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Aultman Health Foundation selects Courion's Access Assurance Suite

Courion Corporation, leaders in access governance, provisioning and compliance, today announced that Aultman Health Foundation has selected Courion's Access Assurance Suite to improve compliance, enhance customer service and reduce costs by automating user provisioning and password management capabilities.

8 Jul 2010

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

USA Today: Hospital heart attack death rates fell, according to new Medicare data. "Death rates at 4,569 hospitals that treat Medicare patients who suffer heart attacks fell by almost half a percentage point, from a national average of 16.6% last year to 16.2%. Death rates for most hospitals ranged from about 14.5% to 17.9%. ...

8 Jul 2010

Pelosi urges Democrats to talk up health care; Businesses feel early impact of law

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on healthcare reform, betting that it will do Democrats more good than harm in November's elections," The Hill reports.

8 Jul 2010

States, federal government move forward with high-risk pools

The federal government began accepting applications for the high risk pools it will run in 29 states and the District of Columbia last Thursday, PBS Newshour reports. The other 21 states chose to run their own pools and may be on different schedules.

8 Jul 2010

Patients cope with navigating the health care system

Americans who lose employer coverage between now and 2014, when much of the health overhaul kicks in, "may find buying insurance on their own unaffordable." But for those without coverage and who can't afford to buy it "there are ways to cope."

8 Jul 2010

Crooks defraud health care system with fake insurance plans and phony Medicare, Medicaid claims

"Massive unemployment and a changing health care system is creating a breeding ground for con artists." Fake health insurance is one of the "fastest growing scams." Advertisements for such products are "stapled to neighborhood telephone polls, flyers left on your car or maybe you'll get a phone call from someone who's selling health insurance at extremely low rates, as low as $29.99 a month in some cases, says Jim Quiggle of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. The sad truth is that often these bogus policies pay little or nothing on claims, leaving consumers with exorbitant medical bills" (Haley, 7/6).

8 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 7, 2010

Today's biggest health policy news surrounds an announcement by the White House that President Obama will install a new Medicare and Medicaid chief with a recess appointment the bypasses the confirmation process.

7 Jul 2010

UK expatriates no longer entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules

Long term health insurance in another country is an area UK expatriates will often not have considered in any detail, particularly if they were used to the free care available in the UK. The NHS is a residence-based healthcare system. Therefore, once a person has moved permanently away from the UK they are no longer entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules.

7 Jul 2010

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

The Boston Globe: In Massachusetts, "[t]he number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed … despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use. According to state data released last week, emergency room visits rose by 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year.

7 Jul 2010

Some state insurance commissioners push back on Fed premium rate reviews

Politico: Some state insurance commissioners are not happy with a proposal that would give the federal government the authority to centralize premium rate reviews of health insurance.

7 Jul 2010

Obama and High Court at odds; Health law could be at stake

The Los Angeles Times explores the "deep divide" between President Barack Obama's administration and the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts. "The president and congressional Democrats have embarked on an ambitious drive to regulate corporations, banks, health insurers and the energy industry.

7 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 6, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include news about GOP efforts to repeal the health reform law as well as state-related developments.

6 Jul 2010

MAXIMUS to introduce Health Insurance Exchange solutions

MAXIMUS, Inc., a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it has launched its Health Insurance Exchange offerings to help states address the federal regulatory requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

6 Jul 2010

Erectile dysfunction drug user over 40 more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases

Physicians who prescribe erectile dysfunction drugs for their male patients should be sure to discuss the importance of safer sex practices, even with older patients: that is an important implication of a report in the July 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The analysis of insurance records of more than 1.4 million U.S. men over 40 found that those who used ED drugs were more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases than were non-users.

6 Jul 2010

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: The Quality Of Care Provided To Hospitalized Patients At The End of Life - In this study, researchers used a set of quality indicators to assess the end-of-life care and pain management received by 496 patients who died three or more days after admission at the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center. The authors found "pain assessments (94%) and treatments for pain (95%) and dyspnea [breathing problems] (87%) were performed with fidelity."

3 Jul 2010

Parkview refinances $27 million revolving credit line and term loan

Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center has refinanced, in its entirety, a total $27 million revolving credit line and term loan owed to Prime Healthcare Services, ensuring that the facility will remain Riverside's only non-profit hospital.

3 Jul 2010

Insurers continue seeking wary regulator's approval for rate hikes

For most Massachusetts insurers, a standoff with regulators over premium rate increase was left unresolved Thursday evening. Rate caps were maintained — freezing premiums at 2009 rates — for 137 health insurance plans.

3 Jul 2010

State Roundup: Florida to investigate WellCare; Calif. budget cuts; Computer system helps states find Medicaid savings

Nextgov: "A 17-year-old computer data matching system designed to prevent welfare recipients from drawing benefits in more than one state at a time is now helping cash-strapped states save millions of dollars -- but not as originally intended.

3 Jul 2010

Coventry's Fitch ratings unaffected by Louisiana Court of Appeals' adverse ruling

Fitch Ratings commented today that its ratings on Coventry Health Care, Inc. (Coventry) are unaffected by the company's announcement this morning that it will take a $278 million charge against second-quarter earnings related to an adverse ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the state of Louisiana.

3 Jul 2010

Positive reviews of health overhaul implementation so far but potential stumbling blocks lie ahead

The New York Times notes an uptick in support for the health overhaul in polls as parts of the law begin to take effect, as well as some positive reviews - even from conservatives - about the administration's performance in implementing the measures. Stuart Butler, a vice president of the Heritage Foundation, for instance, said, "I give them an A for effort. But there are land mines down the road because the law is fundamentally flawed." The latest poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows 48 percent hold a favorable view of the new law, while 41 percent oppose it.

3 Jul 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

Aultman Health Foundation selects Courion's Access Assurance Suite

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

Pelosi urges Democrats to talk up health care; Businesses feel early impact of law

States, federal government move forward with high-risk pools

Patients cope with navigating the health care system

Crooks defraud health care system with fake insurance plans and phony Medicare, Medicaid claims

First Edition: July 7, 2010

UK expatriates no longer entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

Some state insurance commissioners push back on Fed premium rate reviews

Obama and High Court at odds; Health law could be at stake

First Edition: July 6, 2010

MAXIMUS to introduce Health Insurance Exchange solutions

Erectile dysfunction drug user over 40 more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Parkview refinances $27 million revolving credit line and term loan

Insurers continue seeking wary regulator's approval for rate hikes

State Roundup: Florida to investigate WellCare; Calif. budget cuts; Computer system helps states find Medicaid savings

Coventry's Fitch ratings unaffected by Louisiana Court of Appeals' adverse ruling

Positive reviews of health overhaul implementation so far but potential stumbling blocks lie ahead

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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