Medicaid News and Research

RSS

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.

Insight Imaging signs definitive agreement to acquire eight imaging centers for $8.5M

InSight Health Services Holdings Corp. today announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire eight imaging centers in the Phoenix, Arizona, El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico areas from subsidiaries of MedQuest, Inc. and Novant Health, Inc., for a total purchase price of approximately $8.5 million.

14 May 2010

Federal officials say crackdown on Medicare fraud recovers $2.5 billion

The Associated Press: "The government says it recovered $2.5 billion in overpayments for the Medicare trust fund last year as the Obama administration focused attention on fraud enforcement efforts in the health care industry. Investigators have new tools this year to help crack down on health care fraud, with the Justice Department and the Health and Human Services Department working cooperatively to police companies.

14 May 2010

Today's Opinions: CBO numbers undercut health law promises; Concerns about Berwick nomination; The recission myth

The Democrats' reform is barely out of the gate and the Congressional Budget Office already says its previous cost estimate was too low. Either the bill's supporters lied or they're profoundly ignorant. Either way, they are not fit to serve the country, much less rule it, which many of them seem to believe is their divine right. As noted on these pages and elsewhere, government programs always cost far more than their original projections (5/12).

14 May 2010

First Edition: May 13, 2010

Among today's headlines are reports that some Republican senators are taking aim at President Obama's pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

13 May 2010

Florida weighs next steps for small business insurance exchange; N.J. considers COBRA eligibility expansion; Other highlights

When Republican lawmakers created the Florida Health Choices program in 2008, they billed it as a way to deregulate the health-care market for small businesses. Two years later, Florida Health Choices has still not started offering coverage, and its leaders and lawmakers face a philosophical choice that could determine whether the program survives.

13 May 2010

Prescription costs more likely to keep Hispanics away from pharmacy counter: Study

Drug costs could prevent some people from filling their prescriptions, which can interfere with optimal health care. A new study of Medicare beneficiaries finds that cost concerns are more likely keep Hispanics away from the pharmacy counter than non-Hispanics.

13 May 2010

Proposed cuts in Medicare payments impact access to healthcare: Poll

An independent poll recently conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) shows that an alarming number of physicians will stop seeing Medicare beneficiaries if current payment policies are not reformed.

13 May 2010

FDA warns of side effects from swallowing Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about potentially serious side effects from mistakenly swallowing Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel, an over-the-counter (OTC) product that should only be used on the skin.

13 May 2010

BSX receives CE Mark approval for TAXUS Element Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced it has received CE Mark approval for its TAXUS Element Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System, the Company's third-generation drug-eluting stent technology. This approval includes a specific indication for the treatment of diabetic patients.

13 May 2010

Today's OpEds: Mass. health reform and small business; Mccain's ideas not in Obama plan; Wellpoint's impact on law

The Commonwealth's 2006 health care reform was supposed to help address rising health insurance costs for small businesses. It hasn't — and small businesses are paying the price (Jim Stergios and Amy Lischko, 5/12).

13 May 2010

Medical fraud: 'Unless you're very, very aggressive, you're going to lose a lot of money'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Andrew Villegas reports that "every year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services loses an estimated $65 billion to criminals who defraud the health care system, according to Lou Saccoccio, executive director of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association.

12 May 2010

First Edition: May 12, 2010

Today's headlines include reports about new congressional budget office projections that increase the 10-year costs of the health overhaul law.

12 May 2010

R.I. overhauls Medicaid payments for elderly, disabled; Medicaid delays reported in Kansas

Rhode Island received a waiver from the Bush administration to revamp its Medicaid program for the elderly and disabled, despite concerns from "community health activists [who] feared that it would push some of the neediest onto waiting lists or worse — throw some poor people off the Medicaid rolls altogether.

12 May 2010

CMS will keep a close eye on 'innovation' funding

Funds for new Medicare experiments -- appropriated as part of the health law -- may require special scrutiny to ensure they are spent correctly, a Medicare official said, CongressDaily/NextGov reports.

12 May 2010

Nurses lobby for more protections; Med school enrollment misses target

News outlets are covering medical professionals: a rally to combat the nursing shortage, medical school enrollment shortfalls and internationally-trained doctors.

12 May 2010

First Edition: May 11, 2010

Today's coverage includes more details regarding how the new health law moves forward with efforts to provide health insurance coverage to young adults.

11 May 2010

Minn. negotiators seek compromise to expand Medicaid while a nursing home tax and cuts to a screening program grab headlines in other states

The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: Members of a legislative conference committee in Minnesota "agreed Sunday that expanding Medicaid should be part of the eventual compromise they will take to the House and Senate as early as Monday in a package of health and human service measures to cut the state's budget deficit. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has strongly opposed expanding Medicaid to cover health care for childless adults earning less than 75 percent of the poverty guideline.

11 May 2010

Cancer costs double in 20 years but are still in line with overall health spending, study finds

USA Today: "The cost of treating cancer has doubled over the past 20 years, but those costs are in line with overall trends in health spending. And while more people are getting cancer as the U.S. population ages, treatment has shifted away from hospitals to outpatient settings, finds a study in Monday's edition of the journal Cancer.

11 May 2010

Consumers, officials work to sort out new health law

For at least one state, implementing health reform is starting to appear easier said than done. The Daily Record, a Baltimore legal newspaper, reports, "Maryland's new Health Care Reform Coordinating Council held its first meeting last week, resolving to find the best way to implement provisions of the landmark federal health care overhaul.

11 May 2010

Today's Opinions: The need for federal review of rate increases; Dems and GOP share blame for health costs; A phoney deal on Medicaid

This hodgepodge of controls over premiums needs to be backstopped by a national law that would allow the federal government to block unjustified rate increases where state officials lack the authority to do so. Attempts to include such powers in the newly enacted health care reform law failed (5/9).

10 May 2010

Medicaid News and Research

Insight Imaging signs definitive agreement to acquire eight imaging centers for $8.5M

Federal officials say crackdown on Medicare fraud recovers $2.5 billion

Today's Opinions: CBO numbers undercut health law promises; Concerns about Berwick nomination; The recission myth

First Edition: May 13, 2010

Florida weighs next steps for small business insurance exchange; N.J. considers COBRA eligibility expansion; Other highlights

Prescription costs more likely to keep Hispanics away from pharmacy counter: Study

Proposed cuts in Medicare payments impact access to healthcare: Poll

FDA warns of side effects from swallowing Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel

BSX receives CE Mark approval for TAXUS Element Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System

Today's OpEds: Mass. health reform and small business; Mccain's ideas not in Obama plan; Wellpoint's impact on law

Medical fraud: 'Unless you're very, very aggressive, you're going to lose a lot of money'

First Edition: May 12, 2010

R.I. overhauls Medicaid payments for elderly, disabled; Medicaid delays reported in Kansas

CMS will keep a close eye on 'innovation' funding

Nurses lobby for more protections; Med school enrollment misses target

First Edition: May 11, 2010

Minn. negotiators seek compromise to expand Medicaid while a nursing home tax and cuts to a screening program grab headlines in other states

Cancer costs double in 20 years but are still in line with overall health spending, study finds

Consumers, officials work to sort out new health law

Today's Opinions: The need for federal review of rate increases; Dems and GOP share blame for health costs; A phoney deal on Medicaid

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (2nd Edition) eBook

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

Latest News