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Nautic Partners completes recapitalization of HPS in partnership with management

Nautic Partners, LLC, a private equity firm with more than $2.5 billion of capital under management, today announced that it has completed a recapitalization of Healthcare Payment Specialists, LLC (“HPS”) in partnership with management. HPS is a provider of payment and reimbursement solutions to hospitals and other healthcare systems.

18 Feb 2010

Detroit home health agency owner pleads guilty over Medicare fraud

Detroit-area resident Muhammad Shahab pleaded guilty today for his role in organizing a Detroit-area home health care fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI's Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General's (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office.

18 Feb 2010

US health plans adopt unified approach to assist consumers in appropriate medication use

Dozens of US health plans nationwide have adopted a unified approach to assist seniors and other consumers to appropriately use medications. The move follows increased emphasis from the federal government for Medicare plans to offer more robust Medication Therapy Management (“MTM”) programs in 2010.

18 Feb 2010

Senior citizens urge Congress to start over on healthcare reform

With President Obama hosting a bipartisan meeting on health care reform next week, the 60 Plus Association announced today a new advertising campaign featuring seniors who urge Congress to "Start over and get health care right."

18 Feb 2010

LAAHU announces annual Health Insurance Awareness Week

Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters announces its annual Health Insurance Awareness Week. This week is set aside to perform outreach to the community in the form of health awareness and to the importance of the role of the health insurance agent.

18 Feb 2010

Medication therapy management programs for Aetna Medicare members

Aetna today announced that members who enroll in its 2010 Medicare plans will have access to enhanced services called medication therapy management (MTM) aimed at helping them safely and effectively take medications prescribed by their physician. MTM, which will be delivered by Mirixa Corporation, brings together pharmacists, patients, physicians and other health care professionals to help patients with their medications.

18 Feb 2010

CMC-NorthEast chooses Premier’s QualityAdvisor solution for improving patient care

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast (CMC-NorthEast) of Concord, N.C., selected Premier’s QualityAdvisor™ solution to improve delivery of patient care and safely reduce costly avoidable patient events.

18 Feb 2010

AMGA commends Senator for ensuring EMR incentive payments for medical groups

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) applauds Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for her efforts to assure fairness in payment of electronic medical record (EMR) incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

18 Feb 2010

Program for healthcare writing opportunities

With ever-rising healthcare spending, writing opportunities about the health and wellness industry are unlimited. “Regardless of economic conditions, writers will always have lots of topics to cover,” says Sherry Shameer Cohen, President of the Connecticut Press Club.

18 Feb 2010

The Ensign Group announces record $542.0M total revenue for full-year 2009

The Ensign Group, Inc., the parent company of the Ensign™ group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care and assisted living companies, today reported record results for the fourth quarter and full year 2009.

18 Feb 2010

FedSources releases in-depth report on Federal healthcare technology market

FedSources, a Washington Management Group company, has released an in-depth report analyzing spending trends within the Federal healthcare technology market, including health IT.

18 Feb 2010

Utah tries to improve state health insurance exhange; Mich. plans for doctor shortage

The Salt Lake Tribune: "State health reform got a boost Tuesday with House passage of a fix-it bill to improve the Utah Health Exchange, an online tool for purchasing health insurance. Pitched as a free-market approach to lowering costs for small businesses, the exchange has had limited success. Only 400 people are receiving health insurance in its experimental first stage. And some of its 66 plans are up to 130 percent more expensive than what some companies were already paying. That's because insurers are calculating premiums differently 'inside' and 'outside' the exchange, said House Speaker Dave Clark" (Stewart, 2/16).

17 Feb 2010

PositiveID acquires intellectual property rights and assets of Easy Check Medical Diagnostics

PositiveID Corporation announced today that it has acquired intellectual property rights and assets of Easy Check Medical Diagnostics, LLC, to expand its portfolio of non-invasive glucose-level testing products and diabetes management tools under development. Easy Check has two primary products under development: the Easy Check breath glucose detection system and the iGlucose™ wireless communication device.

17 Feb 2010

ACP urges Congress and Obama to enact comprehensive health care reform

"The unfortunate truth is that by many measures, the State of America's health care is in decline," Joseph W. Stubbs, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), reported today at ACP's annual State of the Nation's Health Care briefing. "We have too many uninsured, too few primary care physicians, and the cost of health care is rising faster than we can afford."

17 Feb 2010

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

A former Senate parliamentarian said Tuesday that using reconciliation to pass health care reform will be difficult because the procedure wasn't meant to make policy, Politico's Live Pulse blog reports. The former parliamentarian, Robert Dove, who now teaches at George Washington University, said there are many things that cannot be put into the reconciliation bill. "Dove would know. In 1974, in the midst of his 36-year Senate career, he helped design the Congressional Budget Act, which first created the rules for reconciliation.

17 Feb 2010

Deficit panel to tackle worries of federal debt, including health spending

The New York Times reports that President Obama's appointment of a special panel to study the nation's debt will come "(a)fter decades of warnings that budgetary profligacy, escalating health care costs and an aging population would lead to a day of fiscal reckoning."

17 Feb 2010

COBRA expansion, Medicare payments to doctors 'fix' looming over Congress

Lawmakers seek ways to expand COBRA and address the Medicare doctor payment "fix."

17 Feb 2010

Health Canada approves Talecris Biotherapeutics' PROLASTIN-C for AAT deficiency

Talecris Biotherapeutics announced today that it has received approval from Health Canada for PROLASTIN®-C (Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor [Human]), a more purified and concentrated version of PROLASTIN® produced using advances in manufacturing technology. A similar approval for PROLASTIN-C was granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on October 17, 2009.

17 Feb 2010

St. David's Healthcare to acquire Texas-based multi-hospital regional healthcare system

St. David's HealthCare and MedCath Corporation today announced an agreement for St. David's HealthCare to acquire the Heart Hospital of Austin. St. David's HealthCare is a multi-hospital regional healthcare system based in Austin, Texas.

17 Feb 2010

Office Ally experienced strong growth in previous year, sees record-breaking expansion in 2010

Office Ally, a true health information network connecting patients, providers and payers, experienced strong growth in the previous year and sees further record-breaking expansion in 2010.

17 Feb 2010

Medicare News and Research

Nautic Partners completes recapitalization of HPS in partnership with management

Detroit home health agency owner pleads guilty over Medicare fraud

US health plans adopt unified approach to assist consumers in appropriate medication use

Senior citizens urge Congress to start over on healthcare reform

LAAHU announces annual Health Insurance Awareness Week

Medication therapy management programs for Aetna Medicare members

CMC-NorthEast chooses Premier’s QualityAdvisor solution for improving patient care

AMGA commends Senator for ensuring EMR incentive payments for medical groups

Program for healthcare writing opportunities

The Ensign Group announces record $542.0M total revenue for full-year 2009

FedSources releases in-depth report on Federal healthcare technology market

Utah tries to improve state health insurance exhange; Mich. plans for doctor shortage

PositiveID acquires intellectual property rights and assets of Easy Check Medical Diagnostics

ACP urges Congress and Obama to enact comprehensive health care reform

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

Deficit panel to tackle worries of federal debt, including health spending

COBRA expansion, Medicare payments to doctors 'fix' looming over Congress

Health Canada approves Talecris Biotherapeutics' PROLASTIN-C for AAT deficiency

St. David's Healthcare to acquire Texas-based multi-hospital regional healthcare system

Office Ally experienced strong growth in previous year, sees record-breaking expansion in 2010

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