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Research roundup: Whistleblowers, spreading best practices, Medicare's growth-limiting strategy

The Impact Of Removing Financial Incentives From Clinical Quality Indicators: Longitudinal Analysis Of Four Kaiser Permanente Indicators - The researchers found the removal of pay-for-performance incentives "was associated with a decrease in performance of about 3% per year on average for screening for diabetic retinopathy and about 1.6% per year for cervical cancer screening" (Lester et al., 5/11). More details about the study and related news coverage are in the May 12 Morning Report.

15 May 2010

Elie Hirschfeld gifts $50,000 to help Roosevelt Hospital's ED Expansion and Redesign Project

A new commitment of $50,000 from Elie Hirschfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hirschfeld Properties and a Trustee of Continuum Health Partners, will help further underwrite Roosevelt Hospital's Emergency Department Expansion and Redesign Project. His gifts to the initiative, to date, total over $150,000.

15 May 2010

Sebelius, Holder: New health reform law will help prevent medical fraud

Kaiser Health News staff writer Andrew Villegas reports: "Obama administration officials, touting $2.5 billion recovered from Medicare overpayments and fraud, immediately turned to talk of how health reform could ensure bigger successes in the future"

15 May 2010

LifeCare Holdings reports $95.0 million net patient service revenue for first-quarter 2010

LifeCare Holdings, Inc. today announced its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

15 May 2010

Today's opinions: Medicare threatened by poor doctor-payment system, new health law's impact on small business, U.S. commitment to AIDS relief

Only the U.S. Congress can stop this imminent Medicare meltdown. Permanent repeal of the broken [doctor] payment formula that creates this whopping cut will preserve access to care for Texas' Medicare and TRICARE patients. This is the only way to fix the problem once and for all before the baby boomers begin to use Medicare in droves (J. James Rohack, 5/13).

15 May 2010

CeltiCare to provide high-quality health insurance for Commonwealth Care Bridge Program members

CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, a Centene Corporation subsidiary, today announced that the state of Massachusetts has renewed its contract to serve Commonwealth Care Bridge Program members, effective July 1, 2010.

15 May 2010

Sen. Kerry, White House push back on Berwick criticism

After Republicans levied attacks on Donald Berwick, the physician and professor President Barack Obama has nominated to lead the Medicare agency, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., came to the aide of his fellow Bay Stater, The Boston Globe reports. He said, "It's no secret that the national Republican Party has tried to crank up the attack machine and make his nomination a distorted referendum on reform.

15 May 2010

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week declared to honor work of PPMD

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a resolution declaring the week of May 24, 2010 as "Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week" to help honor the work of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the largest non-profit organization in the United States focused on finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

15 May 2010

GOP launches new challenge to health law with coordinated messaging

Republicans are starting a new bid to undermine Democratic attempts at touting a new health law. The GOP effort includes attacks on both President Barack Obama's pick to run Medicare and on claims that implementation is going smoothly.

15 May 2010

FDA grants tentative approval for Teva's Cinacalcet HCl Tablets ANDA

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted tentative approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Cinacalcet HCl Tablets 30, 60 & 90 mg.

15 May 2010

Democrats weary of health changes, mull new health bills, 'doc fix'

Democrats are feeling health care "fatigue" and are doubting that Congress will consider any more health-related legislation this year. "Measures in jeopardy include bills that would require more information on healthcare prices, empower federal regulators to sign off on premium increases and strip insurers of their exemption from anti-trust laws."

15 May 2010

Obama administration cracks down on health care fraud

Modern Healthcare: "The government's efforts to rein in Medicare fraud and abuse recovered $2.5 billion for the program in fiscal 2009, up 29% from $1.9 billion the previous year, according to a new annual report. ... The $2.5 billion collected in fiscal 2009 is attributed to judgments and settlements in previous years as well as 2009, according to the report of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program.

14 May 2010

Convergent procedure promising for longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation

nContact Surgical, Inc. announced today the presentation of data collected from 43 patients as a result of a closed chest convergent atrial fibrillation (AF) procedure at the Heart Rhythm Society 2010 Conference in Denver, Colorado.

14 May 2010

First Edition: May 14, 2010

Today's headlines suggest that, even as congressional Democrats appear to be suffering from "health reform fatigue" and shying away from other health-related legislation, the G.O.P. is applying newfound vigor and skepticism to the White House's pick to head the agency that runs Medicare and to the administration's claims that the implementation phase of reform is going smoothly.

14 May 2010

Ambulance fees will deter emergency calls for help and risks lives: Study

Multiple data sources, including scientific survey data, medical studies and analyses of data in regions that have imposed ambulance fees, indicate that ambulance fees will discourage calls to emergency services for help, risking the health and safety of those experiencing medical emergencies.

14 May 2010

Off-label use of AAs among elderly associated with increased risk of diabetes: Study

A new study yields important new evidence that the use of atypical antipsychotics among the elderly for off-label purposes is associated with increased risk of developing diabetes.

14 May 2010

Guidelines for reducing risk of falling among older adults

Falling down is hazardous to a senior citizen's health, yet fewer than half of all seniors see a doctor after a fall. And those who don't seek medical attention are far less likely to engage in any of the six widely recommended activities - such as a review of their medications or getting a cane or walker - that might prevent repeated falls, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

14 May 2010

Senate bill offered to allow young adults to stay on parents' FEHBP; Clock ticks on next round for Medicare physician pay fix

This week a senator followed House lawmakers' lead by introducing a bill that would let the children of federal employees remain on their parents' health insurance until age 26, starting this year. Under the health reform law President Obama signed in March, the cutoff age would have increased from 22 to 26 in January 2011 for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program participants, due to laws that prevent the Office of Personnel Management from making midyear changes.

14 May 2010

Increase in use of imaging scans underscores need for evidence-based protocols in cancer care

New research showing a more than 30 percent annual increase in the use of high-tech imaging scans in older cancer patients underscores the need for evidence-based protocols in cancer care, said MedSolutions, a leading provider of medical management services.

14 May 2010

Health reform implementation issues: Emergency room costs, consumer websites and small business questions

Kaiser Health News: The new health reform law guarantees insurance companies must cover emergency care for their beneficiaries at hospitals in- or out-of-network at the same rate. "The law also bars health plans from requiring prior authorization for emergency services. And it mandates that plans follow the 'prudent layperson' rule.

14 May 2010

Medicare News and Research

Research roundup: Whistleblowers, spreading best practices, Medicare's growth-limiting strategy

Elie Hirschfeld gifts $50,000 to help Roosevelt Hospital's ED Expansion and Redesign Project

Sebelius, Holder: New health reform law will help prevent medical fraud

LifeCare Holdings reports $95.0 million net patient service revenue for first-quarter 2010

Today's opinions: Medicare threatened by poor doctor-payment system, new health law's impact on small business, U.S. commitment to AIDS relief

CeltiCare to provide high-quality health insurance for Commonwealth Care Bridge Program members

Sen. Kerry, White House push back on Berwick criticism

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week declared to honor work of PPMD

GOP launches new challenge to health law with coordinated messaging

FDA grants tentative approval for Teva's Cinacalcet HCl Tablets ANDA

Democrats weary of health changes, mull new health bills, 'doc fix'

Obama administration cracks down on health care fraud

Convergent procedure promising for longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation

First Edition: May 14, 2010

Ambulance fees will deter emergency calls for help and risks lives: Study

Off-label use of AAs among elderly associated with increased risk of diabetes: Study

Guidelines for reducing risk of falling among older adults

Senate bill offered to allow young adults to stay on parents' FEHBP; Clock ticks on next round for Medicare physician pay fix

Increase in use of imaging scans underscores need for evidence-based protocols in cancer care

Health reform implementation issues: Emergency room costs, consumer websites and small business questions

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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