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Today's OpEds: Public opinion and health reform; Hospitals and cost cuts; Medicare fraud 'gusher'

Less than four months after Congress approved historic health care reform legislation, the Obama administration has been making good progress in bringing some early benefits to fruition and issuing rules to guide the reform process. Despite all of the critics' hype and scare tactics, some polls suggest that the public perception of reform is slowly improving (7/18).

19 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 19, 2010

Today's headlines include the latest news regarding the politics of implementing health reform as well as developments from the international AIDS conference now underway in Vienna.

19 Jul 2010

Sen. Roberts lashes out at recess appointment of Berwick

"Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts is taking aim at President Barack Obama for making a recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick as the new head of the federal agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid," CNN reported.

19 Jul 2010

AHRQ: 12M people with mental health, substance abuse problems visited emergency department in 2007

Nearly 12 million visits made to U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2007 involved people with a mental disorder, substance abuse problem, or both, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This accounts for one in eight of the 95 million visits to emergency departments by adults that year.

17 Jul 2010

Montana hospitals to get increased Medicare payments; Federal funding for New Orleans health clinics is expiring

"Come this fall, several of Montana's hospitals will start benefitting financially from an obscure provision in the federal health reform bill that ups Medicare payments in 'frontier states.' It's worth up to $4.5 million a year for some of Montana's largest hospitals, which for years have been getting paid less for Medicare-covered patients than hospitals in urban areas. Hospitals in Billings, Missoula and Kalispell are the big beneficiaries. While the money may not seem like much in Montana's multibillion-dollar health industry, it's certainly helpful, hospital executives say — and it's part of the bill's overall effort to improve what many believe is an imperfect system of paying for health care" (Dennison, 7/15).

17 Jul 2010

Patient advocacy groups, home medical associations call for end to Medicare competitive bidding program

In a letter signed by 58 patient advocacy groups and home medical equipment associations, the American Association for Homecare urged Congress to pass H.R. 3790, a bill to repeal the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment in a budget-neutral manner. The bill currently has 252 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

17 Jul 2010

New Jersey District Court denies Teva's motion to overturn jury verdict in generic Protonix litigation

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied Teva's motion to overturn an April 23, 2010, jury verdict finding the patent in suit not invalid. The Court also denied Wyeth and Nycomed's request for FDA to reset the date of Teva's final approval to January 2011, based on the fact that Teva has patent defenses remaining at the District Court, including patent misuse.

17 Jul 2010

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

Medicare News and Research

Today's OpEds: Public opinion and health reform; Hospitals and cost cuts; Medicare fraud 'gusher'

First Edition: July 19, 2010

Sen. Roberts lashes out at recess appointment of Berwick

AHRQ: 12M people with mental health, substance abuse problems visited emergency department in 2007

Montana hospitals to get increased Medicare payments; Federal funding for New Orleans health clinics is expiring

Patient advocacy groups, home medical associations call for end to Medicare competitive bidding program

New Jersey District Court denies Teva's motion to overturn jury verdict in generic Protonix litigation

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

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