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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Study reveals that the pending health reforms bill will affect senior citizens in Wyoming

A new American Health Care Association analysis of the pending House health reform bill, combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in Wyoming requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts of nearly $60 million over that same time period. Nationally, the study finds, seniors’ Medicare cuts will total $44 billion over ten years, prompting Wyoming’s long term care community to warn that seniors’ care needs are endangered by the House bill, as are the jobs of caregivers and nursing home staff in Wyoming.

29 Aug 2009

AHCA applaudes thirty-one state Attorneys General for sending a letter to HHS Secretary

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today applauded thirty-one state Attorneys General for sending a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, calling for the suspension and revision of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS') Nursing Home Five Star Rating System.

28 Aug 2009

Mental health advocates demand more psychaitric beds in North Carolina

Mental health advocates are calling attention to what they see as a need for more psychiatric beds in North Carolina.

28 Aug 2009

Latest Md. budget cut rips into health care programs

Maryland health programs will suffer especially deep cuts in the state's effort to patch a $454 million shortfall, the latest in a series of budget problems, the Washington Post reports.

28 Aug 2009

New rule from CMS for improving stroke patient care in hospitals

A new rule from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS Final FY 2010 Rule) focuses on improving stroke patient care in hospitals. Beginning 2010, hospitals submitting Medicare claims for stroke must let CMS know if they participate in a database registry for stroke care, such as that maintained by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) quality improvement initiative.

28 Aug 2009

Abortion questions continue in health reform debate

The Wall Street Journal reports: "Anti-abortion groups are gearing up for a battle in the fall over health-care legislation, another headache for Democrats who already face concerns about the measure's cost and reach. Most versions of the Democratic health plan would create subsidies for lower-income people to buy private health insurance.

27 Aug 2009

Premier’s group buy program helps hospitals to save more than $74 million in 2008

At a time when hospital operating margins are paper thin, the Premier healthcare alliance is helping its members achieve enhanced savings through its hospital group buy program. Members who utilized the program generated savings of more than $74 million in 2008.

27 Aug 2009

URAC accredits Medversant in the 2009 CVO Standards category

Medversant Technologies (www.medversant.com), the nation’s exclusive provider of AutoVerifi™ technology (U.S. Patent 7,529,682) that continuously monitors Web-based credentials verification solutions for hospitals, health plans, state Medicaid programs, and other healthcare settings, has been accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) in the 2009 Credentials Verification Organization (CVO) Standards category.

27 Aug 2009

New analysis tool from Sg2 to help hospitals gear up for reform-driven payment changes

To help hospitals and health systems prepare for the impending payment changes associated with health care reform initiatives and a changing incentive structure, Sg2, a future-focused health care intelligence company, has released an innovative new tool -- the Sg2 Reform Readiness Analysis.

27 Aug 2009

GeckoSystems' CPT codes increase the cost/benefit ratios of personal robots

GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO) announced today that the new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes recently approved, for physicians only, will further enhance the cost/benefit ratios of personal companion robots for family care. These new CPT codes will increase physician productivity and revenue by billing for activities that have previously been considered unpaid administrative time for non-physical consultations such as telephonic or on-line consumer care using home monitoring medical devices.

27 Aug 2009

Detroit area physical therapist involved in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program

Detroit area physical therapist Jay Jha, 45, pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program of approximately $18.3 million, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Terrence I. Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced.

27 Aug 2009

Specialty doctors displeased with American Medical Association Representation

The American Society of Medical Doctors (ASMD) today released additional results from a nationwide, nonpartisan poll of physicians showing that 86 percent of specialty doctors feel that the American Medical Association has become too political and has lost touch with the doctors it is supposed to represent.

27 Aug 2009

Analysis of a pending health reform bill reveals that more 1,800 caregivers in Michigan may lose their jobs

An American Health Care Association (AHCA) analysis of a pending U.S. House health reform bill, HR 3200, finds seniors in Michigan requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face funding cuts of $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. This equals the 10th highest state cut across the nation.

27 Aug 2009

Briggs introduces a new program to improve quality of healthcare in nursing homes

Briggs, the company known for over 60 years as a trusted provider of documentation solutions to long term care facilities, today announced a unique program to improve the quality of care in the nation's 14,000 Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes.

27 Aug 2009

NPR reviews the heated debate over the creation of Medicare and Medicaid

NPR gives a historical perspective on current reform efforts with an interview about the debate during the creation of Medicare and Medicaid.

27 Aug 2009

Waxman seeks to save money on Medicare drugs

The New York Times: "Representative Henry A. Waxman is on a crusade to save Medicare billions of dollars — in a way that he says would end up helping the elderly."

27 Aug 2009

Illegal aliens to benefit from health care reform bill: Congressional Research Service

Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the "research arm" for the United States Congress, issued a report validating an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), that illegal aliens would be able to receive benefits under the House health care reform bill, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).

27 Aug 2009

Health spending blamed for ballooning deficit projection

The White House's grim new budget projections, released Tuesday, show a decade-worth of deficits tallying $9.05 trillion, $2 trillion deeper than anticipated in February, the New York Times reports. Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, said "the key driver of our long-term deficits" is federal health spending, mainly on the ballooning Medicare and Medicaid programs, making health reform essential. "Over all, it underscores the dire fiscal situation that we inherited and the need for serious steps to put our nation back on a sustainable fiscal path," Orszag said, asserting that this White House was confronting a Bush administration legacy (Calmes, 8/25).

27 Aug 2009

Wednesday's round up of state health stories

State health news coverage includes political vandalism in Colorado, health-related bills in Maine, Medicaid cuts in Maryland and a dismissed medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida.

26 Aug 2009

Premier’s ClinicalAdvisor offers customized benchmarking and regulatory reporting solution for hospitals and health systems

To help hospitals achieve maximum revenue retention as a part of Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program, the Premier healthcare alliance has enhanced its quality benchmarking and regulatory reporting solution to include RAC capabilities.

26 Aug 2009

Medicaid News and Research

Study reveals that the pending health reforms bill will affect senior citizens in Wyoming

AHCA applaudes thirty-one state Attorneys General for sending a letter to HHS Secretary

Mental health advocates demand more psychaitric beds in North Carolina

Latest Md. budget cut rips into health care programs

New rule from CMS for improving stroke patient care in hospitals

Abortion questions continue in health reform debate

Premier’s group buy program helps hospitals to save more than $74 million in 2008

URAC accredits Medversant in the 2009 CVO Standards category

New analysis tool from Sg2 to help hospitals gear up for reform-driven payment changes

GeckoSystems' CPT codes increase the cost/benefit ratios of personal robots

Detroit area physical therapist involved in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program

Specialty doctors displeased with American Medical Association Representation

Analysis of a pending health reform bill reveals that more 1,800 caregivers in Michigan may lose their jobs

Briggs introduces a new program to improve quality of healthcare in nursing homes

NPR reviews the heated debate over the creation of Medicare and Medicaid

Waxman seeks to save money on Medicare drugs

Illegal aliens to benefit from health care reform bill: Congressional Research Service

Health spending blamed for ballooning deficit projection

Wednesday's round up of state health stories

Premier’s ClinicalAdvisor offers customized benchmarking and regulatory reporting solution for hospitals and health systems

Revolutionizing Life Science: An Interview with SCIEX on ASMS, the SCIEX 7500+ System, and AI-Driven Quantitation

From Discovery Biology to ELRIG Chair

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology

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