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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

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

Medicare News and Research

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

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

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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