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Politics surround Berwick, no hearings scheduled for CMS nominee

"Hospital executives who have worked with Dr. Berwick describe him as a visionary, inspiring leader. But a battle has erupted over his nomination, suggesting that Dr. Berwick faces a long uphill struggle to win Senate confirmation. Republicans are using the nomination to revive their arguments against the new health care law, which they see as a potent issue in this fall's elections, and Dr. Berwick has given them plenty of ammunition. In two decades as a professor of health policy and as a prolific writer, he has spoken of the need to ration health care and cap spending and has confessed to a love affair with the British health care system."

23 Jun 2010

Certification rule opens door for health IT vendors, but other regs lag

A final regulation for a temporary program to certify organizations to sell health IT systems will be published Thursday in the Federal Register, NextGov reports. "Certification is important because it gives health care providers the confidence that products will function properly, meet meaningful use criteria and improve quality of care, the article states.

23 Jun 2010

Medicare physician payment cuts could cost millions more in reprocessing

Politico reports that the fight over a "doc fix" — fixing the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors — is "straining not just doctors but also House-Senate relations" and could cost taxpayers millions of dollars. "Having waited for weeks in hopes of a stay, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, is now enforcing a 21 percent cut in physician payments, and an estimated 50 million claims, held back since June 1, will be the first affected."

23 Jun 2010

HHS, insurers, health systems preparing for health law's impact

Politico reports on the Department of Health and Human Services' HealthCare.gov, "the new Web portal that goes live July 1 and is designed to give consumers a place to research and compare health insurance plans. Since it will be the most tangible link to the health reform law for many Americans, health policy experts and administration officials say it's crucial that the site is well-designed, easy to navigate and free of the jargon that makes the field of health insurance so unintelligible to the public. ... When HealthCare.gov launches next Thursday, it will have information about insurance plans that users can sort based on their own situation and their eligibility for public insurance programs, like Medicare, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the new high-risk pools for individuals with pre-existing conditions" (Kliff, 6/22).

23 Jun 2010

Senate Dems explore phase-out of Medicaid enhanced funding

Congressional Quarterly: Senate Democrats are negotiating with "a pair of pivotal Republicans" a slimmed-down version of the tax bill that they were unable to clear last week. "The most significant change being discussed would shrink the cost of a $24.2 billion provision that extends extra federal Medicaid funds to struggling states."

23 Jun 2010

Cardiogenesis' shares quoted on newly launched OTCQB market

Cardiogenesis Corporation today announced that its shares are now being quoted on the newly launched OTCQB market. Launched in April 2010, the OTCQB is a new market tier for OTC-traded U.S. companies that are registered and reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

22 Jun 2010

Walgreen third-quarter sales up 6.1% to record $17.2 billion

Walgreens today announced earnings and sales results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010.

22 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 22, 2010

In this Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "High-deductible health plans and the health savings accounts (HSAs) that link to them are becoming a familiar fixture on the insurance landscape, even though they get mixed reviews from many consumers and health-policy experts" (Kaiser Health News).

22 Jun 2010

Insurance cover in "passive war" environment saves reforestation expert

Conflicts and wars not only take their toll on human lives, but also on the local environment. Whilst much publicity is focused on International efforts to help rebuild Afghanistan's economy and social structures, less well known is the - often voluntary - work going on to rebuild the environment, part of which involves the planting of millions of trees, as a more green environment helps to improve the dusty landscape damaged by years of fighting. More greenery also means cleaner air.

22 Jun 2010

Connecticut is first state in U.S to expand coverage for low-income residents under Affordable Care Act

Connecticut is the first state in the nation to permanently add low-income adults to its Medicaid program under the new Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

22 Jun 2010

FDA to hold workshop on medical device innovation to address unmet public health needs

Each day, medical devices from renal dialysis machines to implantable defibrillators help prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor serious and life-threatening diseases. After taking years to develop, these devices then undergo a regulatory review process before entering the marketplace. It then takes even more time for them to be adopted into clinical practice and for patients to realize the benefits.

22 Jun 2010

Extenders bill in limbo, placing COBRA subsidy and Medicaid enhanced funding in even deeper jeopardy

Efforts to renew the COBRA subsidy extension to help workers who have been recently laid off afford to keep their former employer's health insurance remains in limbo as lawmakers work at a measured pace to extend unemployment benefits and a tax package.

22 Jun 2010

Diabetes disease management program helps Medicare patients reduce cost of medical care: Study

Medicare patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease can significantly reduce both the cost of their medical care and rates of hospitalization by participating in a telephone-based diabetes disease management program, a new study finds. The authors will present their results Monday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

22 Jun 2010

Health reform implementation: Risk pool nears enrollment date; Seniors anxious about Medicare changes; Benefits reportable

As high-risk insurance pools are preparing to enroll the chronically ill July 1, officials should heed the Florida experience. "Plagued by exorbitant medical costs and skimpy revenue, the Florida Comprehensive Health Association, by order of the Legislature, stopped accepting new enrollees in 1991, eight years after it was created." The pool once covered about 7,000 Florida residents; now only a few hundred remain as premiums are double the standard rate.

22 Jun 2010

Congressional hearing examines administration's crack down on health care fraud

The feds have promised to turn up the heat on providers, real and phony, who steal from and game the system. ... Lawmakers and President Barack Obama are demanding that the CMS and their partners in law enforcement do more to stem the wasted healthcare dollars gushing out of the Treasury like oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

22 Jun 2010

Hospitals and researchers test programs to stop readmissions

The Boston Globe reports on hospital readmissions: "In Massachusetts, more than 10 percent of patients are back in the hospital for the same or unrelated complaints within a month, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a Cambridge-based nonprofit think tank. Over two years, more than a quarter of all patients end up paying a repeat visit to the hospital, a new 12-state study by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found.

21 Jun 2010

Positron sells four Attrius PET scanners

Positron Corporation, a leader as a molecular imaging and solutions company specializing in the field of Nuclear Cardiology, announces the sales of four Attrius™ PET scanners to prominent cardiology practices and orders six Attrius™ PET scanners from its joint venture, Neusoft Positron Medical Systems for immediate delivery.

21 Jun 2010

Doctors, Pelosi pan Senate-passed 'doc fix' plan

USA Today: Doctors are limiting the number of new Medicare patients they are seeing, concerned about reimbursements pay from the federal program. "Recent surveys by national and state medical societies have found more doctors limiting Medicare patients, partly because Congress has failed to stop an automatic 21% cut in payments that doctors already regard as too low.

21 Jun 2010

Today's OpEds: Medicare reimbursements threaten health care; Battling health care fraud; A national standard on nurse-patient ratios

The Senate on Friday passed the annual "doc fix" -- but this short-term stay on the reimbursement rates for physicians who treat Medicare patients does not resolve the underlying problem: Those reimbursements are woefully below market. And if Congress does not address this, the much-heralded health-care reform is at risk (Dr. Michael Newman, 6/19).

21 Jun 2010

Select Medical to acquire Regency Hospital

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, the parent of Select Medical Corporation, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding equity securities of Regency Hospital Company, L.L.C., an operator of long-term acute care hospitals, for approximately $210 million, including certain assumed liabilities. Regency is a portfolio company of Waud Capital Partners.

21 Jun 2010