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Some Democratic Senators raise red flag on Medicare expansion idea

The possibility of allowing some 55-64 year olds to buy-in to Medicare is in the news today.

14 Dec 2009

Some rural communities concerned reform provisions could hurt Medicare services

Newspapers in Alaska and Washington state explore how health reform provisions might affect Medicare services in rural areas, while a Colorado newspaper looks at one senator's efforts to increase the number of doctors in rural areas.

14 Dec 2009

Pelosi calls House, Senate bills "75 percent compatible"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated Thursday that she may be amenable to a Senate compromise that would expand Medicare and allow the federal government to oversee nonprofit national health plans in lieu of the public option, CNN reports.

13 Dec 2009

Democrats struggling to find delicate balance on Senate health bill

The Hill: "Two key senators criticized the most recent healthcare compromise Sunday, saying the policies replacing the public option are still unacceptable. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) both said a Medicare 'buy-in' option for those aged 55-64 was a deal breaker.

13 Dec 2009

UPMC Health Plan signs agreement to offer brain fitness software from Posit Science

UPMC Health Plan announced today that it has signed an agreement to offer award-winning brain fitness software from Posit Science®, at no cost, to all UPMC for Life Medicare Advantage members.

12 Dec 2009

Health policy study roundup

Relationship of Primary Care Physicians' Patient Caseload With Measurement of Quality and Cost Performance - To "determine whether primary care physicians in the same physician practice collectively see enough Medicare patients annually to detect meaningful differences between practices in ambulatory quality and cost measures," the authors of this study combed through a national sample of Medicare beneficiaries and a database identifying the practice affiliations of the physicians who delivered care to these patients.

12 Dec 2009

Results from clinical survey of Oncotype DX on patients with node-positive breast cancer announced

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced results from a clinical survey evaluating the impact of the Oncotype DX® Recurrence Score® result on physicians' adjuvant treatment recommendations for patients with node-positive, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

12 Dec 2009

Expansion of Medicare in health care compromise faces challenges

The expansion of Medicare included in a Senate compromise hailed as a breakthrough in the discussions of health care overhaul earlier this week is now encountering some friction.

11 Dec 2009

Talk To Me Technologies to help customers get funding through Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance

AbleNet, Inc. announces a new program to offer Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance funding support through Talk To Me Technologies, LLC. This service is effective December 2009 for the AbleNet SuperTalker™ progressive communicator and FL4SH™ scanning communicator products.

11 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 11, 2009

Today's headlines track the fits and starts of the Senate's health bill debate, including moderates' concern regarding the recent Medicare expansion deal and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's positive reaction to it. Meanwhile, floor action appears snagged on a drug importation amendment.

11 Dec 2009

SCAN Health Plan Arizona named to the 2009 "Best Places to Work" list

The Phoenix Business Journal and BestCompaniesAZ, co-founders of the "Best Places to Work" competition, announced today that SCAN Health Plan Arizona has been named to the 2009 list in the medium-sized category. Companies were nominated by their employees, who provided extensive insight into employee life.

11 Dec 2009

Prescription Solutions achieves overall generic prescription drug penetration rate of 68.8 percent

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) organization and a UnitedHealth Group company, has achieved an industry-leading overall generic prescription drug penetration rate of 68.8 percent year-to-date for 2009.

11 Dec 2009

New data suggests bisphosphonate drug may play a role in reducing recurrent breast cancer

Bisphosphonates are routinely given to women with postmenopausal breast cancer, but new data suggests that these agents may play a role in reducing recurrent breast cancer as well.

11 Dec 2009

PharmMD raises $8.8 million in capital from The Riverside Company and FCA Ventures IV

PharmMD recently raised $8.8 million in capital from The Riverside Company and FCA Ventures IV, a fund of Clayton Associates.

11 Dec 2009

Proposed changes to breast cancer screening criticized

The Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Investigation and one of the country's most respected medical policy professors has written a new commentary which criticizes proposed changes to breast cancer screening.

11 Dec 2009

COA: Current health reform legislation does not address major inadequacies in Medicare reimbursement

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) today issued a statement warning that oncologists throughout the U.S. may face closing their practices if critical Medicare reimbursement fixes for treating cancer patients are not made as a part of health care reform.

11 Dec 2009

MedPAC home care cuts can harm home health agencies and impact senior Americans, says NAHC

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) once again has used a flawed data analysis to recommend cuts that would severely damage the ability of thousands of home health care agencies to provide valuable services to the most vulnerable of Americans, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) said today.

11 Dec 2009

Positive results from Genomic Health's Oncotype DX study in breast cancer patients with node-positive disease

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced that The Lancet Oncology published positive results from a study of Oncotype DX(®) in postmenopausal women with node-positive, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), a National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials cooperative group.

11 Dec 2009

Pelosi: Depending on Senate, House could work part of Christmas week

CQ Politics: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she wouldn't rule out keeping the House in session for part of Christmas week, if that could lead to final action this year on a health care overhaul. Right now, however, such a scenario appears unlikely." In the Senate, Democratic leaders are waiting for an updated Congressional Budget Office analysis -- a report not expected before next week -- that includes the most recent round of proposals to the bill they are considering.

10 Dec 2009

MedPAC suggests recouping overpayments to hospitals

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission suggested Thursday that Congress should adjust what it pays hospitals for inpatient care in 2011 to recoup overpayments that have come from changes in documentation and coding used by Medicare, according to a report on Modern Healthcare.

10 Dec 2009

Medicare News and Research

Some Democratic Senators raise red flag on Medicare expansion idea

Some rural communities concerned reform provisions could hurt Medicare services

Pelosi calls House, Senate bills "75 percent compatible"

Democrats struggling to find delicate balance on Senate health bill

UPMC Health Plan signs agreement to offer brain fitness software from Posit Science

Health policy study roundup

Results from clinical survey of Oncotype DX on patients with node-positive breast cancer announced

Expansion of Medicare in health care compromise faces challenges

Talk To Me Technologies to help customers get funding through Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance

First Edition: December 11, 2009

SCAN Health Plan Arizona named to the 2009 "Best Places to Work" list

Prescription Solutions achieves overall generic prescription drug penetration rate of 68.8 percent

New data suggests bisphosphonate drug may play a role in reducing recurrent breast cancer

PharmMD raises $8.8 million in capital from The Riverside Company and FCA Ventures IV

Proposed changes to breast cancer screening criticized

COA: Current health reform legislation does not address major inadequacies in Medicare reimbursement

MedPAC home care cuts can harm home health agencies and impact senior Americans, says NAHC

Positive results from Genomic Health's Oncotype DX study in breast cancer patients with node-positive disease

Pelosi: Depending on Senate, House could work part of Christmas week

MedPAC suggests recouping overpayments to hospitals

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

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How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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