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Medicare: Both doctors and patients are looking for private options

Although people may believe that their insurance worries are over once they qualify for Medicare, both doctors and patients are looking for a private option—especially with Medicare's looming bankruptcy, and ObamaCare's promise to cut half a trillion dollars from it to help fund universal coverage.

3 Jun 2010

Today's opinions: Virginia suit leads opposition to health law; Help for 9/11 responders; Blue Dogs' support for doctors

There are about a half-dozen constitutional lawsuits underway already against parts of President Obama's health care law. Most eyes are on the multistate case filed in Florida, joined by 20 states across America. But a parallel suit is progressing in the Old Dominion, in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... [T]his will be the first legal battle in Obamacare, and one that will move forward much more quickly than the constitutional fight. The first battle in what will be a long war (Ken Klukowski, 6/1).

3 Jun 2010

Fraud roundup: LA hospital workers investigated; Guilty pleas in Texas and N.J. cases; Fla. candidate defends his actions

Los Angeles County officials are investigating allegations that Olive View-UCLA Medical Center staff accepted gifts from nursing home employees in exchange for placing Medi-Cal and Medicare patients at their facilities, a possible violation of the county's code of ethics, as well as state and federal anti-kickback laws.

3 Jun 2010

AP: Asking questions can save patients money

Doing some simple homework before receiving medical treatment may help consumers save money, The Associated Press reports. "Here are some things to consider before checking in to a hospital or outpatient surgery center for non-emergency care. Be prepared to ask your doctor or insurer questions."

3 Jun 2010

Rural hospitals: Does the health law help or hurt?

Some politicians and hospital administrators worry that the new health law will cause rural facilities to lose revenue, bucking the trend of Washington's political establishment's long support for rural hospitals, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The law does have "pro-rural provisions" that received bipartisan support. But as the federal government writes rules for the law, partisan interpretations of the true impact on rural hospitals has continued.

2 Jun 2010

AMA to campaign for Medicare payment 'doc fix,' physicians increasingly frustrated

The American Medical Association is launching an ad campaign urging Congress to end a 21 percent cut to Medicare doctor reimbursement rates as physicians consider opting out the federal health care program.

2 Jun 2010

CompCare joins Peoples Health network as exclusive managed behavioral healthcare provider

Comprehensive Care Corporation today announced that it has signed a multi-year contract to provide behavioral health services for Peoples Health. Based in Metairie, Louisiana, Peoples Health is an entirely physician-owned and operated local organization that provides benefits exclusively to Medicare recipients in southeast Louisiana.

2 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 2, 2010

In today's news, insurance regulators fail to meet an early deadline for setting standards on premium spending rules within the new health law.

2 Jun 2010

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital performs 1000th carotid artery stent procedure

The Texas Heart Institute (THI) at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital has announced another major milestone in improved patient care, after performing its 1000th carotid artery stent procedure. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has emerged as a less invasive treatment for stroke-causing blockages in the carotid artery, meaning patients generally have fewer risks for complications, shorter hospital stays and recovery times and less expense.

2 Jun 2010

Oncimmune develops new blood test to aid early detection of cancer

The University of Nottingham spin-out company, Oncimmune Ltd, has developed a ground breaking blood test which will aid the detection of cancer as much as five years earlier than current testing methods such as mammography and CT scans. Physicians will know the result of their patient's test within one week of sending in a blood sample to Oncimmune.

2 Jun 2010

New Health Navigator program to help IEHP Members better understand how to use health care

Inland Empire Health Plan has developed an innovative program called Health Navigator designed to help IEHP Members better understand how to use their health care. Launching this month, the program will arrive in select communities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It aims to increase preventive-care visits and reduce avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

2 Jun 2010

State roundup: Ohio and Washington prepare high risk pool plans; Calif. lawmakers consider 20 bills; Virginia wrestles with Medicaid issues

A popular piece of the health-care overhaul bans insurance companies from denying individual coverage or charging high premiums to people with pre-existing medical conditions. But for adults younger than age 65, that provision doesn't kick in until 2014. In the meantime, the federal government wants states to create temporary high-risk pools through which people with cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes who have been uninsured for at least six months can buy affordable coverage.

2 Jun 2010

With Congress on recess, health reform politics emerge on homefront

While Americans remain divided over the new health reform law, "they aren't clamoring for its repeal. … Instead, the public seems willing to listen to candidates who would give the overhaul a chance and fix or improve it as needed. That's the signal from some surveys and a congressional race in a bellwether Pennsylvania district."

2 Jun 2010

Former Columbia/HCA CEO Rick Scott spends millions on Florida governor campaign

News outlets report on the campaign of multimillionaire Rick Scott, the former CEO of the Columbia/HCA health care company, who is running in the Republican gubernatorial primary in Florida.

2 Jun 2010

Medicare patients may face accessibility crisis to medical care

According to an article in the June issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), Medicare patients - many who suffer from disabling arthritis of the hip and knee, among other age-related ailments - may end up facing an accessibility crisis to medical care.

2 Jun 2010

Infighting threatens COBRA subsidy extension, longer Medicare doc pay 'fix'

Roll Call reports that infighting over some unemployment benefits and a scheduled "fix" of Medicare physician payments has left Democratic congressional leaders at a "dramatic low" in their relationship. "And while publicly, House and Senate leaders refused to assign blame, the behind-the-scenes story was far different. The deadline for the benefits package had been looming for weeks.

2 Jun 2010

Health law implementation: Insurance, coverage and Medicare payment questions

Kaiser Health News reports that the insurance industry — traditionally a state-regulated industry — is facing new federal scrutiny by four officials in the new Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. "On this year's to-do list: writing rules to define when premium increases are 'unreasonable,' creating new coverage for people who can't get it because of health conditions and making sure insurers comply with consumer protections. The new director of the office is Jay Angoff, a former Missouri insurance commissioner.

2 Jun 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical launches Gianvi Tablets

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has commercially launched Gianvi (Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol) Tablets, the Company's generic version of Bayer's Yaz® Tablets.

2 Jun 2010

CoaguSense unveils first portable point-of-care PT/INR Monitoring System for patients on oral anticoagulants

CoaguSense™, Inc., a diagnostic device company that has been in stealth mode for the past two years, today unveiled the first portable point-of-care Prothrombin Time/International Normalized Ratio (PT/INR) analyzer to directly detect blood clotting time for patients stabilized on oral anti-coagulation medications such as Coumadin® or warfarin.

2 Jun 2010

AMA President to unveil multi-million dollar ad campaign

Today, the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut goes into effect, leaving health care for seniors and military families in jeopardy. On June 3, AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, will hold a telephone news conference to unveil a multi-million dollar AMA ad campaign urging Americans to call their senators to help avoid a Medicare meltdown.

1 Jun 2010

Medicare News and Research

Medicare: Both doctors and patients are looking for private options

Today's opinions: Virginia suit leads opposition to health law; Help for 9/11 responders; Blue Dogs' support for doctors

Fraud roundup: LA hospital workers investigated; Guilty pleas in Texas and N.J. cases; Fla. candidate defends his actions

AP: Asking questions can save patients money

Rural hospitals: Does the health law help or hurt?

AMA to campaign for Medicare payment 'doc fix,' physicians increasingly frustrated

CompCare joins Peoples Health network as exclusive managed behavioral healthcare provider

First Edition: June 2, 2010

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital performs 1000th carotid artery stent procedure

Oncimmune develops new blood test to aid early detection of cancer

New Health Navigator program to help IEHP Members better understand how to use health care

State roundup: Ohio and Washington prepare high risk pool plans; Calif. lawmakers consider 20 bills; Virginia wrestles with Medicaid issues

With Congress on recess, health reform politics emerge on homefront

Former Columbia/HCA CEO Rick Scott spends millions on Florida governor campaign

Medicare patients may face accessibility crisis to medical care

Infighting threatens COBRA subsidy extension, longer Medicare doc pay 'fix'

Health law implementation: Insurance, coverage and Medicare payment questions

Teva Pharmaceutical launches Gianvi Tablets

CoaguSense unveils first portable point-of-care PT/INR Monitoring System for patients on oral anticoagulants

AMA President to unveil multi-million dollar ad campaign

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