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COBRA, Medicaid subsidies still loom over Congressional agenda

Kaiser Health News staff writer Andrew Villegas provides a status update regarding key health-related legislation:

3 Jul 2010

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: The Quality Of Care Provided To Hospitalized Patients At The End of Life - In this study, researchers used a set of quality indicators to assess the end-of-life care and pain management received by 496 patients who died three or more days after admission at the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center. The authors found "pain assessments (94%) and treatments for pain (95%) and dyspnea [breathing problems] (87%) were performed with fidelity."

3 Jul 2010

Home-health companies' stock takes hit as SEC investigates their Medicare reimbursement

Amedisys and Almost Family, two home health care companies, said Thursday that they are the focus of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into their Medicare reimbursement practices, one month after the U.S. Senate began its own inquiry. "The investigation is related to the SEC probe, which revolves around whether the companies pushed patients into extra, sometimes unnecessary, home-health care visits in order to hit a threshold level that secured them thousands more in reimbursements from the government's health-care program."

3 Jul 2010

Positive reviews of health overhaul implementation so far but potential stumbling blocks lie ahead

The New York Times notes an uptick in support for the health overhaul in polls as parts of the law begin to take effect, as well as some positive reviews - even from conservatives - about the administration's performance in implementing the measures. Stuart Butler, a vice president of the Heritage Foundation, for instance, said, "I give them an A for effort. But there are land mines down the road because the law is fundamentally flawed." The latest poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows 48 percent hold a favorable view of the new law, while 41 percent oppose it.

3 Jul 2010

Consumers examine government's new health care website, health insurers critical

News outlets continue to report on the federal government's new health care website, healthcare.gov, launched Thursday.

3 Jul 2010

Insurer stocks drop; Drugmakers shed 35,000 jobs

News outlets report on a drop in health insurance stocks and the elimination of 35,000 jobs in the drug industry this year.

3 Jul 2010

States anxiously hoping for extra Medicaid funds extension

Kaiser Health News: "Democrats are leaving Washington for their July 4th recess without passing key parts of their health agenda. Among the provisions being left for when Congress returns from a week-long break: enhanced Medicaid aid for states and a subsidy to help the laid off afford to keep their former employer's health insurance.

3 Jul 2010

Hospitals in Iowa, Kentucky and Massachusetts face new challenges, opportunities

Quad-City Times: "A proposed change in Medicare reimbursement could increase payments to Iowa hospitals by more than $12.5 million next year. At the same time, a rule change on reimbursement to doctors could boost their Medicare payments by 5 percent beginning next year. 'This will mean a great deal to Iowa hospitals that have been struggling for many years,' said U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa.

3 Jul 2010

Watson acquires U.S. rights to CRINONE, PROCHIEVE product line from Columbia Laboratories

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today completed the acquisition of the U.S. rights to Columbia Laboratories' CRINONE® and PROCHIEVE® progesterone gel product line and 11,200,000 shares of Columbia common stock.

3 Jul 2010

Watson Laboratories receives FDA approval for Tacrolimus ANDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Tacrolimus 5 mg capsules, the generic equivalent to Astellas' Prograf® capsules.

2 Jul 2010

HMS acquires AMG-SIU for $26.2 million

HMS today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Allied Management Group (AMG-SIU), a leading provider of fraud, waste, and abuse prevention and detection solutions for healthcare payors, in an all-cash transaction. AMG-SIU is based in Santa Ana, California.

2 Jul 2010

HMS purchases $9.8M building in Irving, Texas

HMS today announced it has purchased the building in Irving, Texas where a majority of HMS's employees are located. The purchase price was $9.8 million.

2 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 2, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include the latest developments regarding Virginia's legal challenge to the federal health care overhaul.

2 Jul 2010

MedAptus awarded U.S. patent for "Method and System for Processing Medical Billing Records"

MedAptus®, the market leader in charge capture technologies, announced today that it has been awarded U.S. patent number 7,685,002 entitled "Method and System for Processing Medical Billing Records." The patent pertains to MedAptus' automated process for completely and accurately capturing both professional and facility charges in outpatient settings.

2 Jul 2010

Columbia Laboratories shareholders approve Watson's aquisition terms

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) today confirmed that shareholders of Columbia Laboratories, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRX) have approved the terms and conditions of the previously announced acquisition by Watson of the U.S. rights to Columbia's CRINONE® and PROCHIEVE® progesterone gel product line and 11,200,000 shares of Columbia common stock.

2 Jul 2010

Premier Purchasing Partners awards new agreements for waste management products, services

Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, today announced new agreements for waste management products and services have been awarded

2 Jul 2010

Cambridge Heart announces CMS reimbursement modification for MTWA test

Cambridge Heart, Inc., today announced that effective July 1, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow full reimbursement for both a Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) test and a stress test when both tests are performed during the same patient visit. The CMS update removes a previous restriction that substantially limited reimbursement when a patient underwent an MTWA test on the same day as the patient underwent a standard cardiac stress test, echocardiography stress test, nuclear cardiac stress test, or pulmonary stress test.

2 Jul 2010

Federal officials ask judge to order upgrade of Georgia's mental health system; VA. officials in court today on suit against health law

Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Talks to settle a federal investigation of Georgia's mental health system came down to a single meeting Wednesday." And, "the talks failed. Federal authorities immediately went to court, asking a judge to force Georgia to make substantial and potentially expensive improvements in its state psychiatric hospitals and in its community-based treatment services — the same measures state officials rejected during the negotiations.

2 Jul 2010

HHS launches website to provide consumers with public, private health coverage options

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled an innovative new on-line tool that will help consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable health care coverage. Called for by the Affordable Care Act, HealthCare.gov is the first website to provide consumers with both public and private health coverage options tailored specifically for their needs in a single, easy-to-use tool.

2 Jul 2010

Medicare weighs cost, benefit of covering Dendreon's Provenge for prostate cancer

The announcement that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would do this analysis "was the latest hurdle in Dendreon's push to get its Provenge treatment used. If the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services covers Provenge, that would increase the number of patients eligible and likely force private insurers to do the same.

2 Jul 2010

Medicare News and Research

COBRA, Medicaid subsidies still loom over Congressional agenda

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Home-health companies' stock takes hit as SEC investigates their Medicare reimbursement

Positive reviews of health overhaul implementation so far but potential stumbling blocks lie ahead

Consumers examine government's new health care website, health insurers critical

Insurer stocks drop; Drugmakers shed 35,000 jobs

States anxiously hoping for extra Medicaid funds extension

Hospitals in Iowa, Kentucky and Massachusetts face new challenges, opportunities

Watson acquires U.S. rights to CRINONE, PROCHIEVE product line from Columbia Laboratories

Watson Laboratories receives FDA approval for Tacrolimus ANDA

HMS acquires AMG-SIU for $26.2 million

HMS purchases $9.8M building in Irving, Texas

First Edition: July 2, 2010

MedAptus awarded U.S. patent for "Method and System for Processing Medical Billing Records"

Columbia Laboratories shareholders approve Watson's aquisition terms

Premier Purchasing Partners awards new agreements for waste management products, services

Cambridge Heart announces CMS reimbursement modification for MTWA test

Federal officials ask judge to order upgrade of Georgia's mental health system; VA. officials in court today on suit against health law

HHS launches website to provide consumers with public, private health coverage options

Medicare weighs cost, benefit of covering Dendreon's Provenge for prostate cancer

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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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