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UnitedHealth Group invests $5M in Mendocino Coast District Hospital’s bonds

Mendocino Coast District Hospital received $5 million in capital from UnitedHealth Group to help the organization deliver quality health care services to Fort Bragg-area residents and rural communities in Mendocino County.

27 Oct 2009

Reid's end game? Senate bill will have public option with 'opt out'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that he will include a public insurance plan in the final Senate health overhaul legislation.

27 Oct 2009

House Democrats continue courting, counting votes for 'robust' public option

The New York Times reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to discuss the public option and health costs with other Democratic leaders. "Ms. Pelosi has been working hard to build support for the most liberal version of a government-run insurance plan, the so-called robust public option, which would generally tie payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to Medicare rates. But so far Ms. Pelosi has been coming up short."

27 Oct 2009

Six innovations that could prove critical to reforming health care system

The Wall Street Journal offers a collection of stories that looks at changes in health care that could yield big responses: "Health-care innovations come in many shapes and sizes ... [including] the kind that can help reach the goal that continues to elude our policy makers: getting good care to the greatest number of people in the most cost-effective way."

27 Oct 2009

Bending the 'cost curve': Lawmakers, White House consider a bipartisan route

Kaiser Health News staff writer Eric Pianin reports on the idea of a bipartisan idea to establish a commission to control future federal program spending.

27 Oct 2009

Interim results from FREEDOM study announced by NxStage Medical

NxStage Medical, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today announced the latest interim results from its ongoing FREEDOM study. The FREEDOM data will be presented in posters at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Renal Week 2009, from October 27th to November 1st in San Diego.

27 Oct 2009

Economic Adviser Romer goes to bat for 'Cadillac tax,' ways to control costs

ABC News reports that Christina D. Romer, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, "went to bat on Monday for a tax on high-priced insurance plans, the so-called 'Cadillac tax,' calling it 'probably the number one item that health economists across the ideological spectrum believe is likely to stem the explosion of health-care costs.'"

27 Oct 2009

A new choice in healthcare for residents of Chicago's suburbs

A new choice in healthcare is coming to residents of Chicago's suburbs. Santiago A. Candocia, M.D. and Richard Stern, M.D., of Winnetka and Stewart Segal, M.D. of Lake Zurich, are now part of the growing number of physicians across the nation to offer a new healthcare option to patients: the hybrid model of concierge care.

27 Oct 2009

Amedisys announces its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009

Amedisys, Inc., one of America’s leading home health nursing companies, today reported its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009. We posted record financial performance with net service revenue and net income attributable to Amedisys, Inc., increasing 20.7% and 53.0%, respectively, over the three-month period ended September 30, 2008.

27 Oct 2009

Insurer contracting policies can jeopardize health care system, says NNCC study

A study conducted by National Nursing Centers Consortium (NNCC) has found that nearly half (48%) of all major managed-care organizations in the United States do not credential or contract with nurse practitioners as primary care providers.

27 Oct 2009

Centene Corporation third-quarter 2009 net earnings increases to $22.7

Centene Corporation today announced its net earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 were $22.7 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared to $18.1 million, or $0.41 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2008. The results of operations for our New Jersey health plan, University Health Plans, are classified as discontinued operations.

27 Oct 2009

Mobile application launched to help consumers compare health care costs

Medica today became the first health plan to launch a mobile application to help consumers compare cost information for a variety of medical procedures. The app, based on the Web site MainStreetMedica.com, is available at the iPhone App Store.

27 Oct 2009

Health & Human Services awards Lockheed Martin new information technology contracts

Lockheed Martin has been awarded $170 million in new Health & Human Services (HHS) information technology contracts, all geared toward improving efficiency in our nation's health systems.

27 Oct 2009

Reid: Public option with 'opt-out' provision is the 'best way to move forward'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this afternoon that he supports a public plan with a provision that would allow states to "opt-out." Reid's announcement represents a major reversal from his previous hesitation about this mechanism and ensures that some form of a public option will be included in health-care legislation headed to the Senate floor. Recent debate has focused on the best way to devise the approach and which lawmakers might support it.

27 Oct 2009

Small businesses face higher premiums, push for access to 'exchanges'

"As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years," the New York Times reports.

27 Oct 2009

Humana Medicare Advantage plans for Senior Citizens Bureau members

Humana and The Senior Citizens Bureau (SCB) are collaborating to offer Humana Medicare Advantage plans to more than 500,000 SCB members.

27 Oct 2009

Senate health bill could come this week, 'compromise' public option now seems likely

Senate Democrats will need to move quickly if they want to pass some version of health overhaul legislation by the end of the year.

27 Oct 2009

Reid to announce his support for public plan

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to announce at a 3:15 press conference today his support for inclusion of a public option in health care reform legislation.

27 Oct 2009

President Obama declares H1N1 national emergency

President Barack Obama declared the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak a national emergency, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The declaration, which Mr. Obama signed Friday, authorizes the administration to waive or modify certain federal requirements involving Medicare, Medicaid and health-privacy rules to speed treatment," the newspaper writes (McKay/Simpson/Whalen, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009

Medicare fraud: One of the most profitable crimes in U.S.

Medicare "provides a rich and steady income stream for criminals who are constantly finding new ways to steal a sizable chunk of the half trillion dollars that are paid out each year in Medicare benefits," 60 Minutes reports. "In fact, Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable, crimes in America." Medicare fraud leaves little evidence: an FBI agent in South Florida said "the only visible evidence of the crimes are the thousands of tiny clinics and pharmacies that dot the low-rent strip malls.

26 Oct 2009