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Lockheed Martin pledges $4M to aid UCLA Health System's Operation Mend program

The Lockheed Martin Corp. announced today a pledge of $4 million to benefit the UCLA Health System's Operation Mend program, which provides reconstructive surgeries and other health care needs to U.S. military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

13 Apr 2010

Health insurance customers in California, Mass. await decisions about premium increases

Thousands of worried Californians who buy individual insurance policies from Anthem Blue Cross will soon learn whether they face rate increases of up to 39% that were put on hold for two months amid a public outcry that helped revive national healthcare legislation.

13 Apr 2010

Pancreaze Delayed Release Capsules receive FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Pancreaze Delayed Release Capsules, a pancreatic enzyme product. It is the third such product to receive FDA approval.

13 Apr 2010

Dems defend health votes; GOP hoping for repeat of 1994 elections

Congressional Republicans are hoping Democrats suffer the same fate in 2010 as they did after President Clinton's failed health reform bid in 1994, The New York Times reports. "That fall, Republicans swept to power, capturing nine seats in the Senate and 52 in the House. … In many ways, the 1994 election has become the template both Republicans and Democrats are looking to as they set their strategies for the fall Congressional elections.

13 Apr 2010

AIM Health Group's net income increased to $1.3M from a loss of $2.9M in 2008

AIM Health Group Inc., a fully integrated health care company, announced today that its net income for the year ended December 31, 2009 ("Fiscal 2009") increased to $1.3 million from a loss of $2.9 million in 2008. At the same time EBITDA increased to $3.0 million from negative $0.3 million on a year-over-year basis.

13 Apr 2010

COAG to work out deal on proposed health reforms

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally was hopeful that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s health reforms proposed would be beneficial to the states despite the major opposition that it has seen. Ms Keneally chaired a teleconference on Monday night with first ministers after Mr Rudd released the full details of his health reforms.

12 Apr 2010

More states coping with primary care shortage

In a major feature, The Tennessean reports that the "nation is short 16,663 primary care doctors, and by 2025 that number will reach nearly 140,000, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians."

12 Apr 2010

With health debate resolved, investors see continued health sector growth

After months of uncertainty during the health-overhaul debate, financial analysts and mutual fund managers are feeling more stable and seeing upsides from the new law, The New York Times reports. "There does not seem to be any onerous cost control," one analyst said. Another added, "There is just an expansion of coverage [and] not a lot of surprises."

12 Apr 2010

Biomedical Systems selects Global 360's Process360 BPM suite for improving report, image communication

Global 360, a leading provider of Process and Document Management solutions, today announced that Biomedical Systems, a global leader in centralized diagnostic testing for the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, has chosen Global 360 to improve how critical reports and images are communicated and reported to its customers. In the process, the company will also save thousands on courier costs, satisfy a "going green" initiative, and mitigate risk, helping satisfy auditors and regulators.

12 Apr 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Immigration as a solution; Health care comparative shopping; and Medicare Advantage competitive pricing

Forty years ago there were five workers for every retiree. Now there are three. Within a couple of decades, there will be only two workers per retiree. There's no way just two workers will be able or willing to pay enough payroll taxes to keep benefits flowing to every retiree (Robert Reich, 4/11).

12 Apr 2010

Orszag says new Medicare payment board will help lower deficit

"An Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) established under the healthcare reform act will help to ensure the nation's future fiscal health, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said Thursday," McKnight's Long Term Care News & Assisted Living reports. "If set up correctly, the Medicare payment board will contribute to a reduction in national health costs and the federal deficit, Orszag said before the Economic Club of Washington last week, according to the Bureau of National Affairs.

12 Apr 2010

How will the health overhaul affect you?

Nonprofit and advocacy Web sites, online "chats" with government officials, and hotlines for lawmakers are getting barraged with questions about how the health law will affect Americans, Kaiser Health News reports. "No matter which source they turn to, consumers are asking about every element of the bill. People who don't have health care coverage want to know how they can enroll in the high-risk pools that are scheduled to be up and running within 90 days.

12 Apr 2010

Americans asking: 'How will health reform help me?'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey writes about the questions stemming from the new health reform law: "David wanted to know how the new health care overhaul law would impact retiree health care coverage.

12 Apr 2010

Automated UV radiation helps decontaminate healthcare-associated pathogens

Attendees of the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infection were offered a record 37 presentations on the critical role of contaminated environmental surfaces in the transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings.

12 Apr 2010

Alere Health to lead series of key panel discussions at World Health Care Congress

Highlighting what employers and health plans can do to increase participation and results in health and wellness programs, Alere Health, LLC, a leader in personal health support solutions, will be leading a series of key panel discussions with prominent Alere clients including Blue Shield of California, Tufts Health Plan and Union Bank at the 7th annual World Health Care Congress.

12 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 12, 2010

Among today's headlines are stories about House lawmakers facing the music back home regarding their health votes.

12 Apr 2010

DMPC to guarantee DM and wellness outcomes for elite group

Al Lewis, president of the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium, Inc., the founder and first president of the Disease Management Association of America and the person most often credited with establishing the metrics by which disease management is measured announced today that he will be personally validating and guaranteeing disease management (DM) and wellness outcomes for an elite, award-winning group of vendors, health plans, benefits consultants and employers.

12 Apr 2010

HAC-CNY signs multi-year agreement with Axolotl

Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange services and solutions, and Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York, the regional health information organization connecting medical providers across Central New York, today announced that the Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York has signed a multi-year agreement with Axolotl to deploy its Elysium Exchange suite of applications to build a clinical information exchange network to connect Central New York's health care providers.

12 Apr 2010

High OOP costs discouraging many cancer patients from filling prescriptions

A new study presented today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 22nd Annual Meeting finds that one in six cancer patients with high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs abandons their medication. The study by Prime Therapeutics (Prime), a thought leader in pharmacy benefit management, found patients with an OOP cost greater than $200 were at least three times more likely to not fill their prescription than those with OOP costs of $100 or less.

12 Apr 2010

Medical clinic for the sole purpose of committing Medicare fraud

Miami residents Jose and Denisse Martinez were each sentenced today to three years in prison for their role in running a Canton, Mich.,-based drug infusion clinic designed to defraud Medicare, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS). U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts also ordered Jose and Denisse Martinez to pay $649,000 in restitution, jointly with co-defendants, and to each serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms.

12 Apr 2010