Medicaid News and Research

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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.

Virginia AG works to increase outpatient treatment for mentally ill; Iowa hospitals oppose Medicare fraud bill

News outlets report on health care developments in Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Iowa, Maryland, Maine and Michigan.

5 Feb 2010

Majority of rural hospital stays are covered by Medicare

Medicare patients accounted for almost half of all stays (45 percent) at rural hospitals in 2007, while the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who were admitted to urban hospitals was considerably lower (35 percent) , according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

5 Feb 2010

Health spending consumes more of U.S. economy, will tip toward government

A new report by federal actuaries shows government programs will pay for more than half of all U.S. health care spending by 2012, and that total spending on health grew as a share of the economy by 1.1 percent last year to 17.3 percent, the largest leap ever, the Los Angeles Times reports.

4 Feb 2010

Obama tries to bridge Democratic divide on health reform

Speaking with Senate Democrats Wednesday, President Obama "suggested that Republicans could be enlisted to play at least some role in negotiating a final bill, The Washington Post reports.

4 Feb 2010

Medicaid cuts, past and proposed, a concern to businesses and patient advocates

Kansas Health Institute: "The Kansas Hospital Association will throw its lobbying clout behind a proposed increase in the state tobacco tax to restore a cut in the Medicaid rates paid to providers" (McLean, 2/3).

4 Feb 2010

Clinic closure leaves indigent dialysis patients looking for treatment

A clinic closure in Atlanta has patients and clinic officials struggling to find new providers that will treat low-income patients who need kidney dialysis, The Associated Press reports.

4 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 4, 2010

Health care spending is taking an increasingly big bite out of the nation's economy, according to today's headlines.

4 Feb 2010

Secretaries to release new report on children’s health insurance

One year after President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit the Mazique Parent Child Center to discuss efforts to identify and enroll children in health coverage and announce new steps the Departments are taking to insure more kids.

4 Feb 2010

Closing funding gap for federal viral hepatitis education, screening and surveillance programs stops liver cancer

With most liver cancer caused by undetected or untreated hepatitis B or C viral infection, the 22,000 new cases of liver cancer that are diagnosed each year could be dramatically reduced if Congress took decisive action to close the funding gap for federal viral hepatitis education, screening, and surveillance programs, the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) said today.

4 Feb 2010

Surgery pricing secrets: The challenges patients face

Patients are the losers in both the Democratic and Republican versions of the health care reform bills. Proposed health care reform won't help patients find out how much health care costs before they get care and many hospitals aren't set up to help.

4 Feb 2010

Proposals to reduce tax deductions for charitable donations will harm fundraising for nonprofit hospitals

President Obama's budget proposals to reduce tax deductions for charitable donations and freeze discretionary spending will harm fundraising for nonprofit hospitals by thwarting giving by wealthy donors and drying up funds meant to help the poor and underinsured, according to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy whose members direct fundraising for some 2,200 hospitals and health care systems across the U.S. and Canada.

4 Feb 2010

AAUCM recognizes the benefits of PHT's A-Claim medical payment solution

The American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (AAUCM) has begun a sponsorship of the A-Claim™ medical payment solution that includes discounts on A-Claim for all AAUCM members.

4 Feb 2010

State round up: Florida considers eliminating popular Medicaid plan; State program for low-income adults changing in Minn.

e year the state of Florida eliminates its popular MediPass program, which gives more than half a million Medicaid recipients, mostly aged and disabled Floridians, an alternative to HMOs. Hints of its demise showed up in the governor's budget and letters from a powerful lawmaker.

4 Feb 2010

Tough economy adds stress to hospitals; Community health centers help fill gaps

Hospitals get mixed marks while many suffer from the effects of the struggling economy. Meanwhile, community health centers increasingly provide more care and help fill in health care gaps.

4 Feb 2010

IBM announces definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems

IBM today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems, a market leader in data integrity software for information sharing among healthcare and government organizations. Initiate's software helps healthcare clients work more intelligently and efficiently with timely access to patient and clinical data. It also enables governments to share information across multiple agencies to better serve citizens.

3 Feb 2010

Banner Health to use Premier's Web-based labor benchmarking solution

Banner Health is expanding its relationship with the Premier healthcare alliance to include Premier’s OperationsAdvisor® (OA) Web-based labor benchmarking solution.

3 Feb 2010

Survey reports high levels of satisfaction, awareness and use of Healthy Together program

The latest Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) EqualityCare Provider Satisfaction Survey reports high levels of satisfaction, awareness and use of the Healthy Together program. The program provides health coaching services that reinforce treatment delivered by Wyoming practitioners to Medicaid recipients, as well as educational and consultation services that support their practices.

3 Feb 2010

Investigation: Washington State moves Medicaid nursing home patients to adult family homes

The Seattle Times investigates Washington's practice of relocating some Medicaid patients from nursing homes to adult family homes.

3 Feb 2010

Cognosante and Fox Systems announce merger

Fox Systems, a leader in Medicaid and HIPAA, and Cognosante, a leader in health information interoperability, today announced that the two companies have merged effective January 1, 2010. The combined company will be known as Cognosante, LLC, with Fox Systems operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cognosante.

3 Feb 2010

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Ohio's seven Medicaid managed care plans this month will make changes in the prescription drug plans that cover about 1.5 million people, although many of those beneficiaries will not face increased costs.

3 Feb 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Virginia AG works to increase outpatient treatment for mentally ill; Iowa hospitals oppose Medicare fraud bill

Majority of rural hospital stays are covered by Medicare

Health spending consumes more of U.S. economy, will tip toward government

Obama tries to bridge Democratic divide on health reform

Medicaid cuts, past and proposed, a concern to businesses and patient advocates

Clinic closure leaves indigent dialysis patients looking for treatment

First Edition: February 4, 2010

Secretaries to release new report on children’s health insurance

Closing funding gap for federal viral hepatitis education, screening and surveillance programs stops liver cancer

Surgery pricing secrets: The challenges patients face

Proposals to reduce tax deductions for charitable donations will harm fundraising for nonprofit hospitals

AAUCM recognizes the benefits of PHT's A-Claim medical payment solution

State round up: Florida considers eliminating popular Medicaid plan; State program for low-income adults changing in Minn.

Tough economy adds stress to hospitals; Community health centers help fill gaps

IBM announces definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems

Banner Health to use Premier's Web-based labor benchmarking solution

Survey reports high levels of satisfaction, awareness and use of Healthy Together program

Investigation: Washington State moves Medicaid nursing home patients to adult family homes

Cognosante and Fox Systems announce merger

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

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