Medicaid News and Research

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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.

CMS requested for coverage of two FDG PET scans during the initial treatment

Seven medical imaging groups wrote a joint letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to formally request coverage of two fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scans for a patient during the initial treatment evaluation. Currently, CMS covers only one FDG-PET study during initial treatment-a limitation that the groups believe is contrary to good clinical practice under certain circumstances.

20 Oct 2009

Four Pharma companies underpay Medicaid rebate obligations, pay $124M to resolve allegations

Mylan Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical have entered into settlement agreements for a total of $124 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs for drugs paid for by those programs, the Justice Department announced today.

20 Oct 2009

West Virginia nears dental crisis over stagnant Medicaid payments

West Virginia's Medicaid patients are nearing a crisis when it comes to access to dental care, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. Medicaid's reimbursement rates for dentistry haven't increased since 1991, and West Virginia cut rates in 1994 by 30 percent, causing fewer and fewer dentists to accept payment from the public program for low-income patients.

19 Oct 2009

More details emerging on health reform's proposed changes to Medicare

The Dallas Morning News reports on some of health reform's proposed changes to Medicare and local consumer reactions. "The 10.4 million beneficiaries with private insurers' Medicare Advantage plans will still get coverage at least comparable to regular Medicare, but some will see fewer extra benefits or higher out-of-pocket costs. For most of Medicare's 45 million beneficiaries, an overhaul will improve coverage by beefing up drug benefits, preserving access to physicians, paying for more preventive care and putting Medicare on firmer financial footing."

19 Oct 2009

Health providers make cuts, changes and gambles in face-off with economy

News reports this weekend highlight several developments as medical providers respond to changing economic forces, and in some cases, clashes of personality.

19 Oct 2009

Medicaid expansion could hit struggling state budgets

"The government programs that provide health care to the poor would expand to cover nearly one in five Americans under health insurance legislation pending in Congress, putting pressure on federal and state budgets," USA Today reports.

19 Oct 2009

Vangent announces launch of the Health Information Exchange Open Source software tool

Vangent, Inc., a leading global provider of information management and strategic business process outsourcing solutions, announced today that it will provide an open source software tool known as Health Information Exchange Open Source (HIEOS™) making possible secure exchange of health information from multiple and disparate system and data sources.

19 Oct 2009

Clearcount Medical Solutions raises $3.4 million

ClearCount Medical Solutions, an innovator of patient safety solutions for the operating room, announced today the close of its $3.4M Series B financing round. The company plans to use the funds to drive sales and product development of its RFID-based solutions designed to prevent retained surgical sponges.

19 Oct 2009

Talecris Biotherapeutics' PROLASTIN-C receives FDA approval

Talecris Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: TLCR) today received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PROLASTIN®-C (Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor [Human]), a more concentrated version of PROLASTIN® produced using advances in manufacturing technology.

19 Oct 2009

Readmission of elderly patients after colectomy strongly linked with mortality: Study

Readmission to a hospital after standard surgical treatment for colon cancer is far more common than suspected for elderly patients according to researchers who presented their findings at the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Results from the first study to determine nationwide readmission rates following colectomy [surgical removal of malignant disease and part of the colon] in the Medicare population revealed that nearly one in nine patients over the age of 65 was readmitted within 30 days.

19 Oct 2009

Pfizer announces it has combined operations with Wyeth following the closing of the acquisition

Pfizer Inc today announced that it has combined operations with Wyeth following the closing of the acquisition yesterday. Pfizer is now a more diversified health care company, with product offerings in human, animal, and consumer health, including vaccines, biologics, small molecules and nutrition across the developed and emerging markets.

19 Oct 2009

House members consider where others stand in health reform debate

As the House Democratic leadership continues to work toward moving a health overhaul measure to the floor, members continue to stake out positions - sometimes because of their personal histories or where they are from. In a few cases, the positions they have taken lead to increased attention.

19 Oct 2009

Leahy's funds help physicians and independent pharmacies to adopt health information technology

More Vermont physicians will be using electronic prescribing and other health information technology to improve patient care, under a $1 million federal grant secured by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy.

19 Oct 2009

Gloomy health care statistics in Texas top state news

New outlets report on a variety of health issues at the state level including gloomy health statistics and the rising cost of premiums for sick workers in Texas, a Medicaid program that could provide a model for national health care reform in North Carolina and Medicaid cuts in Michigan.

19 Oct 2009

CBO estimate: House bill closing in on Obama's $900 billion limit

An initial Congressional Budget Office estimate of a version of health reform legislation favored by House liberals puts the price-tag within reach of President Obama's stated $900 billion limit for the overhaul, The Washington Post reports.

19 Oct 2009

Democratic lawmakers seek momentum, Republican votes as two versions of reform bills are combined

Democrats are seeking momentum and votes -- from both Democrats and Republicans -- as leaders work to combine the two versions of reform approved by Senate committees.

19 Oct 2009

Ultimate Software's healthcare customers report significant improvements after implementing UltiPro

Ultimate Software, a leading provider of end-to-end strategic human resources, payroll, and talent management solutions, announced today that long-term healthcare customers, including Homewood Retirement Centers, Mather LifeWays, and Holiday Home Health, are reporting significant improvements as a result of UltiPro’s comprehensive human capital management (HCM) features—including UltiPro’s sophisticated reporting, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, and robust functionality.

15 Oct 2009

Premier's corporate headquarters relocated in North Carolina

The Premier Inc. healthcare alliance today announced that it has relocated its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, N.C. Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

15 Oct 2009

Policymakers urged to preserve access to advanced imaging in final health care reform legislation

Survivors and patients with cancers and heart disease, along with patient advocate organizations and physicians, today urged policymakers to enhance early diagnosis of deadly diseases by preserving access to advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, in final health care reform legislation.

15 Oct 2009

Senate Finance Committee passes health bill, but with plenty of grumbling

The Senate Finance Committee yesterday became the fifth and final committee in Congress to pass a health care overhaul bill. The committee voted 14-9 in favor of the bill with Sen. Olympia Snowe, of Maine, joining all of the panel's Democrats to cast the sole Republican "yea" vote.

15 Oct 2009

Medicaid News and Research

CMS requested for coverage of two FDG PET scans during the initial treatment

Four Pharma companies underpay Medicaid rebate obligations, pay $124M to resolve allegations

West Virginia nears dental crisis over stagnant Medicaid payments

More details emerging on health reform's proposed changes to Medicare

Health providers make cuts, changes and gambles in face-off with economy

Medicaid expansion could hit struggling state budgets

Vangent announces launch of the Health Information Exchange Open Source software tool

Clearcount Medical Solutions raises $3.4 million

Talecris Biotherapeutics' PROLASTIN-C receives FDA approval

Readmission of elderly patients after colectomy strongly linked with mortality: Study

Pfizer announces it has combined operations with Wyeth following the closing of the acquisition

House members consider where others stand in health reform debate

Leahy's funds help physicians and independent pharmacies to adopt health information technology

Gloomy health care statistics in Texas top state news

CBO estimate: House bill closing in on Obama's $900 billion limit

Democratic lawmakers seek momentum, Republican votes as two versions of reform bills are combined

Ultimate Software's healthcare customers report significant improvements after implementing UltiPro

Premier's corporate headquarters relocated in North Carolina

Policymakers urged to preserve access to advanced imaging in final health care reform legislation

Senate Finance Committee passes health bill, but with plenty of grumbling

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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