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Despite recommendations, nearly 14% of Medicare beneficiaries with STEMI undergo multi-vessel PCI

Nearly 14 percent of Medicare beneficiaries admitted with a primary diagnosis of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) undergo multi-vessel primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), despite recommendations from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association to intervene on only the culprit vessel.

19 Mar 2010

Predominantly white, insured and sick patients frequently use ER

Frequent users of the emergency department are predominantly white, insured and at greater risk for hospitalization due to serious illness, despite public perceptions of them as abusers of the healthcare system with minor complaints and no health insurance. This is the consensus of a systematic review of two dozen published studies of so-called "frequent flyers" ("Frequent Users of Emergency Departments: The Myths, the Data, and the Policy Implications").

19 Mar 2010

Enrollment in internal medicine residency program remains stagnant

The number of U.S. medical students choosing internal medicine residencies inched higher from 2009 but not enough to significantly impact the shortage of primary care physicians.

19 Mar 2010

Financial incentives may influence frequency of cataract surgery in Medicare and VA health system

Patients seen at private facilities reimbursed by Medicare were more than 550 percent more likely to have routine cataract surgery than those who received their care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a strong indication that the frequency of cataract surgery may be responsive to financial incentives to either or both the medical facility and the physicians who perform the procedure.

19 Mar 2010

Congress should cast final votes to get comprehensive health care reform enacted into law, ACP

The American College of Physicians, representing 129,000 internal medicine physician and medical student members, said today that Congress should cast the final votes needed to get comprehensive health care reform enacted into law. Without reform, ACP said, tens of millions of Americans stand to lose access to affordable health care and out-of-control spending will trigger an unprecedented fiscal and budgetary crisis.

19 Mar 2010

AAO-HNS urges Congress to pass meaningful healthcare reform

The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, the nation’s largest organization representing ear, nose, and throat surgeons, urges Congress to address several critical issues in the pending healthcare reform legislation before a final vote is held.

19 Mar 2010

Pediatricians warn payment system may force them to stop accepting Medicaid patients

Doctors are increasingly turning away from accepting Medicaid patients as the payment system — and an increasing number of Medicaid patients — means they're losing money treating patients. In the Atlanta area, this is evidenced by the closing of two pediatric clinics.

19 Mar 2010

Report cites rise in uninsured middle-class Americans

A report released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Barely Hanging On: Middle-Class and Uninsured, looks at the rise in the level of uninsured middle-class people in the last eight years.

19 Mar 2010

As reform hangs in balance, policy benefits continue to be discussed

NPR reports on the immediate effects of the proposed health care bill, and that Congressional Democrats are focusing on those benefits in messages to constituents. "The White House is trying to shift the conversation away from the messy legislative process — which Republicans are keying on — and instead focus on what the health care overhaul would do for families and businesses."

19 Mar 2010

A right to health care? wrong!

Years of debating liberal friends and colleagues has brought me to an understanding: This question is at the core of the debate. The absurd notion of a “right” to health care underlies the movement towards socialized medicine. If this right does exist, it becomes a moral imperative to guarantee it for all, i.e. “universal coverage.”

18 Mar 2010

Health care fraud, prescription theft lead to significant losses

ABC News: "A four month 'Nightline' investigation into Medicare fraud makes one thing perfectly clear: this is a crime that pays and pays and pays. The federal government admits that a staggering $60 billion is stolen from tax payers through Medicare scams every year. Some experts believe the number is more than twice that.

18 Mar 2010

Competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment: Myths and realities

Medicare has been touting the merits of the "competitive" bidding program for durable, or home medical equipment and services (HME) to convince Congress that the program is good for seniors. Unfortunately, proponents have conveyed misleading information and cherry-picked facts that exaggerate the benefits and ignore the severe shortcomings of the program.

18 Mar 2010

New chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal cancer: High-cost/low-value medical care

New chemotherapy agents appear associated with improvements in survival time for patients with metastastic colorectal cancer, but at substantial cost, according to a report in the March 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Mar 2010

Evaluating all Medicare plan options can reduce healthcare costs

Nearly 8 million former workers have disabilities so severe that they rely on Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and an estimated 3.3 million more will apply for disability benefits this year. For these people and others suffering from serious conditions and disabilities, taking the right steps quickly to manage costs is essential for their financial and health well-being, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

18 Mar 2010

MediCare International offers insurance for all nationalities

The Lebanon is an important centre for international workers - Post conflict international health cover hard to arrange - Good hospital facilities can only be accessed with the right cover - MediCare International offers insurance for all nationalities

18 Mar 2010

NIST and HHS to develop software tools to support health IT testing infrastructure

Fully incorporating modern information technology into the healthcare system promises many benefits, including better quality care, less paperwork and fewer medical errors while reducing unnecessary costs. In any such critical application, however, it's important to ensure that the new technology behaves as expected.

18 Mar 2010

Senate parliamentarian wields authority over Democrats' health care efforts

The Associated Press: "When Congress battles over thorny bills, parliamentarian Alan Frumin has been known to sleep in his office — on call 24/7 as the Senate's Solomon, divining the answers. Frumin's ability to review long-standing rules and centuries of precedent to resolve Senate questions makes the mustachioed parliamentarian something of a Washington rock star these days.

18 Mar 2010

SBCA urges Congressional representatives to consider detrimental impact of health care reform bill

The Small Business Council of America urges Members of the House of Representatives to vote against the Senate health care reform bill. The SBCA believes the details of this legislation will not only harm small businesses and their ability to provide health care to their employees, but that it could lead to the ultimate demise of this country's private health care system.

18 Mar 2010

House Democratic leader twisting arms of the rank-and-file; Tracking health reform vote tally

Democrats are pressuring fellow members to accept the health care reform legislation and are playing hardball to secure votes for the health reform package.

18 Mar 2010

Drugmakers are 'under-exposed' in emerging markets, report says

Growing markets for pharmaceuticals in China, Brazil, Russia and India are outpacing national markets in Europe and the U.S., but major drugmakers have been slow to expand in these markets and may lose opportunities, a new study finds, The New York Times reports. To put the shift in perspective, China will overtake both France and Germany next year in terms of drug spending, while Brazil will overtake Britain, according to the report by research firm IMS Health.

18 Mar 2010

Medicare News and Research

Despite recommendations, nearly 14% of Medicare beneficiaries with STEMI undergo multi-vessel PCI

Predominantly white, insured and sick patients frequently use ER

Enrollment in internal medicine residency program remains stagnant

Financial incentives may influence frequency of cataract surgery in Medicare and VA health system

Congress should cast final votes to get comprehensive health care reform enacted into law, ACP

AAO-HNS urges Congress to pass meaningful healthcare reform

Pediatricians warn payment system may force them to stop accepting Medicaid patients

Report cites rise in uninsured middle-class Americans

As reform hangs in balance, policy benefits continue to be discussed

A right to health care? wrong!

Health care fraud, prescription theft lead to significant losses

Competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment: Myths and realities

New chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal cancer: High-cost/low-value medical care

Evaluating all Medicare plan options can reduce healthcare costs

MediCare International offers insurance for all nationalities

NIST and HHS to develop software tools to support health IT testing infrastructure

Senate parliamentarian wields authority over Democrats' health care efforts

SBCA urges Congressional representatives to consider detrimental impact of health care reform bill

House Democratic leader twisting arms of the rank-and-file; Tracking health reform vote tally

Drugmakers are 'under-exposed' in emerging markets, report says

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