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Nurses file unfair practice charge with SLRC against Cambridge Health Alliance

The registered nurses of the Cambridge Hospital campus of the Cambridge Health Alliance have filed an unfair practice charge with the State Labor Relations Commission (SLRC) against the hospital for its refusal to engage in good faith negotiations with the nurses in their effort to reach agreement on a new union contract.

8 Jul 2010

MHPA responds to CMS annual report on Medicaid managed care enrollment

Medicaid Health Plans of America, the leading trade association solely focused on representing Medicaid health plans, responded today to an annual report just released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Medicaid managed care enrollment, which showed Medicaid health plan enrollment grew by almost 2.4 million members in 2009 to more than 23.4 million Americans nationwide.

8 Jul 2010

New information about quality of care available in America's hospitals added to new HHS website

Important new information about the quality of care available in America's outpatient and emergency departments, including how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks and protect outpatients from surgical infections was added to the new HHS website HealthCare.gov.

8 Jul 2010

Health Net of California provides health plans that help employers adapt to challenging economy

Health Net of California, Inc. is expanding its efforts to provide health plans that help employers adapt to the still-challenging economy.

8 Jul 2010

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

USA Today: Hospital heart attack death rates fell, according to new Medicare data. "Death rates at 4,569 hospitals that treat Medicare patients who suffer heart attacks fell by almost half a percentage point, from a national average of 16.6% last year to 16.2%. Death rates for most hospitals ranged from about 14.5% to 17.9%. ...

8 Jul 2010

Obama uses recess appointment to install Berwick as head of Medicare, Medicaid

President Barack Obama Wednesday will use a recess appointment to install Harvard Professor Donald Berwick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the White House announced Tuesday.

8 Jul 2010

Finance Committee lawmakers press insurer on failing to pay Part D claims

In a recent letter, Senate Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded that an insurer that was kicked out of the Medicare Part D drug program pay its outstanding claims.

8 Jul 2010

Crooks defraud health care system with fake insurance plans and phony Medicare, Medicaid claims

"Massive unemployment and a changing health care system is creating a breeding ground for con artists." Fake health insurance is one of the "fastest growing scams." Advertisements for such products are "stapled to neighborhood telephone polls, flyers left on your car or maybe you'll get a phone call from someone who's selling health insurance at extremely low rates, as low as $29.99 a month in some cases, says Jim Quiggle of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. The sad truth is that often these bogus policies pay little or nothing on claims, leaving consumers with exorbitant medical bills" (Haley, 7/6).

8 Jul 2010

Australian health makeover over the next few years planned

Australian health is about to get a massive make over according to the four year time schedule and plans announced by the Federal Government. The plans include major reforms that will be undertaken over the next two years.

7 Jul 2010

Wichita Clinic plans to implement Centricity EMR solutions from GE Healthcare

With more than 160 doctors covering 40 specialty care areas, Kansas' largest physician-owned practice is the latest to choose GE Centricity solutions to help drive patient care enhancements and cost reductions.

7 Jul 2010

Changes in Medicare Part B therapy rates likely to reduce Kindred Healthcare's revenues by $11M per year

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today provided its estimate of the revenue effect of proposed rate changes to Medicare Part B therapy services included in the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule. The proposed rule was released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") on June 25. The proposed rule is subject to a 60-day public comment period and is scheduled to become effective January 1, 2011.

7 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 7, 2010

Today's biggest health policy news surrounds an announcement by the White House that President Obama will install a new Medicare and Medicaid chief with a recess appointment the bypasses the confirmation process.

7 Jul 2010

UK expatriates no longer entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules

Long term health insurance in another country is an area UK expatriates will often not have considered in any detail, particularly if they were used to the free care available in the UK. The NHS is a residence-based healthcare system. Therefore, once a person has moved permanently away from the UK they are no longer entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules.

7 Jul 2010

Medicare reimbursement rates for outpatient repair of anal fistulas increased by 6%

Hospitals nationwide will receive six percent higher reimbursement payments for outpatient repair of anal fistulas using Cook Medical's Biodesign® Fistula Plug, a device designed specifically to treat this painful and embarrassing disorder of the lower GI tract. According to new Medicare payment schedules effective January 1st, hospital outpatient surgery departments will receive approximately $2,200 per procedure, while freestanding ambulatory surgery centers will be paid about $1,300 on average.

7 Jul 2010

HFA launches Hospice Information Center for families, friends and professionals

Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) 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 (CMS), and can be found at www.hospicefoundation.org/infocenter.

7 Jul 2010

Cambridge Heart commences enrollment in study to identify ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease

Cambridge Heart, Inc., today announced the first patient enrollments in the MTWA-CAD study (Evaluation of Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Testing for the Detection of Active Ischemia in Patients with Known or Suspected Coronary Artery Disease).

7 Jul 2010

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

The Boston Globe: In Massachusetts, "[t]he number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed … despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use. According to state data released last week, emergency room visits rose by 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year.

7 Jul 2010

Medicare patients battle tight rules while doctors express frustrations about payment issues

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on how high costs and rigorous rules affect Medicare patients and examines the case of Fran Bogom, 86, a widow with mild dementia who broke her arm after falling from a bed.

7 Jul 2010

IRIS wins Premier healthcare alliance's fifth annual Pinnacle Award

IRIS International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of urinalysis systems and consumables for use in hospitals and commercial laboratories worldwide, announced today that it is the winner of the fifth annual Pinnacle Award presented by the Premier healthcare alliance.

6 Jul 2010

AMPS, TC3 announce affiliate partnership to expand healthcare cost containment offerings

Advanced Medical Pricing Solutions and TC3 Health, Inc. recently announced an affiliate partnership to expand the healthcare cost containment offerings of both companies. TC3 is the premier provider of fraud, waste and abuse detection services for healthcare payers throughout the United States. Since 2000, TC3 has provided integrated loss control solutions to health care payers on a pre-payment and post-payment basis through its TruClaim Payment Integrity Platform.

5 Jul 2010

Medicare News and Research

Nurses file unfair practice charge with SLRC against Cambridge Health Alliance

MHPA responds to CMS annual report on Medicaid managed care enrollment

New information about quality of care available in America's hospitals added to new HHS website

Health Net of California provides health plans that help employers adapt to challenging economy

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

Obama uses recess appointment to install Berwick as head of Medicare, Medicaid

Finance Committee lawmakers press insurer on failing to pay Part D claims

Crooks defraud health care system with fake insurance plans and phony Medicare, Medicaid claims

Australian health makeover over the next few years planned

Wichita Clinic plans to implement Centricity EMR solutions from GE Healthcare

Changes in Medicare Part B therapy rates likely to reduce Kindred Healthcare's revenues by $11M per year

First Edition: July 7, 2010

UK expatriates no longer entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules

Medicare reimbursement rates for outpatient repair of anal fistulas increased by 6%

HFA launches Hospice Information Center for families, friends and professionals

Cambridge Heart commences enrollment in study to identify ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

Medicare patients battle tight rules while doctors express frustrations about payment issues

IRIS wins Premier healthcare alliance's fifth annual Pinnacle Award

AMPS, TC3 announce affiliate partnership to expand healthcare cost containment offerings

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