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DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force charges 94 people for $251 million in false claims

Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS.

17 Jul 2010

Cleveland Clinic to provide heart care in Chicago; Johns Hopkins increases primary care in D.C. area

Chicago Tribune: "In a move likely to shake up the market for heart care in the Chicago area, the Cleveland Clinic's cardiac surgery program has signed an affiliation agreement with Central DuPage Hospital in west suburban Winfield. The deal, announced Thursday, is designed to enhance the heart care provided at the 313-bed hospital and potentially bring Cleveland Clinic patient referrals at a time when fewer heart surgeries are needed than were a decade ago.

17 Jul 2010

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks first: U.S. News & World Report survey

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks as one of the top five American hospitals -- and the best hospital in the western United States for the 21st consecutive year -- according to a U.S. News & World Report survey that reviewed patient-outcomes data, reputation among physicians and other care-

17 Jul 2010

Capitol Hill Watch: Obama agenda under scrutiny as lawmakers talk Medicare, budgets

President Obama's agenda, which includes a sweeping overhaul of the health care system, is coming under increased political scrutiny as lawmakers struggle with health budget challenges, and consider issues such as medical bankruptcy and improper Medicare payments.

17 Jul 2010

94 indicted in five-state crackdown on Medicare fraud

Law enforcement officers fanned out across five states Friday in what federal officials called the largest Medicare fraud bust ever conducted. Nearly 100 people were indicted in frauds that totaled $251 million.

17 Jul 2010

Research Roundups: Health IT progress; Telecare and cancer pain; State exchanges; Adults with no medical care

eHealth/Commonwealth Fund: National Progress Report On eHealth - This extensive report examines changes in the adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) since 2007, as assessed by a group of more than 100 experts.

17 Jul 2010

First in a series of day-long regional health care fraud prevention summits kicked-off in Miami

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today kicked-off the first in a series of regional health care fraud prevention summits in Miami. The summit brought together a wide-array of federal, state and local partners, beneficiaries, providers and other interested parties to discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud within the U.S. health care system.

17 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: Shift entitlement spending to the states; The lack of a GOP health plan; Battling tobacco

The U.S. fiscal path is unsustainable, primarily because of out-of-control entitlement spending. … At some point, therefore, the economy is due to crash unless Washington reins in spending. One way to avoid this outcome would be to transfer entitlement programs to the states ... failure to slash entitlements could mean a bankrupt economy. When that happens, it's sure to be the poor who suffer the most (Jeffrey Miron, 7/16).

17 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 16, 2010

Indiana's Medicaid chief told lawmakers Thursday that the federal government has largely left states in the dark on implementing the federal health care overhaul because it hasn't yet provided needed guidelines (The Associated Press).

16 Jul 2010

CCP's milestone marks 50% increase in physicians offering hybrid concierge model

Concierge Choice Physicians, the nation's largest hybrid concierge medicine company, announced today the signing of its 155th physician practice and expansion to 16 states, most recently Missouri, Tennessee and the District of Columbia. The milestone marks a 50 percent increase in the number of physicians offering the hybrid concierge model in just one year's time.

16 Jul 2010

Citizens Bank, HealthPlus of Michigan engage employees in workplace wellness program

Two mid-size companies headquartered in Flint—Citizens Bank and HealthPlus of Michigan—recently put their heads together to creatively engage employees in a workplace wellness program.

16 Jul 2010

VCU Medical Center ranked in 2010-2011 Best Hospitals

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center on Thursday was ranked in the 2010-2011 Best Hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report, making it one of 152 medical centers nationwide selected out of nearly 2,000 eligible institutions.

16 Jul 2010

Republicans demand hearing on CMS head Berwick, block other nominees

Senate Republicans are still angry over President Obama's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

16 Jul 2010

Insurers will pick up preventive care costs under new rules

The recommendations of a federal task force on preventive care - once just suggestions for doctors - will soon become coverage requirements for private insurers under regulations unveiled Wednesday by the Obama administration, according to Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post. "Under the new health care overhaul law, insurers will be required to pay fully for services that get an "A" or "B" recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a volunteer group made up of primary care and public health experts."

16 Jul 2010

Public, private efforts to boost health IT connectivity

First, Computerworld reports, "Verizon announced on Wednesday a new cloud-based service offering for healthcare providers that will handle the sharing of patient information electronically between disparate platforms. The new service, called the Verizon Health Information Exchange, consolidates clinical patient data from various providers and translates it into a standardized format that can then be accessed via a secure Web portal" (Mearian, 7/14).

16 Jul 2010

Scientists gather to discuss latest advances in Alzheimer's disease at AAICAD 2010

This week, nearly 4,000 scientists from around the world gathered to report and discuss the latest advances in research on treatments, risk factors, and diagnosis for the health epidemic of the 21st century – Alzheimer's disease – at the Alzheimer's Association's 2010 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Honolulu.

15 Jul 2010

Premier, Xoft execute group purchasing contract

Premier Inc., an alliance of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 67,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care, and Xoft, Inc., the leading provider of FDA-cleared Electronic Brachytherapy Systems, announced the execution of a group purchasing contract. Xoft was awarded an exclusive three-year contract for brachytherapy systems with Premier Purchasing Partners L.P., the group purchasing unit of Premier, Inc.

15 Jul 2010

Liberator Medical Holdings third-quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues increase 53%

Liberator Medical Holdings, Inc. today announces record net revenues of approximately $10.62 million for its fiscal third quarter ended June 30, 2010, representing an annualized revenue run rate of $42.5 million.

15 Jul 2010

Watson Pharmaceuticals signs exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Itero Biopharmaceuticals

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Itero Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a venture-backed specialty biopharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize Itero's Recombinant Follicle Stimulating Hormone. The product is currently in preclinical development as a biosimilar molecule for the treatment of female infertility.

15 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 15, 2010

Headlines topping today's news include reports about the White House release of new coverage rules for certain screening tests and other types of preventive care, and calls from the GOP for hearings on Berwick's recess appointment to run Medicare and Medicaid top today's news.

15 Jul 2010

Medicare News and Research

DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force charges 94 people for $251 million in false claims

Cleveland Clinic to provide heart care in Chicago; Johns Hopkins increases primary care in D.C. area

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks first: U.S. News & World Report survey

Capitol Hill Watch: Obama agenda under scrutiny as lawmakers talk Medicare, budgets

94 indicted in five-state crackdown on Medicare fraud

Research Roundups: Health IT progress; Telecare and cancer pain; State exchanges; Adults with no medical care

First in a series of day-long regional health care fraud prevention summits kicked-off in Miami

Today's OpEds: Shift entitlement spending to the states; The lack of a GOP health plan; Battling tobacco

First Edition: July 16, 2010

CCP's milestone marks 50% increase in physicians offering hybrid concierge model

Citizens Bank, HealthPlus of Michigan engage employees in workplace wellness program

VCU Medical Center ranked in 2010-2011 Best Hospitals

Republicans demand hearing on CMS head Berwick, block other nominees

Insurers will pick up preventive care costs under new rules

Public, private efforts to boost health IT connectivity

Scientists gather to discuss latest advances in Alzheimer's disease at AAICAD 2010

Premier, Xoft execute group purchasing contract

Liberator Medical Holdings third-quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues increase 53%

Watson Pharmaceuticals signs exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Itero Biopharmaceuticals

First Edition: July 15, 2010

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

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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