund the government as a "trojan horse" to fund the health overhaul. Off the hill, groups are paying particular attention to the words used in discussing health policy issues.

10 Dec 2010

Deals, expansions and ACOs mark hospital sector activity

Hospitals and health systems are the subject of proposed deals and acquisitions. Meanwhile, the concept of accountable care organizations continues to trigger interest and curiosity within the health care sector.

10 Dec 2010

AARP Pennsylvania thanks House for passage of bill stopping payment cut to doctors in Medicare

AARP Pennsylvania State Director Dick Chevrefils released a statement following today's passage of the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill stops a scheduled payment cut to doctors in Medicare, ensuring seniors can continue to see their physicians for the next year.

10 Dec 2010

Access problems for psychiatric patients to Medicaid medication leads to increased hospital, emergency care

Too often, mental health patients have problems accessing or paying for their prescription drugs under Medicaid. The results — longer hospital stays and more emergency room visits — are hard on patients and costly for the entire health care system, a new study finds.

10 Dec 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Arguments in twenty-state legal challenge to health law begin Thursday; Medicaid expansion central to action

CRS report details regs issued since passage of health overhaul

Today's Opinions: Reviewing judge's ruling on health law's individual mandate

First Edition: December 15, 2010

CMS increases reimbursement rate for Cylex's immune cell function assay by 267%

New HHS Strategy on Multiple Chronic Conditions

Report examines ways to improve care for Medicare's dual eligibles

Medicaid budget challenges continue to plague states, threaten safety net

Watson files generic Exalgo ANDA, confirms patent challenge from Mallinckrodt

The Affordable Care Act can benefit 18.3 million men and women ages 50 to 64

State roundup: New Dem Gov. and Minn. Medicaid; Fla. docs on Medicaid changes; Iowa Gov. eyes long-term care loopholes; Conn. provider rates

OpEds: Ryan on 'welfare state'; Wisconsin health care; Facing AIDS; Penn. safety net

Quality of care for ADHD children poor under Medicaid, says new report

U-M's participation in Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration Project helps save over $15 million

Arizona's transplant funding cuts continue to trigger controversy; Florida, Kansas focus on state role in reforms; Wisc. plan would elminate tax on health savings accounts

Research roundup: For-profit hospitals' readmission rate, containing self-referrals, children's dental health, revisiting McAllen

GOP lawmaker calls government funding bill a 'trojan horse' for health reform

Deals, expansions and ACOs mark hospital sector activity

AARP Pennsylvania thanks House for passage of bill stopping payment cut to doctors in Medicare

Access problems for psychiatric patients to Medicaid medication leads to increased hospital, emergency care

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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