Medicare News and Research

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Health Plan One introduces web-based Medicare Quick Quotes Tool

Health Plan One, a general agent in the online health insurance market, has launched a new online product called the Medicare Quick Quotes Tool. This web-based tool helps insurance agents compare Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage plans more efficiently and effectively than in the past.

22 Oct 2010

Dems and GOP each find something to cheer about in health care polls; Justice Thomas' wife against law

An AP-GfK poll has found that the GOP is now leading Democrats on virtually every measure except health care and social security, which is split nearly evenly.

22 Oct 2010

$Medtronic's Xpander II receives FDA clearance for vertebral compression fractures$

Medtronic's Xpander II receives FDA clearance for vertebral compression fractures

Medtronic Inc. today announced Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the Kyphon Xpander II Inflatable Bone Tamp (IBT) for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures with minimally invasive Kyphon Balloon Kyphoplasty

22 Oct 2010

Medicare beneficiaries will find fewer advantage and prescription drug plans

Private Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plan options are fewer for 2011, and some Nashville-area seniors may face higher out-of-pocket expenses for the private insurance.

22 Oct 2010

State races take on health care tone as candidates talk overhaul

The health overhaul is making itself felt in political races around the country.

22 Oct 2010

Atherotech to present VAP Cholesterol Test at OMED 2010

Atherotech Diagnostics Lab will showcase its VAP Cholesterol Test in booth 324 at the American Osteopathic Association's 115th Annual Osteopathic Medical Conference & Exposition (OMED 2010). The gathering of DOs, residents, interns, students, researchers and health care professionals will be held October 24-28 at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

22 Oct 2010

DynaVox releases new additions to Vmax line of communication devices

DynaVox, the leading provider of speech generating devices and symbol-adapted special education software used to assist individuals in overcoming speech, language and learning challenges, today announced the release of two new additions to the Vmax™ line of communication devices, the Vmax+ High Performance and the Vmax+ Battery Efficiency.

21 Oct 2010

Internet searching for health info growing, but not dominant

People still prefer to gather information related to personal health from sources other than the Internet, according to a survey by the Pew Internet Project in association with the California HealthCare Foundation.

21 Oct 2010

More groups challenge Democrats on health issues as GOP lays out repeal clues

Procedural motions that Republicans filed during the healthcare reform debate offer the best insights into which provisions of the law the party wants to repeal first, a top staffer for a senior House Republican told The Hill.

21 Oct 2010

Idaho halts Medicaid cuts for dental care; Georgia and justice department reach accord on mental health services

Gov. C.L. 'Butch' Otter removed a political abscess Tuesday, restoring all previously contracted dental care providers to the state's Medicaid-funded Idaho Smiles program.

21 Oct 2010

HHS did not violate federal law for Medicare ads, GAO says

The Hill Healthwatch: "The Department of Health and Human Services did not violate federal prohibitions on publicity and propaganda with its health reform advertising and technical assistance contracts, the Government Accountability Office said Tuesday. Two HHS television ads, however, 'overstate one of (the law's) benefits,' GAO writes in a letter to Reps. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). The lawmakers requested the office's legal opinion about the ads and HHS's contracts with MIT economist Jonathan Gruber.

21 Oct 2010

Unitedhealth says it will test lump sum payments for some cancer care, reports earnings

Health insurer UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it will test a new way payment method for cancer doctors. The program pays doctors a lump sum payment for providing care during an entire course of care for the disease instead of how it's done now with a fee for each service a doctor provides.

21 Oct 2010

CMS head Berwick praises new center for Medicare and Medicaid innovation

The planned Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has the potential to be the 'jewel in the crown' of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Donald M. Berwick, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

21 Oct 2010

Candidates discuss Medicare, Medicaid spending

News outlets report on the role of Medicare and Medicaid spending in this year's elections.

21 Oct 2010

Genzyme third quarter revenue increases to $1.0 billion

Genzyme Corp. today reported third-quarter earnings growth driven by increased shipments of Cerezyme® (imiglucerase for injection). Patients in the United States began returning to normal dosing levels last month, and patients globally are expected to be able to do so this quarter. Earnings growth in the third quarter was also driven by strong revenue from Lumizyme™ (alglucosidase alfa) and cost reduction measures.

21 Oct 2010

Today's Opinions: The health law and Medicare, issues of implementation; the call for repeal

The reality is that the bill doesn't cut Medicare benefits a dime and doesn't "jeopardize access" for anybody, although it may very well force plenty of seniors to change the plans they're on. It also puts Medicare on sounder financial footing, postponing insolvency for about 12 years.

21 Oct 2010

Atrius selects Sightlines, DxCG Risk solutions for healthcare processes

Verisk Health, Inc., announced today that Atrius Health has selected Sightlines Medical Intelligence and DxCG Risk Solutions to identify, manage, and predict healthcare risk across its commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare populations.

20 Oct 2010

SXC's informedRx PBM unit receives three-year contract

SXC Health Solutions Corp. a leading provider of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) products and services, today announced that its informedRx PBM unit has been awarded a three-year contract valued at approximately $240 million per year with a large Health Plan based on the U.S. east coast.

20 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 20, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports One of the nation's largest health insurers said today it is testing a new way to pay for some cancer treatments, aiming to identify the best medicines and limit profits doctors make by dispensing in-office chemotherapy drugs.

20 Oct 2010

Hospital mortality rates decline by 7.98% from 2007 to 2009

A new independent study by HealthGrades of patient outcomes at America's hospitals found that patients at 5-star rated hospitals had a 72% lower risk of dying when compared with patients at 1-star-rated hospitals -- an enormous gap that has held steady over the past years even as overall mortality rates have improved.

20 Oct 2010