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Health on the Hill – July 12, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with KFF's Jackie Judd about President Obama's decision to use his recess appointment powers to nominate Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services continues to anger Republicans who wanted a public examination of Berwick's record (7/12).

14 Jul 2010

FDA to decide on Avandia’s fate Wednesday

Avandia, a drug used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes was approved for use in 1999. However controversies have surrounded it since 2007 when a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steven E. Nissen published a study in the acclaimed New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that the drug significantly increased the risk for heart problems like heart attacks, heart failure and deaths.

13 Jul 2010

Combined behavioral interventions most effective way to reduce heart disease risk

Combining counseling, extended follow-up with a healthcare provider and self-monitoring of diet and exercise is the most effective way to help patients embrace lifestyle changes that can lower their risk for heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) diseases, according to a scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

13 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 13, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include a report about state preparations to cut Medicaid spending as the federal funding stalemate continues and a status check on the start up of high-risk pools.

13 Jul 2010

NavGate Technologies cooperates with Humana Points of Caregiving program

NavGate Technologies, a national leader in providing value-added, smart technologies for caregiving, wellness, healthcare and care-planning initiatives, announces its cooperation with the Humana Points of Caregiving program.

13 Jul 2010

Strategies to prevent HACs, reduce cost of care, improve patient experience discussed at QUEST National Meeting

As healthcare providers prepare for the implications of reform, the more than 200 hospitals participating in the QUEST: High Performing Hospitals collaborative are already achieving the goals of improving patient care and reducing costs.

13 Jul 2010

DST Health Solutions announces 5-I Compliance Accelerator Program

DST Health Solutions, LLC today announced its 5-I Compliance Accelerator Program, designed to help health plans successfully prepare major business systems for compliance with upcoming federal regulations. Within two years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require healthcare organizations to begin using new standards for electronic transactions and within three years new diagnostic and procedure code sets – a regulatory challenge being dubbed "healthcare's Y2K."

13 Jul 2010

Mortality rate of heart failure patients at Loyola is 24% lower than national average

The 30-day mortality rate of heart failure patients at Loyola University Hospital is 24 percent lower than the national average, according to the latest data from the federal government's Hospital Compare report card.

13 Jul 2010

Hospitals adopt advanced computer technology to prevent HAIs

Hospitals that adopt advanced computer technology to identify healthcare-associated infections are more likely to have implemented best practices to prevent such infections, according to research presented today at the 37th Annual Conference and International Meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

13 Jul 2010

Co-morbidities, socioeconomic status impact survival rates in colorectal cancer

Blacks are surviving colorectal cancer at a significantly lower rate compared to whites and Asians due to co-morbidities and their socioeconomic status, according to research by epidemiologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

13 Jul 2010

Behavioral change programs help lower risk for cardiovascular diseases: Scientific statement

13 Jul 2010

HFA announces launch of new Hospice Information Center

Hospice Foundation of America is pleased to announce the launch of its newest educational offering, the Hospice Information Center for families, friends and professionals. This centralized resource is part of "HFA CARES: Hospice Foundation of America's Conversations, Advice, Resources and Education Series," funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and can be found at www.hospicefoundation.org/infocenter.

13 Jul 2010

Rotech Healthcare accepts 17 CMS contracts in Round 1 Rebid of Medicare Competitive Bidding Program

Rotech Healthcare Inc. today announced that it has accepted 17 contracts awarded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the Round 1 Rebid of the national Medicare Competitive Bidding Program. The Round 1 Rebid included nine metropolitan statistical areas. Only contracted suppliers can service Medicare patients for the competitively-bid product categories in these locations, with a few exceptions. The new contracts awarded in Round 1 have a three-year term and are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2011.

13 Jul 2010

Watson Laboratories files ANDA with FDA for generic Renvela for oral suspension

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to market sevelamer carbonate for oral suspension, 0.8g and 2.4g per packet. Watson's sevelamer carbonate for oral suspension product is the generic version of Genzyme's Renvela for Oral Suspension.

13 Jul 2010

Debt unsustainable, Obama commission chairs say; Orszag's successor to be left with a tough job

The Associated Press: The two chairman of President Obama's debt commission told the National Governors Association Sunday that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are sucking up the entire federal discretionary budget.

13 Jul 2010

APIC survey uncovers barriers in adoption of best practices for CRBSI prevention in hospitals

Hospitals still struggle to prevent avoidable healthcare-associated infections, according to a survey of infection preventionists released today by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Half of those surveyed agree that catheter-related bloodstream infections continue to be a problem in their facilities and cite lack of time, resources, and the commitment of hospital leadership as hindering their ability to combat these infections more aggressively.

13 Jul 2010

Molina Healthcare signs definitive agreement to acquire Abri Health Plan

Molina Healthcare, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abri Health Plan, a provider of Medicaid managed care services to BadgerCare Plus and SSI Managed Care enrollees in Wisconsin. The purchase price for the acquisition is expected to be approximately $16 million, subject to adjustments, and will be funded with available cash and/or the Company's credit facility.

13 Jul 2010

Seniors face unexpected medical bills amid disputes between hospitals and Medicare auditors

Elderly patients caught between U.S. hospitals and Medicare auditors pushing to cut costs are increasingly facing tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected medical bills.

13 Jul 2010

Governors press Washington for more help, Mass. municipalities seek new authority to cut health care plan costs

The National Governors Association, meeting in Boston, pressed Washington for more help to states. The "NGA renewed its bipartisan appeal for Congress to pass stalled jobs legislation. ... [Last month,] the House and Senate failed to complete legislation that would have extended, through June 2011, important parts of the federal stimulus program enacted last year to provide unemployment insurance and help offset recession-driven cuts to education, health care and public safety.

13 Jul 2010

AMA finds lobbying power eroding; Payment rates vary

Three months the health law passed, the American Medical Association is finding itself "itself with fewer friends on Capitol Hill and more critics questioning its lobbying savvy," Politico reports. "Its troubles couldn't come at a worse time: It is more dependent than ever on having allies in Congress, thanks to the growing number of Medicare patients.

12 Jul 2010

Medicare News and Research

Health on the Hill – July 12, 2010

FDA to decide on Avandia’s fate Wednesday

Combined behavioral interventions most effective way to reduce heart disease risk

First Edition: July 13, 2010

NavGate Technologies cooperates with Humana Points of Caregiving program

Strategies to prevent HACs, reduce cost of care, improve patient experience discussed at QUEST National Meeting

DST Health Solutions announces 5-I Compliance Accelerator Program

Mortality rate of heart failure patients at Loyola is 24% lower than national average

Hospitals adopt advanced computer technology to prevent HAIs

Co-morbidities, socioeconomic status impact survival rates in colorectal cancer

Behavioral change programs help lower risk for cardiovascular diseases: Scientific statement

HFA announces launch of new Hospice Information Center

Rotech Healthcare accepts 17 CMS contracts in Round 1 Rebid of Medicare Competitive Bidding Program

Watson Laboratories files ANDA with FDA for generic Renvela for oral suspension

Debt unsustainable, Obama commission chairs say; Orszag's successor to be left with a tough job

APIC survey uncovers barriers in adoption of best practices for CRBSI prevention in hospitals

Molina Healthcare signs definitive agreement to acquire Abri Health Plan

Seniors face unexpected medical bills amid disputes between hospitals and Medicare auditors

Governors press Washington for more help, Mass. municipalities seek new authority to cut health care plan costs

AMA finds lobbying power eroding; Payment rates vary

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