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Federal tech panel still defining electronic health records terminology

The mid-December "milestone" for a federal advisory panel to come up with a definition of "meaningful use" of electronic medical records has come and gone, Modern Healthcare reports. That definition is to be used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine who is eligible for a share of $34 billion in subsidies provided as part of the February stimulus bill. The members of the federal panel began shaping their definition in May.

17 Dec 2009

Lieberman's health care move still reverberating

Politico: "Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is taking a thrashing from his former Democratic colleagues and liberal activists for forcing a Medicare expansion out of the health bill. But in the end, Lieberman may have done President Barack Obama one of the biggest favors in the health care debate. That's because any bill with the Medicare buy-in would have drawn fierce opposition from doctors and hospitals, two groups Obama has worked hard to keep on board.

17 Dec 2009

House votes to extend COBRA benefits, delay Medicare physician pay cuts

The House of Representatives voted yesterday to delay Medicare doctor payment cuts and extend COBRA benefits.

17 Dec 2009

Pelosi signals openness to bill without public option, others also eye possibilities

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled Wednesday that she is open to health care reform that doesn't include a public option, "a strong signal that Congress could agree on a plan early next year," McClatchy reports.

17 Dec 2009

Pelosi signals openness to bill without public option but progressives chafe

17 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 17, 2009

Today's big story, according to the headlines, are the delays in the Senate debate.

17 Dec 2009

Obama meeting designed to boost Reid's effort to pass health bill

The New York Times Prescriptions blog: "With the health care overhaul on shaky ground, President Obama planned to meet with Senate Democrats on Tuesday afternoon ... to exhort them to make history by approving the contentious measure."

17 Dec 2009

Health Research Institute presents top 10 issues in the upcoming year

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute's Top 10 Health Industry Issues in 2010, puts healthcare cost control at the head of the list as the overarching theme for the year ahead.

17 Dec 2009

Dangers of excess radiation exposure: Stricter measures needed to prevent unnecessary scans

MedSolutions (www.medsolutions.com), a leading provider of medical cost management services, today commended two new studies highlighting the dangers of excess radiation exposure from CT scans and other diagnostic imaging tests.

17 Dec 2009

Quantros launches new healthcare IT consulting division

Quantros, Inc., a leading provider of safety and quality software and professional services solutions for the healthcare industry, announces the creation of a new healthcare IT consulting division.

17 Dec 2009

Healthcare sector achieves modest revenue growth in 2008

Health care sector revenue increased by 5.7 percent in 2008 to $1.75 trillion, up from $1.66 trillion in 2007, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This sector is classified under the North American Industry Classification System as NAICS 62.

17 Dec 2009

Portable bladder volume ultrasound now included in 2009 CDC guidelines for the prevention CA-UTIs

Verathon®, maker of BladderScan® bladder volume instruments is pleased to announce that portable bladder volume ultrasound is now included in the new 2009 CDC guidelines for the Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CA-UTIs).

17 Dec 2009

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announces $27 million to help older individuals with chronic conditions

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the availability of $27 million to help older individuals with chronic conditions to improve their health and reduce their use of costly medical care.

17 Dec 2009

The White House reject Dean's challenge to Senate health bill

USA Today: A White House spokesman today said President Obama rejects the call by former Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean to defeat the current Senate health care bill. Dean, "a physician who also was Vermont governor, said on national television Wednesday he believed legislation in the Senate would now benefit the insurance industry more than it helps Americans struggling to gain health coverage or pay for it."

16 Dec 2009

Obama: Government 'will go bankrupt' without health reform

ABC News: "President Obama told ABC News' Charles Gibson in an interview that if Congress does not pass health care legislation that will bring down costs, the federal government 'will go bankrupt.'"

16 Dec 2009

Obama 'cautiously optimistic' on reform after meeting with Senate Democrats

President Obama told Senate Democrats Tuesday in an hour-long meeting that they are on the "precipice" of health reform and said that he was "cautiously optimistic" that health reform would get done, the Los Angeles Times reports. "President Obama, acknowledging that he will have to accept serious compromises in the passage of a healthcare overhaul, insisted today that he would not let the public down on an issue that he had made the centerpiece of his first-year domestic agenda."

16 Dec 2009

Hospital, physician lobbyists fought Medicare buy-in proposal

The Washington Post offers a look at how hospital and physician lobbyists adamantly fought the Medicare buy-in proposal, which would have allowed people age 55 to 64 to buy Medicare coverage. Such efforts led to the proposal's disappearance within six days.

16 Dec 2009

Major Medicare fraud crackdown in 3 states

The Associated Press: "Federal agents arrested 26 suspects in three states Tuesday, including a doctor and nurses, in a major crackdown on Medicare fraud totaling $61 million in separate scams. Arrests in Miami, Brooklyn and Detroit included a Florida doctor accused of running a $40 million home health care scheme that falsely listed patients as blind diabetics so that he could bill for twice-daily nurse visits.

16 Dec 2009

On and off Capitol Hill, politicians are taking positions on health bill

Roll Call: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday said she does not believe that the Senate Democratic health care reform bill will garner her vote, despite significant changes that are likely to be made to rid the bill of a public insurance option and an expansion of Medicare. Democrats have regarded Collins, along with fellow moderate Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, as potentially persuadable on the bill.

16 Dec 2009

Senate Democrats trying to push health reform bill ahead

The Associated Press: "History may be calling but time's running out to act by Christmas, so Senate Democrats are coming to terms with the idea they won't get everything they want from health care overhaul. ... The public plan liberals hoped for appeared dead in the Senate, as did a Medicare buy-in scheme offered as a fallback."

16 Dec 2009