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Viewpoints: Ron Paul, USA Today on individual mandate; NYT's Greenhouse on court challenges to health law

Massachusetts leads the nation in health insurance coverage of its citizens, and Texas is dead last. You'd think that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney would be bragging about his role in making his state No. 1, and that Texas Gov. Rick Perry would be embarrassed by how poorly his state is doing. But that's not how the script is playing out … That's odd, though, because the mandate was born as a conservative response to President Clinton's much maligned health reform proposal.

23 Sep 2011

Insurance commissioners plan to challenge efforts to extract more money from Medigap plans

Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners are developing a letter to members of Congress in which they will oppose attempts to extract more money from Medicare enrollees who buy Medigap insurance - an option the president has now backed for new enrollees.

22 Sep 2011

Kansas Medicaid 'imperiled,' says Lt. Governor; audit finds La. Medicaid providers received improper payments

Meanwhile, Texas pharmacists are lining up against the state's push to put more people in Medicaid managed care and payment arrangements for Connecticut's Medicaid medical homes programs are drawing debate.

21 Sep 2011

Research roundup: Personalized info helps consumer decision-making; Racial disparities in knee replacement

Comparison Friction: Experimental Evidence From Medicare Drug Plans – Defining comparison friction as "the wedge between the availability of comparative information and consumers' use of it," the authors determined that providing prescription drug pricing information, even though it was free and accessible in other ways, increased the amount of "plan-switching" in the group to 28 percent compared to 17 percent in another that did not get the individual information.

17 Sep 2011

IHA introduces 'Value Based Pay for Performance' to assure physician accountability

Reflecting the importance of measuring and rewarding both quality and cost-efficiency, the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), now in its 10th year of physician organization measurement and reporting, is taking another leap forward in its efforts to assure physician accountability with the introduction of "Value Based Pay for Performance."

17 Sep 2011

Medicare Advantage premiums to fall 4% in 2012

As premium costs fell, enrollment rose – despite dire predictions from opponents of the 2010 health law that the overhaul would cause enrollment to drop while forcing the cost of premiums to increase.

17 Sep 2011

Survey: State Medicaid programs increasingly reliant on managed care

The survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that states are turning to managed care programs to control their Medicaid costs.

15 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 14, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including lots of talk about the 'super committee' and about the new census numbers regarding the uninsured as well as the second-day analysis regarding some of the controversial comments made during Monday night's GOP presidential primary debate.

14 Sep 2011

Roundup: N.J. Governor opts not to cut Medicaid rolls; Seattle council mandates sick leave

Thousands of New Jersey's working poor will keep their health insurance under a new administration proposal to restructure Medicaid, abandoning a controversial plan that would have drastically reduced the number of eligible recipients.

14 Sep 2011

Cytta completes first client deployment of remote medical monitoring system

Cytta Corp is pleased to announce that we have now successfully completed the first client installation and deployment of our remote medical monitoring system. This installation enables the Company to commence a full scale roll out of its technology, concentrating initially on our clients consisting of payors and providers, such as: Health Plans, Managed Care Organizations, Health Delivery Organizations, Medical Groups and IPAs, located in the Southern California area.

12 Sep 2011

Tenet Healthcare refines 2011 Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA

In advance of scheduled investor meetings and the Company's participation at an industry conference, Tenet Healthcare Corporation today refined its 2011 Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA.

12 Sep 2011

Research roundup: U.S. doctors' pay exceeds foreign counterparts; Medicare Advantage prevents some hospitalizations

Higher Fees Paid To US Physicians Drive Higher Spending For Physician Services Compared To Other Countries -- Researchers focused on primary care visits and hip replacements in the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada, France and Germany and found that, "public and private payers paid somewhat higher fees to US primary care physicians.

9 Sep 2011

Judge halts implementation of La. Medicaid managed care plan

A state judge, granting the request of Aetna Inc., has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals from implementing its plan to shift more than 800,000 Medicaid recipients and their $2.2 billion in claims to private insurers.

8 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Analyzing Texas' health insurance record; advice for 'super' committee; one doc's cancer experience

Targeting waste, fraud and abuse; eliminating unnecessary and duplicative spending; and ending military adventurism need not be accompanied by slashing essential services such as education and shredding our social safety nets - Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

7 Sep 2011

State roundup: Texas disability fight; rights of fetus asserted in Neb.

For Milla Powell, a 12-year-old from Austin with cerebral palsy, the little things make all the difference. Massage therapy to ease her tightened muscles. Recreational programs, in which therapists take her into the community to help her build her social skills. Music therapy to help Milla, who cannot speak, connect without words. But services like these are on the chopping block for thousands of Texans with disabilities - another casualty of the significant budget cuts that state lawmakers passed in May.

3 Sep 2011

AmerisourceBergen completes acquisition of Premier Source

AmerisourceBergen Corporation today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Premier Source, a privately held company that provides consulting and reimbursement services to medical device, pharmaceutical, molecular diagnostic, and biotechnology manufacturers, as well as other health services companies.

2 Sep 2011

Roundup: New health center money in Ill.; groups question insurers on discrimination in Fla.

Gov. Pat Quinn continued his ribbon-cutting spree today, announcing the state will spend $30.5 million to build and renovate 14 health centers across the state that provide care for low-income patients.

2 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Barrasso on employer insurance; Oberlander on austerity, Jennings on 'pick your poison'; Lamm on your mother

Most American workers value their employer-provided health insurance. It gives them the security of knowing they can get the care they need, from the doctor they want, at a price they can afford. All that will change drastically if the president's health care law remains on the books.

2 Sep 2011

Medicaid news: Texas Medicaid dental spending; Ill. providers hesitant on managed care

For the past six months, News 8 investigations have revealed hundreds of millions of dollars of questionable Medicaid spending on braces for children in Texas. Now federal investigators are auditing the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which controls those funds. Taking the lead in the audit is the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

30 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 29, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, writes: "The federal health law calls for a huge expansion of the Medicaid program in 2014 - a potential bonanza for insurers if the law survives court challenges and opposition by Republican contenders for the White House. The expansion will add 16 million enrollees, mostly in private plans, bringing the total nationwide to about 65 million and raising the stakes for controlling costs. As budgetary pressure rises, states are increasingly passing it on to private plans".

29 Aug 2011

Managed Care News and Research

Viewpoints: Ron Paul, USA Today on individual mandate; NYT's Greenhouse on court challenges to health law

Insurance commissioners plan to challenge efforts to extract more money from Medigap plans

Kansas Medicaid 'imperiled,' says Lt. Governor; audit finds La. Medicaid providers received improper payments

Research roundup: Personalized info helps consumer decision-making; Racial disparities in knee replacement

IHA introduces 'Value Based Pay for Performance' to assure physician accountability

Medicare Advantage premiums to fall 4% in 2012

Survey: State Medicaid programs increasingly reliant on managed care

First Edition: September 14, 2011

Roundup: N.J. Governor opts not to cut Medicaid rolls; Seattle council mandates sick leave

Cytta completes first client deployment of remote medical monitoring system

Tenet Healthcare refines 2011 Outlook for Adjusted EBITDA

Research roundup: U.S. doctors' pay exceeds foreign counterparts; Medicare Advantage prevents some hospitalizations

Judge halts implementation of La. Medicaid managed care plan

Viewpoints: Analyzing Texas' health insurance record; advice for 'super' committee; one doc's cancer experience

State roundup: Texas disability fight; rights of fetus asserted in Neb.

AmerisourceBergen completes acquisition of Premier Source

Roundup: New health center money in Ill.; groups question insurers on discrimination in Fla.

Viewpoints: Barrasso on employer insurance; Oberlander on austerity, Jennings on 'pick your poison'; Lamm on your mother

Medicaid news: Texas Medicaid dental spending; Ill. providers hesitant on managed care

First Edition: August 29, 2011

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