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UnitedHealth Group announces relief for Rhode Island flood victims

UnitedHealth Group and its family of companies, including UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth and Prescription Solutions, are taking immediate action to assist individuals who may have been affected by the recent floods in parts of Rhode Island.

3 Apr 2010

Colo. gets federal approval for new patient fees to help fund Medicaid; Ga. Senate passes hospital tax

Denver Business Journal: "A federal agency has approved Colorado's plan to charge a per-patient fee to hospitals in order to expand Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus eligibility and insure more state residents. Gov. Bill Ritter's office said Thursday that it had received notice from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services that it had given its OK to the hospital provider fee. Receiving that approval means that the state can match each dollar collected by the fee with one from the federal government and double the amount it raises through the plan."

3 Apr 2010

Tea Party Democratic candidate Warren Mosler releases hybrid health care proposal

Warren Mosler, the Tea Party Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, released his hybrid health care proposal that gives Americans a powerful market based incentive to use only what they need, while slashing the true cost of health care for the U.S. economy.

3 Apr 2010

Dems tout savings from Medicare fraud crackdown, swindlers exploit health bill confusion

The Hill: "Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are trying to make the case that the healthcare bill will strengthen Medicare and Medicaid by finding major savings through a crack down on fraud, waste and abuse."

3 Apr 2010

Debate and skepticism over the healthcare reforms

A few years back a law that was meant to cover millions of elderly extending their prescription drug coverage backfired with many who could not access their medicines or were charged more all because of computer generated errors. Administration, industry and consumer groups are gearing up to prevent the same thing from happening after the healthcare bill became law last week.

2 Apr 2010

No doughnut hole in global mail-order pharmacy

Thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, Medicare enrollees who enter the dreaded "doughnut hole" -- the Medicare Part D coverage gap that has made seniors responsible for all their drug costs between $2,830 and $6,440 -- will save $250 in 2010. But Betterthanmedicare.com is already saving seniors thousands of dollars, because the global mail-order pharmacy has no doughnut hole.

2 Apr 2010

Findings support value of advance directives, living wills and other means of making end-of-life treatment preferences known

One in four elderly Americans require someone else to make decisions about their medical care at the end of their lives, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Apr 2010

Passage of health reform bill promotes clinical and community prevention plans

The passage of HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, introduces important funding and provisions that could transform the nation's illness-oriented, reactive medical care model to a more proactive, wellness-oriented approach.

2 Apr 2010

Substantial number of older Americans need others to make decisions about end of life care

More than one in four elderly Americans lacked the capacity to make their own medical care decisions at the end of life, according to a study of 3,746 people to be published April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Apr 2010

U.S. Court finds Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Seasonique patent valid and enforceable

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has granted Teva's Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to the validity of U.S. Patent No. 7,320,969. In March 2008, Duramed, now Teva Women's Health, brought suit in the District of Nevada against Watson alleging infringement of Teva's patent as a result of Watson's filing of an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Seasonique®.

2 Apr 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Gemzar patent litigation: U.S. court issues decision

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued a decision yesterday on two patents for Gemzar® (gemcitabine); the compound patent expiring on November 15, 2010, and a method of use patent expiring on May 7, 2013.

2 Apr 2010

States examine how they may be impacted by reform, Medicaid expansion

Kaiser Health News: "Starting today, states can choose to take the first steps toward the massive expansion of insurance coverage that is the health overhaul's chief goal. And for some states, that move could have the benefit of reviving funding for state-run programs that insure low-income adults. As of April 1, states can apply for federal funding to expand their Medicaid programs to cover low-income people earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or $14,404 for an individual and $29,326.50 for a family of four.

2 Apr 2010

Reform promotes patient safety by creating payment incentives, making mistakes public

The Albany Times Union: "More than a million Americans are harmed each year as a result of their medical care — not their underlying condition — and an estimated 100,000 die. Another 100,000 people die from hospital-acquired infections. In addition to expanding coverage to the uninsured, the health reform law attacks the problem of medical errors on two fronts: It establishes new payment incentives for safer care, and makes some mistakes public."

2 Apr 2010

More big companies report charges spurred by health law

News regarding the health law's early impact on large companies - millions of dollars in lost tax exemptions - is continuing to emerge.

2 Apr 2010

Implementation outreach aims to educate the public on health care changes

USA Today reports on "Enroll America" a private campaign aimed at "making it easy for Americans who qualify for Medicaid or private insurance subsidies to sign up" in the wake of health care reform changes. The effort has been prompted by difficulties and confusion that occurred four years ago after a Medicare prescription law encountered major glitches in implementation.

2 Apr 2010

Seniors worry about Medicare reforms, especially changes to Medicare Advantage

The Associated Press: "While Democrats hail the sweeping legislation as the greatest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare, they also fear that seniors won't see it that way for this fall's elections. Indeed, Republicans have portrayed the overhaul as a raid on Medicare — a bedrock of retirement security — to provide money to pay for covering younger, uninsured workers and their families.

1 Apr 2010

Law enforcement officials seek, find Medicare fraud

The Palm Beach Post: To pay for the health reform bill, Medicare fraud is "ripe for plucking, top South Florida prosecutors say."

1 Apr 2010

Democratic, Republican Attorneys General continue health reform lawsuit battle

Politico: Some of the Democratic attorneys general who have refused to join Republican counterparts in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new health law, now "have become reluctant combatants, dragged into the fray by GOP governors and legislators who insist that their reluctance to join the case is a clear attempt to protect their national party's interests."

1 Apr 2010

Leaders join forces to help young athletes play safe and stay healthy

Today, leaders in healthcare, wellness, safety and fitness came together to launch the STOP Sports Injuries campaign. The campaign will educate athletes, parents, trainers, coaches and healthcare providers about the rapid increase in youth sports injuries, the necessary steps to help reverse the trend and the need to keep young athletes healthy.

1 Apr 2010

Patient-safety incidents: 10% died

Nearly one million patient-safety incidents occurred among Medicare patients over the years 2006, 2007, 2008, a figure virtually unchanged since last year's annual study of patient safety by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. In all, the incidents were associated with $8.9 billion in costs. One in ten patients -- 99,180 individuals -- experiencing a patient-safety incident died as a result, the study found.

1 Apr 2010

Medicare News and Research

UnitedHealth Group announces relief for Rhode Island flood victims

Colo. gets federal approval for new patient fees to help fund Medicaid; Ga. Senate passes hospital tax

Tea Party Democratic candidate Warren Mosler releases hybrid health care proposal

Dems tout savings from Medicare fraud crackdown, swindlers exploit health bill confusion

Debate and skepticism over the healthcare reforms

No doughnut hole in global mail-order pharmacy

Findings support value of advance directives, living wills and other means of making end-of-life treatment preferences known

Passage of health reform bill promotes clinical and community prevention plans

Substantial number of older Americans need others to make decisions about end of life care

U.S. Court finds Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Seasonique patent valid and enforceable

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Gemzar patent litigation: U.S. court issues decision

States examine how they may be impacted by reform, Medicaid expansion

Reform promotes patient safety by creating payment incentives, making mistakes public

More big companies report charges spurred by health law

Implementation outreach aims to educate the public on health care changes

Seniors worry about Medicare reforms, especially changes to Medicare Advantage

Law enforcement officials seek, find Medicare fraud

Democratic, Republican Attorneys General continue health reform lawsuit battle

Leaders join forces to help young athletes play safe and stay healthy

Patient-safety incidents: 10% died

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