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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.

Hispanics appear to face poorer quality nursing home care

Nursing homes serving primarily Hispanic residents provided poorer quality care compared to facilities whose patients were mostly white, according to Brown University research.

12 Apr 2009

Many skin cancer patients do not receive sentinel lymph node biopsy

Although clinical practice guidelines recommend sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for many patients with clinically node-negative melanoma, a new analysis from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has found approximately half of patients do not receive recommended evaluation of their lymph nodes and that the type of health insurance a patient has, the type of hospital delivering treatment, and the hospital's geographic region are all associated with provider compliance with those guidelines.

9 Apr 2009

'Well-fortified' drugstores have 'fighting chance' against government reform, Wall Street Journal says

Recent events in Washington state indicate that "well-fortified" pharmacy chains have a "fighting chance" as the health care industry gears up for "an assault of government reform," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Apr 2009

Mississippi Medicaid fraud-prevention rule criticized for eliminating beneficiaries from program

Mississippi state lawmakers last week rejected efforts to repeal a state rule requiring Medicaid beneficiaries to show up in person to renew their enrollment each year, the AP/Miami Herald reports.

6 Apr 2009

Senate unlikely to vote on Gov. Sebelius' nomination as HHS Secretary until later this month

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's choice for HHS secretary, "sailed through" a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday, but the Senate likely will not take up the nomination until later this month because of objections for an immediate vote by several Republican members, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 4/3).

5 Apr 2009

Congress approves budget resolutions

The House and Senate on Thursday approved their respective versions of the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution (HConRes85, SConRes13), both of which include deficit-neutral reserve funds for health care, CongressDaily reports (Sanchez/Friedman, CongressDaily, 4/3).

5 Apr 2009

About 500,000 Californians have lost health insurance during recession

About 500,000 working-age Californians have lost their health insurance since the economic recession began in November 2007, according to a report the University of California-Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education released Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

5 Apr 2009

Critics say Louisiana proposal to penalize doctors not meeting standards provides wrong type of incentive

A Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals proposal to implement performance standards for physicians who care for low-income residents has come under criticism from child care advocates who say the program will lead doctors to stop participating in the state's CommunityCARE program, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

5 Apr 2009

New York Medicaid adds topical oxygen wound therapy benefit

Beneficiaries of the New York Medicaid program have a new option to choose when dealing with chronic wounds.

1 Apr 2009

Providing housing and support services for homeless alcoholics reduces costs to taxpayers

Providing housing and support services for homeless alcoholics costs taxpayers less than leaving them on the street, where taxpayer money goes towards police and emergency health care.

1 Apr 2009

Minorities underrepresented in New York state physician workforce, study finds

Few minorities in New York state are entering the health care field despite an increase in the number of minorities moving there, according to a study recently published by the University at Albany's Center for Health Workforce Studies, the Albany Times Union reports.

31 Mar 2009

St. Petersburg Times examines decline in antipsychotic drug prescriptions for Florida children

St. Petersburg Times recently examined how since the Florida Medicaid program last year began requiring physicians to receive approval before prescribing antipsychotic drugs to children younger than age six, the number of prescriptions for children in that age group has dropped by nearly 75%, according to new data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

31 Mar 2009

California stimulus funding not enough to stave off cuts to some health care services

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday signed five bills into law that allow California to receive more than $17.5 billion in federal economic stimulus aid, but the funding will not be enough for the state to avoid $3 billion in tax increases and cuts to services to balance its budget, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

31 Mar 2009

New York Times examines challenges faced by a Minneapolis hospital that treats many Somali, Hispanic patients

The New York Times on Sunday profiled the Hennepin County Medical Center, a Minneapolis-based hospital that "offers an extraordinary vantage point on the ways immigrants are testing the American medical establishment."

30 Mar 2009

CQ's Armstrong discusses budget reconciliation, coverage proposal from private insurers, Sebelius confirmation

Drew Armstrong, a Congressional Quarterly staff reporter, discusses efforts to use budget reconciliation to fast-track health reform, a compromise offered by private health insurers and the scheduled confirmation hearing for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's nominee for HHS secretary, in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

30 Mar 2009

South Carolina audit finds inadequacies in Medicaid transportation service program

The South Carolina Legislative Audit Council, the investigative arm of the General Assembly, on Wednesday released an audit report finding that the state might have improperly managed the Medicaid transportation program, the Columbia State reports.

30 Mar 2009

Federal lawsuit questions Medicaid's ability to deny care deemed necessary by doctor

Health officials from Florida, Georgia and Alabama this week argued in a federal appeals court in Atlanta that state Medicaid programs can cut treatments for children that a doctor has ordered as medically necessary, Florida Health News reports.

30 Mar 2009

Health Reform Dialogue Coalition releases recommendations for U.S. health care system overhaul

A coalition representing health care firms, patients and medical providers on Friday presented a five-page report to Congress recommending changes to the health care system, CQ HealthBeat reports (Adams, CQ HealthBeat, 3/27).

30 Mar 2009

Male circumcision reduces men's risk of contracting HPV, herpes, study says

Male circumcision can reduce a man's risk of contracting the sexually transmitted infections human papillomavirus and herpes, according to a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Mar 2009

Florida senators introduce bill to prevent Medicaid fraud

Florida Senate Health Regulation Committee Chair Don Gaetz (R) and state Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee Chair Durell Peaden (R) at a news conference on Wednesday "expressed confidence" that lawmakers will pass legislation (SB 1986) aiming to prevent and detect Medicaid fraud, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

30 Mar 2009

Medicaid News and Research

Hispanics appear to face poorer quality nursing home care

Many skin cancer patients do not receive sentinel lymph node biopsy

'Well-fortified' drugstores have 'fighting chance' against government reform, Wall Street Journal says

Mississippi Medicaid fraud-prevention rule criticized for eliminating beneficiaries from program

Senate unlikely to vote on Gov. Sebelius' nomination as HHS Secretary until later this month

Congress approves budget resolutions

About 500,000 Californians have lost health insurance during recession

Critics say Louisiana proposal to penalize doctors not meeting standards provides wrong type of incentive

New York Medicaid adds topical oxygen wound therapy benefit

Providing housing and support services for homeless alcoholics reduces costs to taxpayers

Minorities underrepresented in New York state physician workforce, study finds

St. Petersburg Times examines decline in antipsychotic drug prescriptions for Florida children

California stimulus funding not enough to stave off cuts to some health care services

New York Times examines challenges faced by a Minneapolis hospital that treats many Somali, Hispanic patients

CQ's Armstrong discusses budget reconciliation, coverage proposal from private insurers, Sebelius confirmation

South Carolina audit finds inadequacies in Medicaid transportation service program

Federal lawsuit questions Medicaid's ability to deny care deemed necessary by doctor

Health Reform Dialogue Coalition releases recommendations for U.S. health care system overhaul

Male circumcision reduces men's risk of contracting HPV, herpes, study says

Florida senators introduce bill to prevent Medicaid fraud

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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

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