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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.

Medicare actuary says changes in advantage plans will mean more cost for some seniors

Politico obtained an analysis by Richard Foster, the actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which that the health law will mean increased costs for seniors in Medicare Advantage plans.

15 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 15, 2010

Today's top stories from major news organizations report on the effort by 20 states to challenge the federal health law, a new federal panel to inform consumers about health care options and the struggle to pay for cancer care.

15 Oct 2010

MedSolutions, Corporate Research Group announce initial results from diagnostic accuracy program

MedSolutions and Corporate Research Group today announced initial results from a groundbreaking diagnostic accuracy program, which showed shortened hospital stays, reduced emergency room visits and lower overall medical costs among participants.

15 Oct 2010

Federal judge in Florida allows part of suit against health reform law to proceed

"A federal judge says some parts of a lawsuit by 20 states challenging the Obama administration's health care overhaul as unconstitutional can go to trial," The Associated Press reports. "District Judge Roger Vinson ruled Thursday in Pensacola, Fla., that some parts of the lawsuit need to be heard. The administration had asked him to dismiss the entire lawsuit, which was spearheaded by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum," a Republican (Nelson, 10/14).

15 Oct 2010

Administering ondansetron drug to children is economically advantageous

Two years ago, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that an anti-vomiting drug called ondansetron helps reduce vomiting, the need for intravenous fluids and hospital admissions in children with acute gastroenteritis.Now a new economic analysis led by Canadian researchers, in collaboration with Michael J. Steiner, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at UNC, concludes that routinely giving ondansetron to children with gastroenteritis-induced vomiting would prevent thousands of hospitalizations and save millions of dollars each year.

15 Oct 2010

Study finds vaccination rates in decline for children covered by private health plans

A new report shows that vaccination rates among two-year-olds covered by private insurance plans dipped by almost four percentage points last year." At the same time, vaccination rates for children covered by Medicaid were edging up by less than 1%.

15 Oct 2010

State News: Wash. adults could lose Medicaid coverage for prescriptions, Michigan restores services

Detroit Free Press: "Michigan has reopened through Nov. 30 a program that provides free or nearly free medical care to adults 21 and older. The benefits could help as many as 58,000 poor people — some who couldn't previously get help because the Adult Medical Program, as it is called, had been frozen since May 31, 2009, because of state budget cuts.

15 Oct 2010

FDA approves Gamunex-C for primary immunodeficiency treatment

Talecris Biotherapeutics announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gamunex-C (Immune Globulin Injection [Human], 10% Caprylate/Chromatography Purified) for subcutaneous administration in the treatment of primary immunodeficiency (PI).

15 Oct 2010

Magellan clinical leaders discuss solutions to improve mental illnesses

On the heels of Mental Illness Awareness Week, clinical leaders from Magellan Health Services, Inc., an industry leader in behavioral health care management, are now gathering to discuss a variety of innovative solutions for addressing the unique needs and improving outcomes of individuals with mental illnesses.

14 Oct 2010

States grapple with Medicaid problems in access, improper payments

The Washington Post reports on the District of Columbia's Medicaid program and mental health coverage. "The federal government handed [the city] an opportunity to save $56 million over four years by expanding Medicaid this summer and they jumped at it. They switched 35,000 low-income residents from the city-funded D.C. Health Care Alliance insurance plan to a Medicaid plan and reaped the reward.

14 Oct 2010

Anger, seniors and Ad campaigns: Health reform politics

A poll released Tuesday shows most seniors in Medicare's prescription drug benefit program don't know that the health law "closes Part D's coverage gap," The Hill's Healthwatch blog reports.

14 Oct 2010

NCQA reports two new findings on nation's health care

The new State of Health Care Quality report from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has two new findings about the nation's health care.

13 Oct 2010

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awards HP $26M task order to maintain IDR

HP Enterprise Services today announced it has been awarded a task order worth up to $26 million by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to maintain its Integrated Data Repository (IDR) and provide data quality services to improve the accuracy of Medicare payment data.

13 Oct 2010

MetLife study finds Adult Day Services centers are increasing in the U.S.

There has been significant growth in the number of Adult Day Services centers in the U.S. over the past eight years, according to a new study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute. As reported in "The MetLife National Study of Adult Day Services: Providing Support to Individuals and Their Family Caregivers," there are more than 4,600 Adult Day Services (ADS) centers nationwide, a 35% increase since 2002.

13 Oct 2010

Studies examine risk factors for hospital readmission

In two studies published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the risk factors for readmission to the hospital are examined based upon general medicine inpatients and those with at least two admissions in a six-month period. Alongside clinical factors such as having cancer, chronic diseases such as heart failure or lung disease, or being on high-risk medications, the studies identified other factors which increase the likelihood of a patient being readmitted which could help hospitalists focus in on these groups.

13 Oct 2010

Some states snub health reform; in others, election will decide fate of law's implementation

Politico reports that races at the state level could affect the health law more than congressional races. Governors who oppose the legislation can refuse to set up pieces of the law, such as the state-based insurance exchanges where most Americans will purchase coverage beginning in 2014.

13 Oct 2010

In tight budgets, states cutting back on Medicaid programs for disabled

More than 1.1 million people in Wisconsin depend on Medicaid health programs for the poor. Medicaid provides health care for one in five Wisconsin residents; the group of programs has expanded faster here over the past nine years than in any state except Arizona.

13 Oct 2010

Minnesota Foundation announces collaborative effort to improve health of underserved populations

In a report released this week, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation highlights the accomplishments of a collaborative effort to improve the health of underserved populations through the training and use of community health workers, titled Community health workers in Minnesota: Bridging barriers, expanding access, improving health.

12 Oct 2010

Core administrative expenses of Medicaid plans decline

Core administrative expenses of Medicaid plans fell by 5.2% per member per month (PMPM) in 2009 versus a decline of 1.4% in 2008. After eliminating the effects of changes in product mix, PMPM costs declined by 5.8% in 2009 versus 2.7% in 2008.

12 Oct 2010

DHHS awards Medicare fraud contract to TerraMedica

Healthcare Technology firm TerraMedica LLC announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. TerraMedica will conduct an assessment of fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare claims utilizing a pre-payment predictive scoring system.

12 Oct 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Medicare actuary says changes in advantage plans will mean more cost for some seniors

First Edition: October 15, 2010

MedSolutions, Corporate Research Group announce initial results from diagnostic accuracy program

Federal judge in Florida allows part of suit against health reform law to proceed

Administering ondansetron drug to children is economically advantageous

Study finds vaccination rates in decline for children covered by private health plans

State News: Wash. adults could lose Medicaid coverage for prescriptions, Michigan restores services

FDA approves Gamunex-C for primary immunodeficiency treatment

Magellan clinical leaders discuss solutions to improve mental illnesses

States grapple with Medicaid problems in access, improper payments

Anger, seniors and Ad campaigns: Health reform politics

NCQA reports two new findings on nation's health care

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awards HP $26M task order to maintain IDR

MetLife study finds Adult Day Services centers are increasing in the U.S.

Studies examine risk factors for hospital readmission

Some states snub health reform; in others, election will decide fate of law's implementation

In tight budgets, states cutting back on Medicaid programs for disabled

Minnesota Foundation announces collaborative effort to improve health of underserved populations

Core administrative expenses of Medicaid plans decline

DHHS awards Medicare fraud contract to TerraMedica

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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