Medicare News and Research

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First Edition: June 21, 2010

Today's news includes an exploration of the impact of Medicare payment rates on physicians, an analysis of the fate of the COBRA subsidy and how an innovation may offer a medical malpractice fix.

21 Jun 2010

MediConnect Global's PHR system now compatible with a wide array of mobile devices

MediConnect Global Inc. today announced its popular consumer web-based personal health record system is now compatible with a wide array of mobile devices including the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and most Google Android and HP/Palm WebOS smartphones.

21 Jun 2010

Thomson Reuters identifies top 10 U.S. health systems from second annual study

Thomson Reuters today released its second annual study identifying the top 10 U.S. health systems based on their clinical performance.

21 Jun 2010

Consumers can now access high quality health and medical information on Internet using Medgateway.com

With the vast amount of medical information on the Internet, consumers can spend long hours looking for health and medical information. Consumers can access reliable, high quality health and medical information on the Internet using Medgateway.com. Medgateway provides links to numerous health and medical web sites.

21 Jun 2010

AORN supports Pennsylvania's signing of HB 1641 requiring perioperative RN during surgery

As advocates for patient safety in the operating room, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, (AORN), announced support for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's signing of HB 1641 requiring the presence of a circulating nurse in certain operating rooms. The bill, signed into law on June 16, applies to any hospital or class C ambulatory surgical facility.

19 Jun 2010

Teradata congratulates CMS team for receiving 2010 CIO Council Leadership Award

Teradata Corporation, the world's largest company solely focused on data warehousing and enterprise analytics, today extended congratulations to the team led by Julie Boughn, Chief Information Officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for prestigious recognition by the Federal CIO Council. The 2010 CIO Council Leadership Award was presented to the CMS team at the 2010 IRMCO Conference for its innovative use of information technology to improve transparency and engagement with the public.

19 Jun 2010

ExonHit Therapeutics informs shareholders about Highmark's intention to discontinue coverage of PathFinderTG

ExonHit Therapeutics today informs its shareholders that it learned on June 16, 2010 from RedPath Integrated Pathology that Highmark (the Medicare reimbursement regional antenna for the states of Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) announced its intention to discontinue coverage of PathFinderTG - Pancreatic cancer, contingent to a complementary assessment of the utility of the product.

19 Jun 2010

ASHP communicates support for Berwick nomination to Senate

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) communicated its strong support for the nomination of Donald M. Berwick, M.D., as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

19 Jun 2010

Medicare begins 21% payment cuts to physicians

Today, Medicare begins processing physician payments with the drastic 21 percent cut that Congress failed to stop, and now seniors and physicians are paying the price of Congress' Medicare mismanagement.

19 Jun 2010

Medicare payment cuts to doctors loom as Republicans reject slimmed-down 'extenders' package

Republicans were successful in blocking a "slimmed-down package of jobless benefits and state aid late Thursday" as Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., voted with them, The Washington Post reports.

19 Jun 2010

Research roundup: Medical homes working in poor areas, designing insurance exchanges, health law's effects

Moving Forward On Health Reform - This edition explores the issues relating to the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, including the impact of the law on health insurance as well as state and federal governments, large employers and public opinion and opportunities for small physician practices to pool resources in order support medical homes, among others (June 2010).

19 Jun 2010

Senate reaches deal, passes short-term "doc fix"

The Senate passed a bill Friday to block the 21 percent cuts to Medicare physician pay for six months, after failing Thursday to pass a larger bill extending tax and jobless benefits that also included the Medicare provision, The Hill reports.

19 Jun 2010

HBSS reaches $103M settlement with Astra Zeneca

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (HBSS) today announced it has reached a proposed $103 million settlement with Astra Zeneca (AZ) on behalf of consumers and third party purchasers. The class-action lawsuit claimed Astra Zeneca inflated the Average Wholesale Price (AWP), which is used as a benchmark for almost all prescription drug sales in the United States.

19 Jun 2010

United American Healthcare acquires Pulse Systems

United American Healthcare Corporation today announced it has acquired privately held Pulse Systems, LLC. Based in Concord, Calif., Pulse Systems, LLC provides contract manufacturing services to the medical device industry, with a focus on precision laser-cutting capabilities and the processing of thin-wall tubular metal components, sub-assemblies and implants, primarily in the cardiovascular market. For the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2009, Pulse Systems generated revenue of approximately $9.2 million.

19 Jun 2010

Medicaid funds may not come through, leaving states in a lurch

If increased federal support for Medicaid isn't extended, states will have to fill budget holes next year that many legislatures have not anticipated.

19 Jun 2010

Federal agencies will establish a 'do not pay list' to prevent fraud

President Obama will order federal agencies Friday to establish a national 'do not pay list' to prevent the government from paying benefits, contracts, grants and loans to ineligible people or organizations, according to senior administration officials. The moves are part of a series to cut government waste and fraud and come amid calls for more fiscal restraint from Republicans and moderate Democrats.

19 Jun 2010

Teva closes $2.5 billion Senior Notes offering

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited announced today that it has closed the previously announced offering, by its special purpose finance subsidiaries, of a debt offering in three tranches:

19 Jun 2010

Friday Opinions: Uwe Reinhardt, Reps. Ron Paul and John Sarbanes, Minnesota nurses' strike

Alas, the penalties baked into the bill for disregarding the mandate, though not trivial, are low enough that many younger and healthier individuals are likely to find paying the penalty cheaper than owning up to the mandate. If that happens in significant numbers, as well it might, the premiums that private insurers will have to charge for the mandated coverage in the small-group market will be driven correspondingly higher (Uwe Reinhardt, 6/18).

19 Jun 2010

Walgreens reaches agreement with CVS Caremark on participation in PBM national retail network

CVS Caremark Corporation and Walgreens today announced that the companies have reached an agreement on terms under which Walgreens will continue participating in the CVS Caremark pharmacy benefit management (PBM) national retail network for existing, new or renewal plans. The companies are not disclosing the financial terms of the new contract.

18 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 18, 2010

The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Finance Committee reached agreement [Thursday] evening on a six-month Medicare "doc fix" that could open the way for the tax extenders bill to pass as early as Friday, a source tells The Hill. Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) hope to pass the tax extenders bill by unanimous consent (The Hill's Healthwatch Blog).

18 Jun 2010

Medicare News and Research

First Edition: June 21, 2010

MediConnect Global's PHR system now compatible with a wide array of mobile devices

Thomson Reuters identifies top 10 U.S. health systems from second annual study

Consumers can now access high quality health and medical information on Internet using Medgateway.com

AORN supports Pennsylvania's signing of HB 1641 requiring perioperative RN during surgery

Teradata congratulates CMS team for receiving 2010 CIO Council Leadership Award

ExonHit Therapeutics informs shareholders about Highmark's intention to discontinue coverage of PathFinderTG

ASHP communicates support for Berwick nomination to Senate

Medicare begins 21% payment cuts to physicians

Medicare payment cuts to doctors loom as Republicans reject slimmed-down 'extenders' package

Research roundup: Medical homes working in poor areas, designing insurance exchanges, health law's effects

Senate reaches deal, passes short-term "doc fix"

HBSS reaches $103M settlement with Astra Zeneca

United American Healthcare acquires Pulse Systems

Medicaid funds may not come through, leaving states in a lurch

Federal agencies will establish a 'do not pay list' to prevent fraud

Teva closes $2.5 billion Senior Notes offering

Friday Opinions: Uwe Reinhardt, Reps. Ron Paul and John Sarbanes, Minnesota nurses' strike

Walgreens reaches agreement with CVS Caremark on participation in PBM national retail network

First Edition: June 18, 2010

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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