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Medical Exchange announces next generation of continuing medical education events

Medical Exchange, an innovative provider of medical education solutions for the health care industry, today announced the next generation of continuing medical education events with the launch of collaborativeCARE Conference (C3).

13 Oct 2010

Philadelphia paramedics plan to sue over health coverage; healthcare merger seeks to lower costs in wash

The city's paramedics are planning to sue over Mayor Nutter's efforts to keep them out of the firefighters union. The dispute goes back to a ruling by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board last month that gave the city the right to shift paramedics out of the firefighters union.

11 Oct 2010

Mass. hospital sale talks seeking to protect employee retirement plans; Conn. Gov. ask for waiver in preexisting insurance plan

Representatives of Caritas Christi Health Care, the private equity firm seeking to buy it, and the attorney general's office are working on a tentative agreement to protect the retirement plans of 13,000 employees and keep the chain's hospitals open for at least five years.

6 Oct 2010

American Anesthesiology acquires Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants

American Anesthesiology, a subsidiary of MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants, P.A., a physician group practice that provides anesthesia care and pain management services at nine hospitals, 12 ambulatory surgery centers and 10 pain management centers principally located in the Charlotte, NC, metropolitan area.

5 Oct 2010

Lawsuit seeks to stop Blue Cross from limiting provider networks and restricting members' access to health care

A lawsuit filed against Anthem Blue Cross, on behalf of thousands of California doctors, is asking the court to stop Blue Cross from limiting their provider networks and restricting plan members' access to health care, solely for the sake of increasing profits. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin Blue Cross from preventing any physician who is willing to accept the terms of Blue Cross contracts, and meets Blue Cross' eligibility criteria, from becoming a Blue Cross provider.

29 Sep 2010

New Formulary Forum reports market growth of immune biologics

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that the market growth of immune biologics will come from the expansion of indications for immune biologics in response to limited off-label use and competition for preferred status.

28 Sep 2010

Disenrollment from hospice increases costs of care for cancer patients

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the costs of care for patients with cancer who disenrolled from hospice were nearly five times higher than for patients who remained with hospice. Patients who disenroll from hospice are far more likely to use emergency department care and be hospitalized. The results are published in the October 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

24 Sep 2010

PharmacoEconomics releases special issue on CER

Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, a leading provider of scientific information and analytics to the pharmaceutical and biotech fields, announced today that the Adis journal PharmacoEconomics has released a special issue devoted entirely to comparative effectiveness research (CER).

23 Sep 2010

N.J. Democrats fail to restore funds to family-planning centers; Penn. reports record number eligible for Medicaid; N.Y. report suggests overhauling Medicaid system

Philadelphia Inquirer: Efforts by N.J. Senate Democrats to restore $7.5 million to state family planning health centers ended Monday without any Republican support. In a 23-17 party line vote the Senate failed veto the governor's veto of center funding. Gov. "Christie's budget eliminated state funding to 58 family-planning health centers across the state, which last year provided services to more than 130,000 men and women, most of whom were underinsured.

22 Sep 2010

Medical Accounts Systems, Jorge M. Abril, P.A. launch Healthcare Provider Payment

The staff at Medical Accounts Systems and the attorneys at Jorge M. Abril, P.A. are pleased to announce the launch of Healthcare Provider Payment, a blog dedicated to helping healthcare professionals and other interested parties stay abreast of relevant news and emerging trends in healthcare reimbursement, from insurance litigation news and Managed Care contracting issues, to health law and policy in general.

20 Sep 2010

Health premiums rise as states consider how they'll implement reforms

Overall health insurance premiums rose 7 percent in 2009, even as the number of people with health coverage fell. "Individual premium revenues rose 15 percent while group premiums, which involve mostly employers, rose nearly 3 percent, according to the report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an organization whose prominence has grown following passage of the new U.S. health reform law."

18 Sep 2010

Aetna extends contract with University of Pennsylvania Health System

Aetna announced today that it has signed a five-year contract extension with the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), assuring continued in-network access for its members in the Philadelphia area.

17 Sep 2010

Cost of health insurance claims expected to climb 10% over next year

The cost of health insurance claims is expected to rise, according to a new report, but insurers say they are getting tougher when negotiating prices with hospitals.

16 Sep 2010

Insurers expand business overseas

The Wall Street Journal: "Cigna Corp. is expanding overseas, leading a push by health insurers to find growth amid uncertainties at home. Next month, the Philadelphia-based firm will launch an insurance policy in Spain that it says is the first of its kind to be sold by U.S. insurers. The new plan is sold directly to local individuals, as opposed to employer-sponsored or supplemental policies offered by Cigna in 26 other countries.

15 Sep 2010

AMCP supports legislation to prohibit financial agreements for delaying marketing of lower-cost generic drugs

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) supports the inclusion of legislative language similar to S. 369 — the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act — in appropriations legislation now under consideration by the Senate. S. 369 would prohibit financial agreements between brand-name and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers to delay the marketing of lower-cost generic drugs.

14 Sep 2010

Illinois HFS selects Centene subsidiary for managed care services

Centene Corporation announced today its new subsidiary, IlliniCare Health Plan, was selected by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) as one of one of two vendors to provide managed care services to approximately 40,000 Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities in six Chicago area counties.

10 Sep 2010

Questcor Pharmaceuticals provides update on sNDA for H.P. Acthar Gel

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has informed Questcor that the FDA will require additional time beyond the current action date of September 11, 2010 to complete its review of Questcor's supplemental new drug application for H.P. Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) in the treatment of infantile spasms.

9 Sep 2010

Event Pulse report reveals impact of new therapies on MS drug market

The study titled Event Pulse Preview: Multiple Sclerosis shows that 84% of neurologists expect to prescribe Gilenia for some MS patients if approved, but prescribing will likely be limited to second- or third-line therapy until concerns about safety and monitoring requirements are resolved.

1 Sep 2010

ACOs to offer better coordinate care for patients

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that provider groups in California, including physician groups, independent practice associations, hospitals and medical foundations, are beginning to shape their role in the anticipated shift towards accountable care organizations (ACO).

30 Aug 2010

Medical home model improves quality of healthcare, reduces cost: Geisinger study

Results of a Geisinger study published in the August 2010 edition of the American Journal of Managed Care show its advanced medical home model is capable of simultaneously improving the quality of healthcare and reducing the cost.

26 Aug 2010