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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.

Study finds wide gaps in participation in children's health insurance program across country

The hunt for the nearly 5 million uninsured U.S. children who are eligible for free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program just got a road map.

8 Sep 2010

PPTA supports CMS' proposal for hospital outpatient reimbursement for plasma protein therapies

The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) recommends that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalize its Proposed Rule regarding reimbursement to better ensure patient access to vital medicines in the hospital outpatient setting.

8 Sep 2010

Immigrants to Canada and US have less access to health care than natives

In spite of Canada's universal medical coverage, immigrants to that country have less access to health care than native-born Canadians for certain procedures, a new study finds. In fact, immigrants have about the same access as immigrants to the United States who depend on private health insurance or Medicaid and who have less access than native-born Americans.

8 Sep 2010

A Republican win in November could put health law in center of political tug-of-war

The Associated Press looks at whether a Republican takeover of Congress would lead to an impasse with the White House over funding for implementation of the health law. "Republicans could still fall back on the congressional power of the purse, denying the administration billions of dollars to carry out the most far-reaching social legislation since Medicare and Medicaid.

8 Sep 2010

Pawlenty asks for enhanced Medicaid funding

Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Gov. Tim Pawlenty wrote U.S. DHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Tuesday to ask for cash. The letter, in which Pawlenty requested Medicaid and foster care cash, the governor also bashed the federal health care overhaul." He "told the secretary that his order was fueled by concern about 'overspending' and 'unbearable burdens that spending will place on our economy.'

8 Sep 2010

Hospitals hire to keep up with growing diversity, tech challenges

"As more immigrants crowd its waiting rooms, Elmhurst Hospital is joining a growing number of hospitals in New York and across the country that are going beyond hiring interpreters and offering translated paperwork and are adopting practices intended to improve care for an increasingly diverse patient population," The New York Times reports.

8 Sep 2010

Candidates focus on health care politics

As candidates ramped up campaigning over Labor Day weekend, news outlets examined the role of the new health law in the 2010 elections.

8 Sep 2010

Studies examine health care use, quality

The New York Times: A new study finds "that more than half of the 354 million doctor visits made each year for acute medical care, like for fevers, stomachaches and coughs, are not with a patient's primary physician, and that more than a quarter take place in hospital emergency rooms. The authors of the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs, said it highlighted a significant question about the new federal health care law: can access to primary care be maintained.

8 Sep 2010

Watson Laboratories receives FDA approval for Zarah tablets

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for Zarah (drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol tablets) 3 mg/0.03 mg, the generic equivalent to Bayer's Yasmin.

7 Sep 2010

State Roundup: Some premiums soar in Washington State; Building boom for Denver hospitals; Looking for uninsured kids

The Seattle Times: "Whopping rate increases are coming soon for many people with individual health-insurance policies. Most insurers offering individual policies in the state have asked for and been granted rate increases, effective Oct. 1, according to the state's insurance commissioner. Regence BlueShield's rate increase — an average 16.5 percent — was one of the highest.

7 Sep 2010

Berwick planning Medicare test sites for new health care models

The Boston Globe, "Newly installed Medicare chief Donald Berwick, keeping a low public profile after encountering controversy over his appointment, is moving quickly behind the scenes to seed the US health care system with 100 to 300 sites to test new models of caring for patients.

7 Sep 2010

To win senior votes, some campaigns focus on Medicare fears

With Labor Day weekend the traditional start of intense campaigning, some news coverage focused on seniors' health care.

6 Sep 2010

Aetna to help members access care in storm-impacted areas

Aetna is making it easier for members who may be impacted by Hurricane Earl to refill prescriptions and access employee assistance and behavioral health programs. The company is monitoring the situation carefully, and will re-evaluate its medical and dental policies for members as necessary to help them access care in the storm-impacted areas along the East coast.

4 Sep 2010

CMS to withdraw provisions of Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement formula under AMP rule: NACDS, NCPA

We are pleased that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule that would withdraw provisions of what is known as the Medicaid average manufacturer price rule. The proposed rule calls for the withdrawal of existing provisions that define AMP, that determine the calculation of federal upper limits, and that define 'multiple source drug.'

4 Sep 2010

Up to 5 million kids uninsured but eligible for government programs

As many as 5 million uninsured kids are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to a report published Friday in the journal Health Affairs, Reuters reports.

4 Sep 2010

Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million uninsured children in Medicaid, CHIP

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan today highlighted the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million children in Medicaid and CHIP within five years. Since Sebelius announced the Challenge last February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have built an unprecedented coalition of partners, ranging from state governors to national advocacy organizations, who have stepped up to the challenge to enroll kids and educate families.

4 Sep 2010

State News: Ohio, Florida take advantage of federal health funds; Mass. psychiatrists win court case

The Columbus Dispatch: "Gov. Ted Strickland's administration announced today that nearly $200 million in recently freed up state funds will go to Ohio hospitals, community mental health services, and a program which provides medication to low-income residents with HIV/AIDS. … The state money became available after Congress agreed to continue paying a higher share of the cost of state Medicaid programs that provide insurance coverage to the poor.

3 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Heart disease and disability; Medicaid and health reform, mental illness

Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Health Status Of New Medicaid Enrollees Under Health Reform - Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, authors of this paper found "strong evidence that those who will enroll [in Medicaid after 2014] are likely to be healthier than nondisabled adults currently enrolled in Medicaid ... There is, however, a high likelihood of adverse selection - the least healthy and older among the new eligibles will be more likely to enroll.

3 Sep 2010

ECRI Institute's 17th Annual Conference to be held October 19-20, at NIH

With the advent of healthcare reform, the United States is embarking on an unprecedented effort to determine which health care intervention works best for the diagnosis or treatment of a given disease or condition. While comparative effectiveness and personalized medicine evolved separately, these significant trends interface, increasingly, in the healthcare systems.

3 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 3, 2010

Today's headlines contain reports on a new study showing that employers are shifting the increasing costs of premiums onto workers, efforts to get Congress to weigh in on the controversy about federal funding on stem cell research and the difficulty getting uninsured children enrolled in state Medicaid and CHIP programs.

3 Sep 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Study finds wide gaps in participation in children's health insurance program across country

PPTA supports CMS' proposal for hospital outpatient reimbursement for plasma protein therapies

Immigrants to Canada and US have less access to health care than natives

A Republican win in November could put health law in center of political tug-of-war

Pawlenty asks for enhanced Medicaid funding

Hospitals hire to keep up with growing diversity, tech challenges

Candidates focus on health care politics

Studies examine health care use, quality

Watson Laboratories receives FDA approval for Zarah tablets

State Roundup: Some premiums soar in Washington State; Building boom for Denver hospitals; Looking for uninsured kids

Berwick planning Medicare test sites for new health care models

To win senior votes, some campaigns focus on Medicare fears

Aetna to help members access care in storm-impacted areas

CMS to withdraw provisions of Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement formula under AMP rule: NACDS, NCPA

Up to 5 million kids uninsured but eligible for government programs

Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million uninsured children in Medicaid, CHIP

State News: Ohio, Florida take advantage of federal health funds; Mass. psychiatrists win court case

Research Roundup: Heart disease and disability; Medicaid and health reform, mental illness

ECRI Institute's 17th Annual Conference to be held October 19-20, at NIH

First Edition: September 3, 2010

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & toxicology (2nd edition) eBook

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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