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Health Net's ECHO kit to help military families maximize the health care benefits

Health Net Federal Services, LLC, the government operations division of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), today announced its newly developed Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) kit for service members and their families in the TRICARE North Region, designed to provide user-friendly, educational information to enhance understanding of the ECHO program.

5 Sep 2009

Clear Choice Health Plans awards a five-year contract to The TriZetto Group

Clear Choice Health Plans, Inc. (OTCBB:CCHN) announced that the company and Adaptis, Inc., its business process outsourcing (BPO) vendor, have mutually agreed to terminate their business relationship and that the Company has entered into a five-year contract for BPO services with The TriZetto Group, Inc., an information technology and services company focused on the health care industry.

5 Sep 2009

Health care reform could affect Americans having dental and vision coverage policies

Over 132 million Americans face having their family dental and vision coverage split in two under current Congressional proposals for health care reform, according to the National Association of Dental Plans whose members cover 80 percent of Americans with dental benefits.

5 Sep 2009

Alcohol is harmful for unborn babies

Learning disabilities, mental health issues and behavior problems are just some of the issues that afflict babies exposed to alcohol in the womb, yet some doctors still tell their patients it is safe to have a drink now and then while pregnant.

5 Sep 2009

As Dems' hopes for two GOP Senators fade, a third gets special attention

The Senate Finance Committee's so-called "gang of six" will hold a conference call Friday to continue negotiations on a possible bipartisan health care compromise, as a Sept. 15 deadline set by Democrats approaches. "But the prospects of reaching such an agreement within 11 days have fallen as politics has crept further into the debate," the Washington Times reports.

5 Sep 2009

Dems revisit tax on the wealthy to fund health care reform

Senate Democrats are revisiting proposals to raise taxes on high-income people to help pay for an overhaul of the health-care system," The Wall Street Journal reports.

5 Sep 2009

Government favors hospitals' joint purchasing agreement proposal

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by Memorial Health Inc. (Memorial), and St. Joseph's/Candler Health System (St. Joseph's/Candler) to enter an exclusive joint purchasing agreement with respect to the purchase of certain medical and surgical supplies.

5 Sep 2009

Biden predicts health reform will pass after partisan battles

Vice President Joe Biden predicted Thursday that health reform would pass, but not before a contentious partisan battle, CQ Politics reports. "'As bleak as it looks ... you think about every change in health care, it passed by a couple of votes,' Biden said in response to a question following an address at the Brookings Institution.

4 Sep 2009

Morning Edition: September 4, 2009

Today's headlines illustrate the following point: Everyone should enjoy the long weekend ahead, because next week Congress comes back to Washington and President Obama delivers his big health care speech -- in other words, the health policy world will be very busy.

4 Sep 2009

MCNC applies for broadband recovery funding to improve access to health services

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that MCNC has applied to receive $28.1 million in broadband recovery funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support fiber acquisition for the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) in North Carolina.

4 Sep 2009

Mindray DS USA announces the recent appointment of its Vice President

Mindray DS USA, a Mindray Global Company, announces the recent appointment of Michael Thompson as vice president of ultrasound sales for the U.S. Thompson brings more than 20 years of medical sales, sales force management and business development to the position.

From Mindray 4 Sep 2009

Rick Barnett appointed as senior vice president by VHA to head its West Coast regional office

VHA Inc., the national health care network, has hired Rick Barnett as senior vice president of its West Coast regional office, and it has elevated John Thomas to the post of senior vice president to lead the newly formed VHA Pacific Northwest office, VHA's 17th regional office.

4 Sep 2009

New report released to highlight health insurance reform for senior women

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will travel to Maine today and formally release a new report on the importance of health insurance reform for older women (ages 55-64) and senior women (ages 65 and older).

4 Sep 2009

Fixing health care costs by changing patient behavior

Patient behavior plays a central role in fixing health. NPR reports: "Economists have long said health care, as a market, is a strange animal. A large part of this is because patients don't act like regular consumers."

4 Sep 2009

South Dakota Biotech Association to present the 4th Annual South Dakota Biotechnology Summit

Investing in Biotechnology for Life, Food and Energy,” is the theme for the 4th Annual South Dakota Biotechnology Summit and Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2009. This annual event is presented by the South Dakota Biotech Association and will be held at the Ramkota Hotel, Rushmore Room in Sioux Falls, SD.

4 Sep 2009

Flat fees and EMR usage vary significantly in different hospitals

HighRoads, the company providing employers – for the first time – complete control over their health care costs and compliance, today announced findings from the industry’s first medical travel request for information (RFI) for Fortune 500 employers to compare health care procedural ethics, quality and costs around the world.

4 Sep 2009

White House 'rallies the faithful' for health overhaul push

The White House is going beyond the Wednesday speech to take control of the health reform debate, including a road trip to urge passage of legislation.

4 Sep 2009

Unseen health costs — often from defensive medicine — drive health costs

The Wall Street Journal reports that defensive medicine is a significant yet small portion of overall health care spending in America.

4 Sep 2009

Town hall meetings continue to trigger unexpected events

The New York Times reports that conservatives are hungry for a real debate beyond the rhetoric at these events: "Far from embracing the attacks, many leading conservative health care policy experts said in recent interviews that the dynamic was precluding a more robust real-world debate while making it nearly impossible for them to inject their studied, free-market solutions into the discussion.

4 Sep 2009

Positive impact on medication adherence through Aetna's care management program

Aetna announced today results of an analysis from the first half of 2009, demonstrating an average medication adherence of over 95 percent for its members taking Specialty medications. Disease states evaluated in Aetna’s analysis include: multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, Crohn's disease, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), psoriasis, Hepatitis C and asthma.

4 Sep 2009