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Rotech Healthcare prices $230 million Senior Secured Notes offering

Rotech Healthcare Inc. announced today the pricing of its offering of $230 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2015. The notes will be sold to investors at a price of 97.189% of the principal amount thereof and will bear a coupon rate equal to 10 ¾ % per annum. The offering is expected to close on October 6, 2010.

30 Sep 2010

Iowa Medicaid Enterprise selects Ingenix to manage Program Integrity initiative

The Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME), a unique combination of State employees and commercial vendors responsible for managing Iowa's $3 billion Medicaid program, has chosen Ingenix to manage its Program Integrity initiative to help ensure that taxpayer dollars are properly spent.

30 Sep 2010

Kaiser Permanente donates Convergent Medical Terminology to IHTSDO

Kaiser Permanente today donated its Convergent Medical Terminology (CMT) to the International Healthcare Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) for U.S. distribution through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) so that all health care providers arge and small can benefit from the translation-enabling technology.

30 Sep 2010

The Courts: Doc-owned hospitals protest health law, new Sutter Hospital challenged

Lawyers for doctor-owned hospitals will make the case today that the health law unfairly curbs their business model before a judge in Tyler, Texas, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

30 Sep 2010

New 'innovation' chief comes from 'model' health care system

Kaiser Health News staff writers Mary Agnes Carey and Christopher Weaver report: "Dr. Richard Gilfillan, the new acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, has quite a juggling act to perform, says Gail Wilensky" (Carey and Weaver, 9/28).

30 Sep 2010

Obama challenged on health care in Iowa meeting

The Washington Post: "Back in Iowa, President Obama got an earful Wednesday from voters about two of his key policies: health care, and his desire to roll back Bush-era tax cuts. ... Standing in the back yard of a resident, Obama stood patiently as one woman described, at length, her fears that the U.S. health-care system will soon resemble that of Great Britain. ... The official topic in Iowa was 'challenges currently facing the middle class,' part of a series of similar economy-driven stops" (Kornblut, 9/29).

30 Sep 2010

Stock prices of home health companies fall after DOJ requests Medicare documents

Home health companies have come under investigation this year by Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission over Medicare reimbursements for therapy visits,The Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Sep 2010

Grants seek to bolster, expand primary care workforce

CQ HealthBeat: "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday announced $320 million in grants to bolster and expand the nation's primary care workforce as part of the health care overhaul law. … Of the $320 million, $253 million will go to six programs administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration The money will be used by states to deal with current and expected labor shortages.

30 Sep 2010

Campaign fear themes: GOP picks Medicare; Dems take Social Security

"Democrats and Republicans are waging an intense fight for the loyalties of older voters, who turn out reliably in midterm elections and whose fears have been stoked this year by the battle over health care," The Wall Street Journal reports. Republicans are telling the the health law "will cripple Medicare by cutting $500 billion from the program," while Democrats say the GOP plans to "gut Social Security." Seniors rely on one program as the payer for much of their health care, and the other for financial support.

30 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Health law leaves children behind; growing fear of accountable care organizations

The child only market is used mostly by poor families who can't afford to insure everybody in their household, or whose peculiar circumstances make it inconvenient for them to cover a child under a parent's plan.

30 Sep 2010

Congress must stop Medicare cuts in November

The AMA, along with medical societies representing 50 states and the District of Columbia and 65 national physician organizations, united to send a strong message to Congress – immediate action is needed to stop the drastic 30 percent Medicare payment cuts looming at the end of this year to protect seniors’ access to health care.

29 Sep 2010

Triple-S Management board authorizes $30M share repurchase program

Triple-S Management Corporation today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a $30 million share repurchase program, which will commence immediately. It will be conducted, using available cash, through open-market purchases and privately-negotiated transactions of Class B shares only, in accordance with Rules 10b-18 and 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

29 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 29, 2010

In today's headlines, reports about the continuing politics surrounding the health overhaul, as both parties vie for the loyalty of older voters and First Lady Michelle Obama steps up efforts to promote the new law.

29 Sep 2010

Health law includes help for young women with breast cancer

Kaiser Health News: "A little-noticed section in the health-care overhaul aims to raise awareness among young women and their doctors about the risk of breast cancer between the ages of 15 and 44. The law directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create education campaigns that will focus on breast cancer and young women, and encourage healthful habits that promote prevention and early detection of the disease.

29 Sep 2010

HHS announces grants to help seniors, people with disabilities and caregivers navigate long term care options

Modern Healthcare: As part of the new health law, HHS is distributing $68 million in grants "to help people navigate their health and long-term-care options. The grants will be going to states, territories, tribal and community-based organizations to help seniors, individuals with disabilities and caregivers make more-informed decisions about their health and long-term care.

29 Sep 2010

Loss of INPP5A gene can predict cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression

The loss of a gene known as INPP5A could predict the onset, and track the progression, of an aggressive type of skin cancer, according to a study published today by the Mayo Clinic, Arizona Cancer Center, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

29 Sep 2010

GAO, Senate question role of hospital supplies middlemen

Group Purchasing Organizations, "which effectively act as middlemen between hospitals, suppliers and vendors," received mixed reports from the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Finance Committee, CongressDaily reports. "Many GPOs are paid through fees from manufacturers and vendors rather than by hospitals directly. As a result, the industry has enjoyed a special safe harbor from anti-kickback laws.

29 Sep 2010

Former Geisinger head to run CMS Innovation Center

CQ HealthBeat reports that Richard Gilfillan, a former head of the Geisinger Health Plan in Pennsylvania, will run the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center that was created by the health law. Gilfillan was chosen Monday. At Geisinger, Gilfillan ran a plan that "many health policy analysts see as a national model for delivering quality, affordable care" (Reichard, 9/27).

29 Sep 2010

Medicare Advantage plans draw attention

The Boston Globe: "Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has notified customers that it will drop its Medicare Advantage health insurance program at the end of the year, forcing 22,000 senior citizens in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine to seek alternative supplemental coverage." The reason is that federal reimbursements for such plans have been frozen, and Harvard's particular Advantage product, a private fee-for-service plan, would have to develop a network of contracted providers for the first time under the new rules (Weisman, 9/28).

29 Sep 2010

New Formulary Forum reports market growth of immune biologics

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that the market growth of immune biologics will come from the expansion of indications for immune biologics in response to limited off-label use and competition for preferred status.

28 Sep 2010