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CMS grants Qutenza J-code to NeurogesX

NeurogesX, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel pain management therapies, today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted a unique, Level II Health Care Common Procedural Coding System (Level II HCPCS), commonly referred to as a J-code, for Qutenza (capsaicin) 8% patch.

19 Nov 2010

Liberator fourth fiscal quarter net revenue increases 51.5% from $7.586 million

Liberator Medical Holdings, Inc. today announced record net revenues of approximately $11.49 million for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2010, and $40.92 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010.

19 Nov 2010

AARP urges Idaho to put families, children & elderly ahead of special interests when tackling budget woes

On the heels of grim news from Idaho's Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee regarding a $340 million shortfall that could mean deep cuts to critical programs and services, AARP is urging state lawmakers to refocus the looming debate to protect the education and health needs of Idaho's families, children and elderly. The Association is calling for lawmakers to get creative when it comes to possible sources of needed revenue to stave off possible cuts.

19 Nov 2010

Insight Health Services sells seven imaging centers

InSight Health Services Holdings Corp. today announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of seven imaging centers. Six centers were located in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico and one imaging center in California.

19 Nov 2010

Mass. regulators and nursing homes fight inappropriate medicating; officials deal with Hawaii doctor shortage

State regulators and the Massachusetts nursing home industry are launching a campaign today to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia.

19 Nov 2010

Study: Hospitals use clout to jack up prices

A new study claims some hospitals command far greater prices from commercial insurers than their nearby competitors, suggesting they have the clout to demand higher rates.

19 Nov 2010

Medicare committee recommends expensive drug for some prostate-cancer patients

A new treatment for prostate cancer called Provenge won a vote of confidence from a Medicare coverage advisory committee Wednesday, suggesting the federal program is likely to pay for the $93,000-per-patient medicine.

19 Nov 2010

Kansas Attorney General-elect announces plans to fight health law in court

Challenges to the federal health law grow but a group of bipartisan lawmakers ask a judge in Florida to let them express support for the measure in that important case.

19 Nov 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb prices cash tender offer for $750 million

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today the pricing terms of its previously announced cash tender offer for up to $750 million aggregate principal amount of certain of its outstanding debt securities.

19 Nov 2010

Berwick's first hearing marked by strong defense of health law, GOP 'relative gentleness'

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Dr. Donald Berwick survived his first Senate hearing yesterday by rebutting criticism of the health law and because Republicans were relatively gentle, The New York Times reports.

19 Nov 2010

Bipartisan task force recommends Medicare and Medicaid overhaul

Congress must overhaul Medicare and Medicaid and end tax-free health coverage to help bring the federal debt to manageable levels, a bipartisan task force said Wednesday.

19 Nov 2010

Expert panel to endorse newly approved therapeutic vaccine for advanced prostate cancer

Provenge is one step closer to being covered by Medicare. An expert panel voted Wednesday to endorse the newly approved therapeutic vaccine for men with advanced prostate cancer.

19 Nov 2010

KHN column – The Medicare doc fix: Physicians again are staring into the abyss

What used to be an annual exercise -- waiting to see whether and by how much Congress would increase payments to physicians under Medicare -- has now become a more frequent and even more frustrating activity for physicians.

19 Nov 2010

Today's Op-Eds: The ObamaCare suit; Fixing physician pay; A federal takeover of Medicaid; Cues from Britain

The voters showed their loathing for the law on November 2, and a large, united legal front of states would increase the chances that the courts find it unconstitutional and preserve our federal system (11/18).

19 Nov 2010

Weight loss surgery ‘sky rockets’ in Australia

According to a new survey nearly ten times more people are resorting to weight loss surgeries in Australia over the past 10 years. In Australia one in five adults are now classified as being obese and this trend shows that public health messages about diet and exercise are not working.

18 Nov 2010

Despite progress in testing Americans for HIV, lack of federal/private insurance impedes expansion

With projections that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates are increasing in some populations, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop -- who charted the nation's policies on HIV/AIDS following the first deaths from AIDS in 1981 -- today issued a stern warning to the public health community: HIV/AIDS continues to be a major epidemic and requires a national mobilization to identify and provide immediate care for many Americans with HIV who remain undiagnosed -- an estimated 200,000 people.

18 Nov 2010

MFA reports that senior and Medicaid markets drive health enrollment gains

The nation's leading health insurers saw an aggregate increase of 363,000 members for the first six months of 2010. Declining commercial enrollment was offset primarily by gains in products offered to seniors and growth in Medicaid business. Administrative Services Only (ASO) enrollment gained 1.4 million members from December 2009 to June 2010. All of the leading health plans saw year-over-year profitability improvement.

18 Nov 2010

CMS issues new rules to protect patients' right to choose visitors during hospital stay

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued new rules for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals that protect patients' right to choose their own visitors during a hospital stay, including a visitor who is a same-sex domestic partner.

18 Nov 2010

National leaders to formulate recommendations for high-value health care system

With the 2010 election over and new Capitol Hill leadership arriving in 2011, it is important to continue the discussion about patient-centered health care. In a sustained effort to seek consensus-driven policies that would build a high-value health care system, the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center will host a symposium Dec. 5 entitled Achieving the Vision: Advancing High-Value Health Care.

18 Nov 2010

Health Net partners with DoD for Major Depression Disease Management Program

Health Net Federal Services, LLC, part of the Government Contracts segment of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), today announced its Major Depression Disease Management Program established in partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) for TRICARE beneficiaries, ages 18-64. TRICARE is the DoD's health care plan for active duty and retired service members and their families.

18 Nov 2010

Medicare News and Research

CMS grants Qutenza J-code to NeurogesX

Liberator fourth fiscal quarter net revenue increases 51.5% from $7.586 million

AARP urges Idaho to put families, children & elderly ahead of special interests when tackling budget woes

Insight Health Services sells seven imaging centers

Mass. regulators and nursing homes fight inappropriate medicating; officials deal with Hawaii doctor shortage

Study: Hospitals use clout to jack up prices

Medicare committee recommends expensive drug for some prostate-cancer patients

Kansas Attorney General-elect announces plans to fight health law in court

Bristol-Myers Squibb prices cash tender offer for $750 million

Berwick's first hearing marked by strong defense of health law, GOP 'relative gentleness'

Bipartisan task force recommends Medicare and Medicaid overhaul

Expert panel to endorse newly approved therapeutic vaccine for advanced prostate cancer

KHN column – The Medicare doc fix: Physicians again are staring into the abyss

Today's Op-Eds: The ObamaCare suit; Fixing physician pay; A federal takeover of Medicaid; Cues from Britain

Weight loss surgery ‘sky rockets’ in Australia

Despite progress in testing Americans for HIV, lack of federal/private insurance impedes expansion

MFA reports that senior and Medicaid markets drive health enrollment gains

CMS issues new rules to protect patients' right to choose visitors during hospital stay

National leaders to formulate recommendations for high-value health care system

Health Net partners with DoD for Major Depression Disease Management Program

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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