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Medicare bidding program will lead to 'suicide bidding', says Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers

Providers of home medical equipment and services across Pennsylvania are proposing a fiscally responsible alternative to the mislabeled "competitive" bidding scheme currently under way in Medicare that will actually discourage competition, reduce access to care for many of Pennsylvania's more than two million Medicare beneficiaries, and put hundreds of Pennsylvania's homecare providers out of business.

8 Jun 2010

UPMC Health Plan collaboration launches pediatric weight management program

A unique collaboration between UPMC Health Plan, Children's Community Pediatrics (CCP), and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC is utilizing a multidisciplinary team approach in the setting of the pediatrician's office to provide practical weight management strategies for children who are obese or overweight.

8 Jun 2010

CMI must implement payment initiatives to improve health care delivery, reduce spending: New article

The new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation must be inclusive and flexible in developing and implementing payment initiatives, continuously monitor their impact, and rapidly disseminate them if they appear to be successful, in order to realize the potential for improved health care delivery and reduced spending, according to a new Health Affairs article by Commonwealth Fund researchers.

8 Jun 2010

First Edition: News coverage on Dems' health reform campaign; Medicare fees; Medical marijuana

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: "Will health care reform reduce spending on health care too little? Or too much? Over the last several days, one respected authority made a version of the former argument while another made a version of the latter--offering a reminder of why reform is so complicated and why the new law, for all its imperfections, is still an important step forward" (Kaiser Health News).

7 Jun 2010

Guardian Home Care Holdings, Cardiocom provide home telehealth technology to patients with chronic illnesses

Guardian Home Care Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of home care and hospice services, announced it has entered into a business relationship with Cardiocom to provide advanced home telehealth technology to patients with chronic illnesses. Cardiocom is a developer, manufacturer and clinical service provider of award-winning telehealth solutions.

7 Jun 2010

ACG-South Florida recognizes Continucare as Emerging Growth Company of the Year

Continucare Corporation today announced that it was named the Emerging Growth Company of the Year by the South Florida Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. The award recognizes South Florida's outstanding companies that are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses.

7 Jun 2010

Humana sees strong future in Medicare; AHIP seeks more cost containment measures

The Louisville Courier Journal: "While private Medicare Advantage plans face funding pressure from Washington, Medicare 'is actually a very good place to be,' the chief executive of Louisville-based Humana said. 'The federal government "can be relied upon to pay their bills," Michael McCallister said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions investor conference. 'Medicare is going to be a very big business in the future'"(6/5).

7 Jun 2010

Congress returns to controversy over COBRA, doctors' Medicare pay

CongressDaily reports that when members of Congress return to Washington Monday "they face a raft of unfinished business on tax 'extender' legislation. … The Senate will look to take up a $114.5 billion package of unemployment benefits, tax breaks, physician payments and other provisions this week amid calls from the right to scale it back, from the left to expand it and from businesses to mitigate its tax increases.

7 Jun 2010

Patient Home Monitoring completes acquisition of Stancap Holdings I and PHM DME Healthcare

Patient Home Monitoring, formerly International Health Partners Inc., a company focused on in-home cardiology healthcare services, today announced completion of the acquisition announced in October 2009 of all of the issued and outstanding shares of both Stancap Holdings I Limited and PHM DME Healthcare Inc. PHM also announced that it has completed a private placement of common shares for gross proceeds of $4,523,140.

5 Jun 2010

Research roundup: Evidence-based medicine consumer/expert divide; Pay for performance limitations; Improving community health centers

Health Affairs: Evidence That Consumers Are Skeptical About Evidence-Based Health Care - This survey of more than 1,500 patients with employer-based insurance found "there is a fundamental disconnect between the central tenets of evidence-based health care and the knowledge, values, and beliefs held by many consumers."

5 Jun 2010

Teva reports encouraging data from study assessing new lower-volume injection of Copaxone at 24th CMSC

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced positive results from a study assessing a new lower-volume injection of Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate) containing the currently approved dose in half the injection volume.

5 Jun 2010

Sebelius defends Berwick for CMS post

The Wall Street Journal: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "Thursday rejected criticism of the Obama administration's nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid, saying Republicans were being unfair to Donald Berwick and she was confident he would be confirmed. Dr. Berwick, a Harvard pediatrician and health-quality advocate, has come under sharp attack from Republicans over his ties to Britain's national health system and past writings about how to make health care more efficient.

5 Jun 2010

Insurers, White House bound by need to make overhaul a success

Although the Obama administration and insurance industry had opposing views on aspects of the health bill that Congress eventually passed, they have now found their fortunes bound together as both work to make the overhaul successful, The New York Times reports. "The political fortunes of President Obama and Congressional Democrats depend on their ability to translate its promise into reality for voters, by reining in health costs and making insurance available to everyone at an affordable price.

5 Jun 2010

Obama sets town hall meeting with seniors to tout Medicare rebate checks

President Barack Obama has scheduled a televised town hall meeting Tuesday in Wheaton, Md., "to trumpet one of the most popular provisions of his landmark health care bill: a $250 rebate to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for prescription drugs. ... An estimated 80,000 checks are scheduled to be sent in June, with others to follow on a rolling basis, to Medicare beneficiaries who enter the so-called 'doughnut hole' - a gap in prescription drug coverage that requires them to pay out of pocket" (Stolberg, 6/3).

5 Jun 2010

United American Insurance introduces new 2010 Medicare Supplement plans

United American Insurance Company recently announced the introduction of new 2010 Medicare Supplement standardized plans that meet the requirements set forth by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. In general, United American's Medicare Supplement products are attained-age, gender-distinct, smoker/nonsmoker, and geographic area rated.

5 Jun 2010

AMA launches ads pushing Senators on 'doc fix' while warning on cuts

The American Medical Association has launched a multi-million-dollar series of ads pressuring senators to intervene to prevent a scheduled payment cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients and warning that a separate permanent fix of the system is the only way to completely ensure continuity of care for seniors.

5 Jun 2010

Boston hospitals increasingly scrutinized for costs while Buffalo hospitals will receive more Medicare funding

Officials in Gov. Deval Patrick's administration, "seeking to pressure hospitals as well as insurers to rein in costs, say they will more closely scrutinize plans for new medical buildings and technologies to determine how they might affect the cost of health care in Massachusetts.

5 Jun 2010

ASCO 2010 marks first anniversary of "Cancer Patient Statement of Principles"

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), the oldest and largest foundation dedicated to improving the life and care of myeloma patients, notes the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) marks the first anniversary of the "Cancer Patient Statement of Principles."

4 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 4, 2010

Today's health policy headlines highlight HHS Secretary Sebelius' defense of the Obama administration's Medicare nominee as well as the AMA's push to fix scheduled reductions in Medicare physician payments.

4 Jun 2010

Right Medicare choices for individuals over 65

For the thousands of people turning 65 in the coming months, it can be a milestone worth celebrating. There also are hurdles to overcome, including making the right Medicare choices, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

4 Jun 2010

Medicare News and Research

Medicare bidding program will lead to 'suicide bidding', says Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers

UPMC Health Plan collaboration launches pediatric weight management program

CMI must implement payment initiatives to improve health care delivery, reduce spending: New article

First Edition: News coverage on Dems' health reform campaign; Medicare fees; Medical marijuana

Guardian Home Care Holdings, Cardiocom provide home telehealth technology to patients with chronic illnesses

ACG-South Florida recognizes Continucare as Emerging Growth Company of the Year

Humana sees strong future in Medicare; AHIP seeks more cost containment measures

Congress returns to controversy over COBRA, doctors' Medicare pay

Patient Home Monitoring completes acquisition of Stancap Holdings I and PHM DME Healthcare

Research roundup: Evidence-based medicine consumer/expert divide; Pay for performance limitations; Improving community health centers

Teva reports encouraging data from study assessing new lower-volume injection of Copaxone at 24th CMSC

Sebelius defends Berwick for CMS post

Insurers, White House bound by need to make overhaul a success

Obama sets town hall meeting with seniors to tout Medicare rebate checks

United American Insurance introduces new 2010 Medicare Supplement plans

AMA launches ads pushing Senators on 'doc fix' while warning on cuts

Boston hospitals increasingly scrutinized for costs while Buffalo hospitals will receive more Medicare funding

ASCO 2010 marks first anniversary of "Cancer Patient Statement of Principles"

First Edition: June 4, 2010

Right Medicare choices for individuals over 65

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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