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Likeley CMS pick Berwick has big ideas on fixing U.S. health care delivery

Dr. Donald Berwick is reportedly the president's choice to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

31 Mar 2010

Gore launches new consumer website to serve as patient resource on AAA

W. L. Gore & Associates announced the launch of a new consumer website, http://www.ultimatesaaave.com, which will serve as an enhanced patient resource on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

31 Mar 2010

CMS delays Medicare doctor pay cut until after congressional recess

"Doctors slated to have their Medicare reimbursements cut 21 percent on April 1 got a reprieve from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is delaying lowered payments until after Congress reconvenes," Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports.

31 Mar 2010

CVS Caremark awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC

CVS Caremark announced today that it has been awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

31 Mar 2010

Cambridge Heart's fourth-quarter total revenue down 20%

Cambridge Heart, Inc., today reported results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. Full financial statements and corresponding commentary can be found in the Company's Form 10-K, which is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2010.

31 Mar 2010

Women, diabetics, dementia patients most likely to fall in 'doughnut hole'; Reform seeks to close coverage gap

Among elderly Americans, women and those with diabetes and dementia are most likely to find themselves in the Medicare Part D drug plan 'doughnut hole,' the coverage gap that occurs after a beneficiary has reached the annual coverage limit but hasn't spent enough on drugs to qualify for catastrophic coverage.

31 Mar 2010

MedeAnalytics' white paper focuses on potential reductions of annual updates to the IPPS

MedeAnalytics, a leading provider of healthcare performance management solutions, today released a white paper on one of the HITECH Act's measures designed to motivate hospitals to become meaningful users of electronic health records (EHRs): potential negative adjustments to Medicare's market basket updates to the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS).

30 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 30, 2010

Today's news pages are full of stories detailing more particulars of the new health care bill to be signed into law today by President Obama. Meanwhile, the headlines also indicate that for Democrats, politically capitalizing on the new measure will be no easy task.

30 Mar 2010

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals submits Acetadote sNDA for non-acetaminophen acute liver failure

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. has submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the use of Acetadote® (acetylcysteine) Injection in patients with non-acetaminophen acute liver failure. Acetadote was launched by Cumberland in 2004 as the first U.S.-approved injectable drug to treat acetaminophen overdose.

30 Mar 2010

National Donate Life Month: Facts surrounding dire need for organ donations

With Thursday, April 1, 2010, marking the start of "National Donate Life Month," Health Net, Inc. is working to increase awareness regarding the urgent need for organ donations - particularly among minority populations - and also to dispute some of the misperceptions surrounding organ donation.

30 Mar 2010

WPS Health Insurance secures spot on 2010 World's Most Ethical Companies list

WPS Health Insurance, Wisconsin's leading not-for-profit health insurer, has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for 2010. Out of a record number of nominations for the award, WPS Health Insurance (Wisconsin Physicians Service) secured a hard-earned spot on the list by going the extra mile, implementing upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company's success, benefit the community, and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry.

30 Mar 2010

New home health provisions proposed in Health Care Reform Bill to benefit older patients

New home health provisions proposed in the Health Care Reform Bill (H.R. 3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) will support the testing and implementation of in-home health care services for chronically ill elderly residents of Greater Philadelphia.

30 Mar 2010

AAPS sues to overturn Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) became the first medical society to sue to overturn the newly enacted health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). AAPS sued Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (AAPS v. Sebelius et al.).

30 Mar 2010

Woman sentenced in Michigan Medicare fraud case; Medicaid fraud alleged in NY dental clinics

Profits came quickly: Over one year, Daisy Martinez ripped off Medicare for $10.7 million at three clinics, and her daughter got $649,000 in just four months as they billed the government for sham drug treatments while luring desperate people off the street with cash, food and painkillers.

30 Mar 2010

Adoption of healthcare IT is on steady incline in small physician practice: NaviNet survey

Adoption of healthcare IT is on a steady incline in the small physician practice, reveals a survey by NaviNet, America's largest real-time healthcare communications network. In early March 2010, NaviNet conducted a survey of IT and electronic medical record adoption trends in small practices and compared results to a similar survey the company issued to small practices in August 2009.

30 Mar 2010

How the health legislation will affect consumers

The Los Angeles Times explores some key questions: Will insurers continue to raise premiums; when will the Medicare "doughnut hole" close; and, "how do I sign up for my new insurance?" In answer to the last one, the Times writes, "Although there are some provisions that take effect this year, such as bans on lifetime limits and the denial of coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, the part of the bill that provides new insurance options does not take effect until 2014" (Geiger, 3/28).

30 Mar 2010

Health industry will see more patients with reform; Physicians give mixed reviews

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The health care plan aims to send a wave of paying patients to hospitals, doctors and pharmacists." Expanded coverage will mean less uncompensated care, a boon to traditional safety-net hospitals, but also more Medicaid patients. Hospitals say Medicaid fees don't cover their costs, so that influx could hurt the bottom line.

30 Mar 2010

Industry groups, lobbying firms gain from health overhaul

The Associated Press: Under the new health care law, "pharmaceutical lobbyists won new federal policies they coveted and set a trajectory for long-term industry growth." Ramsey Baghdadi, a Washington health policy analyst, "projects a $30 billion, 10-year net gain for the industry. 'I don't see how they could have done much better,'" he said.

29 Mar 2010

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announces new contract with Premier Purchasing Partners

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announces a new three-year contract with Premier Purchasing Partners, L.P., the group purchasing unit of Premier Inc., that includes Siemens powerful integrated diagnostic systems, several specialty diagnostic instruments, and a comprehensive menu of diagnostic tests for Premier's more than 2,300 member hospitals and 64,000 additional healthcare sites.

29 Mar 2010

GSK offers free vaccines for low income adults without insurance coverage

GlaxoSmithKline today announced the launch of the GSK Vaccines Access Program, which will provide the company's adult vaccines free of charge to eligible, low income individuals who do not have insurance coverage for vaccines. The program will cover the company's FDA-approved vaccines for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis for eligible persons ages 19 and older.

29 Mar 2010

Medicare News and Research

Likeley CMS pick Berwick has big ideas on fixing U.S. health care delivery

Gore launches new consumer website to serve as patient resource on AAA

CMS delays Medicare doctor pay cut until after congressional recess

CVS Caremark awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC

Cambridge Heart's fourth-quarter total revenue down 20%

Women, diabetics, dementia patients most likely to fall in 'doughnut hole'; Reform seeks to close coverage gap

MedeAnalytics' white paper focuses on potential reductions of annual updates to the IPPS

First Edition: March 30, 2010

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals submits Acetadote sNDA for non-acetaminophen acute liver failure

National Donate Life Month: Facts surrounding dire need for organ donations

WPS Health Insurance secures spot on 2010 World's Most Ethical Companies list

New home health provisions proposed in Health Care Reform Bill to benefit older patients

AAPS sues to overturn Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Woman sentenced in Michigan Medicare fraud case; Medicaid fraud alleged in NY dental clinics

Adoption of healthcare IT is on steady incline in small physician practice: NaviNet survey

How the health legislation will affect consumers

Health industry will see more patients with reform; Physicians give mixed reviews

Industry groups, lobbying firms gain from health overhaul

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announces new contract with Premier Purchasing Partners

GSK offers free vaccines for low income adults without insurance coverage

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