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At Finance Committee, fireworks surround efforts to add drug discount, eliminate individual mandate

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday defeated an amendment that sought to squeeze more money out of pharmaceutical companies to help pay for the costs of changing the health care system. The panel's vote was a victory for President Obama and Finance Chairman Max Baucus.

25 Sep 2009

GOP to stall confirmation of HHS nominees, due to flap over insurers' letters to seniors

Debate continues about the administration's reaction to letters sent by insurers to seniors about health overhaul.

25 Sep 2009

Finance committee agonizes over Medicare cuts

Politico reports: "The top Senate Republican says Democratic cuts to Medicare will cost them in the 2010 elections, warning that the hundreds of billions in reductions to the senior citizen health program is 'Orwellian.' Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, criticized Democrats for insisting that a half-trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare as part of the health care overhaul, well, aren't exactly cuts to Medicare.

25 Sep 2009

House passes bill to stop some Medicare premium increases

The House voted overwhelmingly to stop premium increases in Medicare Part B— which covers doctor visits — from taking effect next year.

25 Sep 2009

Labor chief asks for probe into health insurance lobbying

The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones reports: "AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on Thursday urged some state insurance commissioners to investigate how the costs of insurers' lobbying to defeat health-insurance reform are affecting premiums."

25 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 25, 2009

Today's headlines reflect the continuing action in the Senate Finance Committee and around Congress, focusing on legislative strife related to the White House deal with drug companies and the debate over the public plan.

25 Sep 2009

Vermont Information Technology Leaders to collaborate with Allscripts

Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc., the non-profit organization facilitating the expanded use of health information technology in Vermont, and Allscripts, the leading U.S. health information technology provider with a major facility located in South Burlington, Vermont, today announced their intention to enter into a strategic alliance.

25 Sep 2009

House passes bill to eliminate Medicare premium hike

"The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to eliminate monthly premium increases for millions of Medicare patients next year," The Associated Press reports. "It voted 406 to 18 to send the bill to the Senate, which is expected to act soon. Lawmakers said older Americans shouldn't have to pay higher Medicare Part B premiums because they are not expected to get a cost of living increase from Social Security."

25 Sep 2009

Survey reveals that cardiologists are seeing more patients than ever before

The healthcare crisis that has affected millions of Americans has hit the nation's cardiologists as well, according to a new survey: they are seeing more patients than ever and performing more tests on those patients. But they are being reimbursed less for those services by Medicare and insurance firms, in what one cardiologist called "a revenue roller coaster of uncertainty," even as their costs continue to increase steadily.

25 Sep 2009

Senators fight over Medicare spending cuts, what it would mean for beneficiaries

Senators on the Senate Finance Committee spent much of Wednesday duking it out over proposed Medicare cuts that would fund part of a Democratic push at health care reform. The intensity of the debate highlights the political importance of the senior citizen demographic.

25 Sep 2009

Mayo Clinic's views on how to get high-value health care

Mayo Clinic's perspective about how to get high-value health care is the focus of a Perspectives article in the New England Journal of Medicine, published online on Sept. 23, 2009, and in the print issue on Oct. 1, 2009.

25 Sep 2009

Senate Finance Panel rejects amendment to squeeze drug makers

"Senators rebuffed an attempt to squeeze more money from the drug industry Thursday after two Democrats warned it would undermine the fragile political coalition pushing a sweeping health care overhaul," The Associated Press reports.

25 Sep 2009

Prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease important to Americans

A new voter survey sponsored by the ACT-AD Coalition (Accelerate Cure/Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease) finds that three-quarters of Americans nationwide and across party lines say it is personally important to them to find a cure or to prevent Alzheimer's disease, while a similar proportion of the national electorate say they look to Congress to make it "a national priority" to speed up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) review process in specific ways for therapies that slow, halt or reverse the disease.

25 Sep 2009

Members of HealthSpring to receive costs of administering the H1N1 flu vaccination

HealthSpring will cover the costs of administering the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccination to its members as the vaccine becomes available.

25 Sep 2009

Perot Systems to provide Revenue Cycle services to the West Georgia Health System

West Georgia Health System and Perot Systems today announced that Perot Systems will provide Revenue Cycle services to the LaGrange, Georgia-based hospital organization. The agreement will enable WGHS to utilize Perot Systems' revenue cycle technology and its proven best practices for revenue cycle improvements.

25 Sep 2009

Heads of Indian Health Service, Hispanic doctors speak out on reform

NPR interviews Dr. Elana Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), on the one-third of Hispanics in the U.S. who are uninsured. She says the reasons are cultural as well as economic: "Hispanics have health beliefs that are unique, lots of traditional ways of taking care of disease with teas and herbs and other things.

25 Sep 2009

Senators urge the CMS to spare funding cuts for radiation oncology services

Cancer physicians and cancer care advocates applauded a bipartisan letter led by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday urging that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spare life-saving radiation oncology services from a major Medicare funding cut proposed for diagnostic imaging services. The 32 Senators signing the letter stated their unanimous concern that these funding cuts could force freestanding and community-based cancer centers to shut down, thereby limiting access to care for seniors - particularly in rural areas.

25 Sep 2009

Seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines from Priority Health

Priority Health has announced its coverage of both the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu vaccines. “Preventing the flu through immunization is the best way to keep yourself and your family healthy,” said John Fox, M.D., associate vice president of Medical Affairs at Priority Health. “We encourage our members to receive both vaccines to protect themselves against the two viruses.”

25 Sep 2009

Democrats, seeking to ease seniors concerns, propose freeze on Medicare Part B premiums

Politico reports: "House Democrats proposed Wednesday to freeze Medicare Part B premiums for the coming year rather than risk what would be an October surprise for health care reform — threatened cuts in Social Security checks for millions of elderly."

25 Sep 2009

Test results for Medico Express encouraging: Dynamic Response Group

Dynamic Response Group, Inc. today announced that the test results for its subsidiary Medico Express have met or exceeded all company projections and Medico's diabetic supply products will be ready for mass distribution immediately.

25 Sep 2009