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Aetna Better Health, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reach agreement for Medicaid program

Aetna Better Health in Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announced today that they have reached agreement on a new contract that adds the hospital to the Medicaid provider's network in Pennsylvania. The new contract is effective immediately.

27 Apr 2010

Costs, effects on business questioned as health overhaul analysis continues

The Associated Press: The biggest unanswered question in the health overhaul debate remains what the new law will mean for ordinary Americans. "Many experts believe the law falls short on taming costs, and that will force Congress to revisit health care in a few years.

27 Apr 2010

Wellcare faces allegations about director's resignation; Wellpoint confronts reports regarding breast cancer recissions

"A prominent director at WellCare Health Plans Inc. resigned Wednesday and raised questions about accounting practices at the Medicare and Medicaid company. Regina Herzlinger, the head of the board's audit committee and a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, said internal audits found WellCare overbilled the Illinois Medicaid program by $1 million in 2009 and potentially overcharged states for almost $500,000 worth of maternity care."

27 Apr 2010

A first step in the long road to health reform

Australia provides good health care to the majority of its citizens most of the time and compares well with like countries. The capacity for illness to destroy families financially, seen in the US and in many less economically advanced countries where governments make small or no contributions to the cost of health care, is much diminished by Medicare, public hospitals and subsidised pharmaceuticals.

27 Apr 2010

Experts warn doctors to be aware of new requirements in health bill's false claims act

"A longtime Miami-Dade healthcare operator and his son have been charged with bilking more than $2.8 million from Medicare in an undercover FBI case. The father has fled the country and the son is cooperating with authorities. Ernesto Angel Montaner and his son, Ernesto Montaner, are accused of operating a network of physical rehabilitation clinics in Miami-Dade that submitted millions of dollars in phony bills to the federal healthcare program for the elderly and disabled between 2003 and 2008" (Weaver, 4/24).

26 Apr 2010

General Dynamics Information Technology awarded task order to support HHS' CMS

General Dynamics Information Technology's VIPS business sector, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a task order to support the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

26 Apr 2010

Today's opinions: Health overhaul reflects history of government intervention; Importance of repairing clinical trials system; Stopping Medicare fraud

The system's opacity gives insurers the upper hand in debates over government payment rates (Austin Frakt, 4/26).

26 Apr 2010

WorkSmart MD launches Offsite Practice Support and Meaningful Use consulting services for doctors

WorkSmart MD, a Florida based physician services company, announces the launch of Offsite Practice Support and Meaningful Use consulting services for doctors.

26 Apr 2010

American board-certified prosthetist develops custom-made ankle-foot orthosis

With over ten million diabetics in the U.S. alone and approximately 150,000 amputations performed yearly, inventor and American board-certified prosthetist John E. Rooney developed a custom-made ankle-foot orthosis with the trade name Ulcer Healing Orthosis or UHO.

26 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 26, 2010

Today's headlines reflect state-level health policy developments as well as forward-looking stories related to the cost of federal health reforms.

26 Apr 2010

Humana reports first-quarter EPS of $1.52

Humana Inc. today reported diluted earnings per common share (EPS) for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 (1Q10) of $1.52, ahead of management's guidance of $1.10 to $1.20. EPS for 1Q10 included earnings of approximately $0.37 per share from higher-than-anticipated favorable prior-period development of medical claims reserves as well as $0.04 per share in higher-than-projected income tax expense due to recently enacted health reform legislation. Excluding these items, 1Q10 EPS was at the top end of the company's previous guidance range.

26 Apr 2010

Health care law's ability to control costs will be closely watched

The Associated Press/ABC news explore the question of how of cost containment under the new health law: "What's it going to cost me? That's the single biggest unanswered question about President Barack Obama's new health care overhaul law — and its weak spot. Many experts believe the law falls short on taming costs, and that will force Congress to revisit health care in a few years. … For now, the political parties are too polarized — and lawmakers too exhausted — to contemplate health care 2.0.

26 Apr 2010

NPAF urges Colorado Governor to exercise line item veto of $17.9M reduction in 2011 Medicaid program

The National Patient Advocate Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of creating avenues of improved patient access to health care through public policy reform at the state and federal levels, delivered a letter to Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, urging him to exercise a line item veto of a $17.9 million reduction in Medicaid funding passed recently by the Colorado legislature as part of the fiscal year 2011 budget.

24 Apr 2010

New federally funded programs to address health disparities in underserved communities

The increasing number of minorities diagnosed with cancer has inspired a variety of initiatives at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center focusing on minority health through research, education and community relations.

24 Apr 2010

Research roundup: Arthritis racial disparities, hospital mortality data, voters on long-term care

Differences In The Prevalence And Impact Of Arthritis Among Racial/Ethnic Groups In The United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2002, 2003, and 2006 - "Blacks and Hispanics were approximately 1.3 times as likely as whites to have activity limitation, 1.8 to 1.9 times as likely to have severe joint pain, and 1.6 to 1.7 times as likely to have work limitation," caused by arthritis.

24 Apr 2010

Federal officials confirm states may lose some Medicaid drug rebate money

"The federal agency that oversees Medicaid confirmed Thursday that some money states receive as rebates from drugmakers will now be redirected to the federal government to help pay for the new health overhaul," Kaiser Health News reports.

24 Apr 2010

New Jersey District Court jury finds Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 not invalid: Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that a jury returned a verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey finding that Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 is not invalid. The Court has reserved decision on the issue of what, if any, effect to give to the jury's determinations in connection with the obviousness-type double patenting defenses, which Teva has argued is to be decided by the Court.

24 Apr 2010

Officials continue health overhaul sparring, news outlets examine new law's potential improvements for women

Republicans are continuing to pressure officials at the Department of Health and Human Services on health reform as the focus shifts to implementation of the health care overhaul and the first deadlines are approaching, Politico reports.

24 Apr 2010

Unitrin terminates previously announced negotiations with Physicians Mutual Insurance

Unitrin, Inc. said today that its previously announced negotiations with Physicians Mutual Insurance Company for the sale of Unitrin's Reserve National Insurance Company subsidiary have been terminated due to a failure by the parties to reach a definitive agreement.

24 Apr 2010

CMS actuary: Health reform will cover more people, cost more than originally projected

"In the first comprehensive look by neutral experts" of the health law, The Associated Press reports that "More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up. Economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department concluded in a report issued Thursday that the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million to the coverage rolls.

24 Apr 2010

Medicare News and Research

Aetna Better Health, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reach agreement for Medicaid program

Costs, effects on business questioned as health overhaul analysis continues

Wellcare faces allegations about director's resignation; Wellpoint confronts reports regarding breast cancer recissions

A first step in the long road to health reform

Experts warn doctors to be aware of new requirements in health bill's false claims act

General Dynamics Information Technology awarded task order to support HHS' CMS

Today's opinions: Health overhaul reflects history of government intervention; Importance of repairing clinical trials system; Stopping Medicare fraud

WorkSmart MD launches Offsite Practice Support and Meaningful Use consulting services for doctors

American board-certified prosthetist develops custom-made ankle-foot orthosis

First Edition: April 26, 2010

Humana reports first-quarter EPS of $1.52

Health care law's ability to control costs will be closely watched

NPAF urges Colorado Governor to exercise line item veto of $17.9M reduction in 2011 Medicaid program

New federally funded programs to address health disparities in underserved communities

Research roundup: Arthritis racial disparities, hospital mortality data, voters on long-term care

Federal officials confirm states may lose some Medicaid drug rebate money

New Jersey District Court jury finds Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 not invalid: Teva

Officials continue health overhaul sparring, news outlets examine new law's potential improvements for women

Unitrin terminates previously announced negotiations with Physicians Mutual Insurance

CMS actuary: Health reform will cover more people, cost more than originally projected

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