Medicare News and Research

RSS

Digital divide appears between hospitals that treat the rich and poor

"Hospitals that disproportionately care for poor patients are less likely than other hospitals to have adopted health information technology," according to an October study published in Health Affairs, American Medical News reports. The economic stimulus legislation in February directed $19 billion in federal investments to help all types of hospitals adopt electronic records, but some researchers are concerned the money may not close that divide.

23 Nov 2009

AMCP awards Health Net Federal Services for its education and communication materials

Health Net Federal Services, LLC, the government operations division of Health Net, Inc., today announced it recently received multiple MarCom Awards for its education and communication materials from the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals (AMCP). AMCP is an international organization of thousands of creative professionals, recognizing the best materials and resources in the business through its MarCom Awards.

23 Nov 2009

AARP hosts educational forum to address nation's health care system

With the U.S. House of Representatives passing the landmark Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), and the Senate moving key health reform legislation forward, Congress has taken decisive steps to fix our nation's broken health care system.

23 Nov 2009

On the health bill, Senate Democratic leaders finally hit number 60

The Washington Post: "Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) declared Saturday she will support a key procedural step to advance President Obama's health-care legislation." During a Senate floor speech earlier this afternoon, Landrieu said she would support the motion to begin debate on the health bill, "ending days of silence on the matter" (Kane, 11/21).

22 Nov 2009

Despite Senate health care victory, Democrats face bumpy road ahead

Sunday news talk programs were full of lawmakers looking ahead to the next few weeks of Senate debate on a sweeping health care bill.

22 Nov 2009

Finance is the main cause for Puget Sound-area residents to delay their retirement

More than 60 percent of Puget Sound-area residents say they have delayed or plan to delay their retirement beyond their ideal age, according to a recent survey commissioned by Symetra Financial, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., and Senior Services.

21 Nov 2009

AANS and CNS oppose the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) announced their opposition to the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” released this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

21 Nov 2009

Three health care organizations implement interconnected EHR system

Three of the largest Front Range health care organizations are taking an unprecedented leap forward in health care reform by improving care for more than a million Coloradans with an interconnected electronic patient record exchange system.

21 Nov 2009

New health-reform bill violates Americans' health-insurance choices and privacy, says IHF

The Senate's newly released health-reform bill ("Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act") infringes on Americans' health-insurance choices and medical privacy, says Sue Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom (IHF) -- a patients' rights group in Washington, D.C.

21 Nov 2009

Delaware Physicians Care selected as one of the top 25 Medicaid Plans for the second consecutive year

For the second year in a row, Delaware Physicians Care has been selected as one of the top 25 Medicaid Plans out of hundreds in the nation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and U.S. News & World Report magazine. The ranking is based on clinical quality, member satisfaction and NCQA accreditation scores.

21 Nov 2009

MCHCP offers Mercy Health Plans options to its members

Missouri state employees in the Southwest and South Central Missouri regions will now have the option to choose Mercy Health Plans thanks to an agreement reached Tuesday between Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP) and Mercy Health Plans.

21 Nov 2009

Health care bill: LAHP warns of higher premiums and reduced benefits

The Louisiana Association of Health Plans today warned that Louisianians could experience higher health care premiums and reduced benefits if proposals being considered by Congress should become law.

21 Nov 2009

"Hotline" report on finasteride for prevention of prostate cancer

In response to a recent New York Times article that questions why currently available medications designed to treat and prevent some cancers are being ignored, ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization, is offering a roadmap to the evidence on Finasteride for Prevention of Prostate Cancer for free download.

20 Nov 2009

Poll: Majority of Americans support medical malpractice reform

The Associated Press further analyzed its poll from earlier this week, with an eye on medical malpractice limits: "54 percent favor making it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mistakes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are opposed. The rest are undecided or don't know. But congressional Democrats are reluctant to press forward on the issue. They don't want to upset a valuable political constituency — trial lawyers — even if President Barack Obama says he believes that fear of being sued leads doctors to practice defensive medicine, driving up costs for everyone."

20 Nov 2009

UCH’s Cardiac & Vascular Center now offers treatment with CardiacAssist's TandemHeart System

CardiacAssist Inc. announced today that the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) has adopted the company’s TandemHeart® System.

20 Nov 2009

California issues strict rules for health professionals with addiction problems

News outlets report on a variety of health issues at the state level including stricter rules for drug abusers in the health industry in California, an examination of the nation's first city-run universal health care plan in San Francisco, a cigarette tax in Florida, sex offenders and ex-convicts in nursing homes in Illinois and efforts to battle medical errors in New Jersey.

20 Nov 2009

Biotel reports net earnings of $128,000 for its first quarter ended September 30, 2009

Biotel Inc. announced results for its first quarter ended September 30, 2009 with net earnings of $128,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, on revenues of $3,263,000. This compares to net earnings of $328,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, on revenues of $3,168,000 for the first quarter of last year.

20 Nov 2009

Tax provisions in Senate health bill draw scrutiny

Several news organizations report on new taxes in the Senate health bill and how they differ from those in the House-passed measure.

20 Nov 2009

House moves to block doctors' Medicare pay cuts

The House voted largely along party lines Thursday to permanently end annual cuts in doctors' Medicare payments, which the Congress has temporarily averted from year to year, the Associated Press reports. The legislation would add more than $200 billion to the deficit, and Republicans "contended that Democrats supported the bill to thank the [American Medical Association] for backing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul."

20 Nov 2009

GOP and industry groups quick to decry Senate health bill

When Senate Democrats unveiled a bill meant to expand health coverage and restrain spending growth, "Republicans saw little to like," The Associated Press reports. GOP senators characterized the package Thursday "as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts and heavy new burdens for deficit-ridden states." Meanwhile, Republican governors fretted that the bill would expand Medicaid, a program that insures the poor, and relies on states for a portion of its funding. "We all know a sucker play when we see one," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniel (Espo, 11/20).

20 Nov 2009