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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.

Health spending proposals, health law repeal divide lawmakers

The Wall Street Journal reports that proposals for cuts in health spending by President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction commission are drawing opposition from health companies, doctors and some consumer groups. "How to tackle health costs has become a sticking point for the 18-member committee, which last week concluded three days of meetings without a firm agreement among members.

24 Nov 2010

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan faces new lawsuits, GOP in Florida looks to malpractice reform to help draw doctors to Medicaid program

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is facing a wave of lawsuits across the state accusing the insurance giant of pocketing millions of dollars in hidden fees from local governments and others to administer their health care plans.

23 Nov 2010

Government orders three Medicare advantage plans to stop marketing, enrolling new members

The U.S. government's Medicare program has ordered three health insurers Universal American Corp. (UAM), Health Net Inc. (HNT) and Arcadian Health to stop marketing to and enrolling new members in their Medicare Advantage health and prescription-drug plans, saying the companies violated regulations.

23 Nov 2010

Landmark comparative study supports more frequent hemodialysis

NxStage® Medical, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today commented on the just- released findings of the Frequent Hemodialysis Network (FHN) Daily Trial that compared in-center hemodialysis administered under a three times per week schedule ("conventional dialysis") versus six shorter sessions per week ("short daily dialysis").

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

Explaining changes to Part D plans, fixing doctors' Medicare reimbursements, fighting hikes in long-term care insurance

News outlets cover various issues related to Medicare, including reports about prescription drug coverage and the continuing debate surrounding physician pay. Meanwhile, long-term care insurance is also an important issue for seniors.

23 Nov 2010

Medicare making changes to acknowledge telemedicine's growing use

American Medical News: Through teleconferencing technology, doctors are able to treat patients who live far away without access to a specialist. "Nationwide, telemedicine increasingly is being used to bridge gaps in access to care in rural and other medically underserved communities that have a hard time recruiting physicians.

23 Nov 2010

UC San Diego designated as Blue Distinction Center

UC San Diego Health System has been designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery and a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. This honor is awarded to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality health care in certain specialty medical areas by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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

States mull Medicaid cuts, dropout possibilities

"Huge budget shortfalls are prompting a handful of states to begin discussing a once-unthinkable scenario: dropping out of the Medicaid insurance program for the poor," The Wall Street Journal reports. Officials in several states, including Washington, Texas, and South Carolina, have publicly pitched the idea.

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

UAHC first quarter revenues increase 20.3% to $2.1 million

United American Healthcare Corporation today announced financial results for the Company's fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, which included higher revenues and improved bottom line results.

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

2011 RAC Summit prepares physicians for new audit landscape

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama this past March greatly expands the audit operations for Medicare and Medicaid programs. At the hub of these efforts are the Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), which are fully operational for the Medicare program, and will expand to include services reimbursed by state Medicaid programs in April of 2011.

22 Nov 2010

CMS notifies Health Net about intermediate sanction on compliance with Part D requirements

Health Net, Inc. announced today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notified the company of its intent to impose intermediate sanctions suspending the marketing and enrollment of new members of all Health Net Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) and stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) contracts, effective November 20, 2010.

20 Nov 2010

Northeast Ohio receives over $497 million in community benefits from Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic provided more than $497 million in community benefit to the Northeast Ohio community in 2009. Significant increases over 2008 were seen in education, community outreach programming, Medicaid shortfall and charity care.

20 Nov 2010

CAP offers complimentary EHR support services for members

To help its physician members and their office administrators make informed decisions when implementing or upgrading an Electronic Health Record system, this month the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. began offering complimentary EHR support services exclusively to its more than 11,000 members.

20 Nov 2010

No agreement on health cost containment at bipartisan commission

The Obama administration's bipartisan commission studying efforts to reduce the nation's debt remained at odds after three days of closed door meetings - on how to deal with health care costs.

20 Nov 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Health spending proposals, health law repeal divide lawmakers

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan faces new lawsuits, GOP in Florida looks to malpractice reform to help draw doctors to Medicaid program

Government orders three Medicare advantage plans to stop marketing, enrolling new members

Landmark comparative study supports more frequent hemodialysis

aAetna announces pilot with MCNT to improve diabetes care

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

Explaining changes to Part D plans, fixing doctors' Medicare reimbursements, fighting hikes in long-term care insurance

Medicare making changes to acknowledge telemedicine's growing use

UC San Diego designated as Blue Distinction Center

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'

States mull Medicaid cuts, dropout possibilities

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

UAHC first quarter revenues increase 20.3% to $2.1 million

First Edition: November 22, 2010

2011 RAC Summit prepares physicians for new audit landscape

CMS notifies Health Net about intermediate sanction on compliance with Part D requirements

Northeast Ohio receives over $497 million in community benefits from Cleveland Clinic

CAP offers complimentary EHR support services for members

No agreement on health cost containment at bipartisan commission

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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