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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Health reform affects high-risk patients, abortion and doctor practices

NPR: "Recent fights between anti-abortion groups could leave people with the impression that the new health overhaul law expands women's access to abortion. But abortion-rights groups vehemently disagree."

16 Apr 2010

Obama enforces visitation rights of same sex partners

President Obama passed a memo on Thursday while at a fundraiser in Miami which prohibits hospitals from discriminating against gay and lesbian couples in extending visitation rights. The decision seems to be inspired by the publicity given to the Lisa Pond and Janice Langbehn case. The hospital refused to allow Lisa Pond the visitation of Janice Langbehn and their children at her death bed.

16 Apr 2010

CLASS Act provision in health law will provide long-term care for elderly, disabled

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act program, a provision of the health reform law, "establishes a voluntary, long-term care program that will provide cash to enrollees who suffer at least two limitations in daily activities, such as eating, bathing and dressing. … There are about 10 million Americans who need long-term care services, including 4 million under age 65."

16 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 15, 2010

In today's headlines: The jobless benefits package, including a COBRA subsidy extension and Medicare-doctor pay fix, advances in the Senate. In the House, a committee chairman cancels a hearing on business health care complaints.

15 Apr 2010

SJHS-HC tracks potential influenza cases using SafetySurveillor solution

St. Joseph Health System - Humboldt County, a member of St. Joseph Health System based in Orange, Calif., was able to track potential influenza cases minutes after California health officials released new requirements regarding influenza reporting. The SJHS-HC hospitals achieved this using SafetySurveillor, a safety surveillance solution offered by the Premier healthcare alliance.

15 Apr 2010

Partners HealthCare offers $40 million to control health insurance costs in Massachusetts; Neb. Gov. signs new abortion law

Partners HealthCare, whose Boston teaching hospitals have been blamed for helping to drive up medical spending, is offering $40 million toward reducing double-digit health insurance rate increases for small businesses, part of a broader package that will be unveiled today by Senate President Therese Murray.

15 Apr 2010

People with disabilities may be unable to afford Medicare Advantage plan under healthcare provisions

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are the most powerful developments in decades affecting healthcare coverage for people with disabilities, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

15 Apr 2010

North Carolina lawmakers consider medical tax; Georgia insurance commission says state should reject high-insurance pools

The North Carolina legislature "socked it to retail customers, smokers, drinkers and big earners with higher taxes last year to help close a budget gap calculated by Democrats at more than $4 billion. Could hospitals or doctors' offices be next? Legislative leaders are returning to Raleigh early to begin adjusting the second year of the state's two-year budget and they're intrigued by a hospital or provider tax or fee because it could draw down three times as much extra money in federal matching funds for Medicaid.

15 Apr 2010

CDHP applauds dental coverage in health care reform legislation

The Children's Dental Health Project (CDHP) today applauded the historic dental health care provisions that were recently enacted as part of the health care reform legislation signed into law by President Obama. The provisions contained in the legislation represent an unprecedented investment in the oral health of all Americans, especially children.

15 Apr 2010

CWRU School of Medicine becomes OHIP's REC for Ohio

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine has received $7,942,500 million in federal stimulus funds from the Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP), the state designated entity for health information exchange development. The funding will position CWRU School of Medicine as a regional extension center (REC) which allows it to help 1,765 health care providers in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties advance the use of health information technology (HIT) in their practices.

15 Apr 2010

Medicare doc payment cut looms with new deadline: Tomorrow

Congress has already missed the deadline for new legislation to block cuts of 21% in Medicare payments to doctors. The pay reduction officially took effect April 1, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the federal agency that oversees the giant health systems — put a hold on processing physician payments for 10 business days, effectively pushing off the bite on payments for physicians' services until April 15.

15 Apr 2010

States respond to health law with lawsuits, policy shifts

"The insurance commissioner of Georgia has chosen not to comply with a federal request to create a state pool for high-risk insurance plans, opening a new front in the resistance by state Republican officials to the new federal health care law." The commissioner is a Republican candidate for governor (R. Brown, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

States examine role in health reform implementation, worry over scams

The federal government is turning to states to "to institute key components" of the health overhaul law, "some of which have never existed before."

15 Apr 2010

Beckman Coulter awarded new agreement with Premier Purchasing Partners for laboratory systems and supplies

Beckman Coulter, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of products that simplify, automate, and innovate complex biomedical testing, announced that effective April 1, 2010, it has been awarded a new agreement with Premier Purchasing Partners, the group purchasing unit of Premier, Inc., to provide a full range of core laboratory systems and supplies. Premier is one of the nation's largest healthcare purchasing networks, with more than 2,300 member hospitals and 64,000 additional healthcare sites.

From Beckman Coulter Diagnostics 15 Apr 2010

Investigators tout fraud convictions in California, Florida and New York

Authorities are crediting their Medicare and Medicaid fraud initiatives for convictions and guilty pleas in California, Florida and New York.

15 Apr 2010

Experts, public consider health reform merits, hardships and unintended consequences

Confusion persists about health reform and insurance for members of Congress. "The law stipulates that lawmakers and some members of their staffs enroll in new health insurance exchanges. But an apparent drafting error in the law makes it unclear when that transition is supposed to occur."

15 Apr 2010

Florida lawmakers weigh Medicaid overhaul

Health News Florida: "In a surprising turnaround from last week, a top Senate health chairman Monday called off two meetings that had been scheduled to scrutinize a House proposal for overhauling the Medicaid system. The Senate Health Regulation Committee planned to hold more than nine hours of meetings Wednesday and Thursday to study House bills that would require almost all Medicaid recipients to move into managed-care plans.

15 Apr 2010

Florida to enact health care legislation to improve access to ARV therapy

Florida is poised to enact health care legislation that would add clarity to existing state statutes by requiring that all state-regulated health plans include lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) HIV/AIDS drugs on their drug formularies or preferred drug lists.

15 Apr 2010

One in five Idaho physicians are not accepting new Medicare patients

Already fighting one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios in the nation (ranking 49th), Idaho's problems are growing worse. According to a new AARP survey released today, doctors in the state are increasingly closing their doors to new patients, especially those using Medicare and Medicaid

15 Apr 2010

Yearly flu shots recommended for adults in 50-64 age group

The proportion of Americans with diabetes ages 18 to 64 who reported getting flu shots the previous year rose from 40 percent to 50.5 percent between 2000 and 2007, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

13 Apr 2010