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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.

Mass. hospital sale talks seeking to protect employee retirement plans; Conn. Gov. ask for waiver in preexisting insurance plan

Representatives of Caritas Christi Health Care, the private equity firm seeking to buy it, and the attorney general's office are working on a tentative agreement to protect the retirement plans of 13,000 employees and keep the chain's hospitals open for at least five years.

6 Oct 2010

Democrats gain in polling, but health care helps GOP hold 'enthusiasm' edge

Democrats are gaining ground in campaign polling, but Republicans still hold a lead, buoyed in part by their stance on health care as the November midterm elections near.

6 Oct 2010

Watson seeks FDA approval to market rasagiline mesylate tablets

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market rasagiline mesylate 0.5 and 1.0 mg tablets.

6 Oct 2010

Bernanke: Aging, health costs challenge U.S. future

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke issued a new warning Monday about aging and health care costs.

6 Oct 2010

USP announces revision schedule for Model Guidelines Version 5.0

As the Medicare Model Guidelines-a listing of therapeutic categories and pharmacologic classes that Medicare Part D plans can utilize when developing their formularies-undergo revision for the first time in three years, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is announcing its revision schedule and the expanded opportunities for public input as it develops Version 5.0.

6 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 5, 2010

Today's headlines include reports on the midterm elections and recent polls as well as the latest developments related to Medicaid expansion.

5 Oct 2010

Consumer Reports Health publishes rankings of 227 HMOs, POS plans

With open enrollment season now underway, consumers with employer-based health insurance can take advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to switch plans. To help consumers compare health insurance plans, Consumer Reports Health is today publishing rankings of 227 HMOs and Point of Service (POS) plans.

5 Oct 2010

Care Improvement Plus releases 2011 Medicare health plan benefits to improve quality of care

Care Improvement Plus, operator of one of the largest special needs plans in Texas, is standing by its commitment to serve chronically ill and underserved Medicare beneficiaries with the release of its 2011 Medicare health plan benefits in preparation for the upcoming Medicare annual election period, which begins November 15th.

5 Oct 2010

Calif. Governor signs law for oversight of CT scans; Ariz. man's transplant on hold because of Medicaid cuts; Texas pharmacies sue CVS Caremark

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed tough new legislation tightening oversight of diagnostic CT scans, largely in response to the overdosing of hundreds of patients who underwent brain scans for stroke in 2008 and 2009.

5 Oct 2010

Drug companies accused of skirting requirement to submit prices

Drug makers frequently ignore a federal requirement that they submit "pricing data needed to calculate discounts on medications prescribed for poor people under Medicaid, federal investigators say in a new report," The New York Times reports.

4 Oct 2010

Navigant announces acquisition of EthosPartners

Navigant announced today that it has acquired EthosPartners Healthcare Management Group, Inc., a national healthcare consulting group specializing in physician and hospital alignment, physician practice operations management, and physician revenue cycle management. Combining EthosPartners' physician expertise with Navigant's existing healthcare practice capabilities significantly enhances and broadens the solutions that Navigant offers to its clients.

4 Oct 2010

Emdeon acquires Chamberlin Edmonds

Emdeon Inc., a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates, Inc., a leading provider of government program eligibility and enrollment services to over 200 acute care facilities in 31 states. Chamberlin Edmonds' technology-enabled services assist hospitals in lowering the incidence of uncompensated care, reducing bad-debt expense and increasing overall cash flow.

4 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 4, 2010

In this Kaiser Health News column, Louis Saccoccio, executive director of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, makes a case for including health plans' investments in fraud-fighting activities in the medical loss ratio definition. "While the federal government is investing heavily in anti-fraud efforts, private insurers should be given the incentive to do the same. Only through a cooperative and concentrated effort to root out health care fraud can we effectively protect Americans' quality of health care" (Kaiser Health News).

4 Oct 2010

Some Minn. insurers will end certain Medicare plans; Utah issues rule on child-only plans; Fla. law on pain clinics takes effect

Five insurance companies including Minnetonka-based Medica next year will stop providing a particular type of Medicare health plan in much of Minnesota, a state official said Thursday.

4 Oct 2010

Report says drugmakers failing to give Medicaid adequate price data

Drug manufacturers often flout a federal law that requires them to provide the government with pricing data needed to calculate discounts on medications prescribed for poor people under Medicaid, federal investigators say in a new report.

4 Oct 2010

Research Roundups: Racial Disparities at end of life; stopping medicine mistakes; Grand Junction, Colorado's Cost Lessons

Racial Disparities In The Outcomes Of Communication On Medical Care Received Near Death Black patients receive more life prolonging measures and less comfort-directed care at the end of life (EOL) than white patients, such as increased rates of resuscitation, intensive care unit hospitalization, and feeding tube use at the EOL, write the authors of this study that examined whether differences in patient-physician communication contribute to these differences.

4 Oct 2010

Record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, straining state budgets

Associated Press: "A record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, as the recession wiped out jobs and workplace health coverage. A report released Thursday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that enrollment in the safety-net medical insurance program jumped to more than 48 million — a record 15.7 percent share of the U.S. population.

1 Oct 2010

Merck to pay millions over Mass. allegations of inflated wholesale rate

Bloomberg Businessweek: A Massachusetts court ordered the drug maker Merck to pay $4.6 million in damages for inflating wholesale prices for generic asthma drugs. "Massachusetts claimed the companies reported inflated wholesale acquisition-cost prices for the generics, and that MassHealth, the state component of the Medicaid program, would rely on those prices for reimbursements" (McQuillen, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

IASIS Healthcare completes acquisition of Brim

IASIS Healthcare today announced the completion of its acquisition of Brim Holdings, Inc..

1 Oct 2010

New co-branded Medicare Part D prescription drug plan from Humana and Walmart

Today, Humana Inc. announced an innovative Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, co-branded with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., that can provide significant savings on monthly plan premiums and prescription medicine copayments and cost-shares for Medicare beneficiaries, including seniors and people with disabilities.

1 Oct 2010