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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.

Arizona will receive 22,500 additional doses of flu vaccine

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano announced today that Arizona will receive 22,500 additional doses of flu vaccine as early as Wednesday, and will distribute the vaccine to local health departments in the next week.

25 Oct 2004

Call for disclosure of the prices of the most commonly-used prescription drugs over the Internet

In an effort to continue to protect Michigan’s seniors and vulnerable citizens without drug insurance coverage, Attorney General Mike Cox is pushing for disclosure of the prices of the most commonly-used prescription drugs over the Internet to increase consumer awareness and assist buyers with informed choices.

25 Oct 2004

Changes in reimbursement have reduced length of stay for patients receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation

Although medical rehabilitation patients are spending less time as inpatients at facilities, their functional outcomes have not declined. However, the death rate following discharge has increased nearly 4 percent from 1994 to 2001, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

12 Oct 2004

Indiana health officials are appealing to health care providers to limit use of this year’s diminished supply of flu vaccine

Indiana State health officials are appealing to health care providers to limit use of this year’s diminished supply of flu vaccine to immunizing people at high risk from complications of influenza.

6 Oct 2004

Women in New York City continue to receive mammograms at much lower levels than those outside the downstate region

Women in New York City continue to receive mammograms at much lower levels than those outside the downstate region, while Kings County (Brooklyn) still has the lowest county-specific mammography rate, according to IPRO's second annual "snapshot" of mammography usage in New York State.

5 Oct 2004

Black and Hispanic patients experience marked delays in heart attack treatment compared with whites

Black and Hispanic patients experience marked delays in heart attack treatment compared with whites, Yale researchers report in an article published in the October 6 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

5 Oct 2004

Home nurse visits after childbirth reduce healthcare costs

Home nurse visits after childbirth reduce healthcare costs and greatly limit the number of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for infants, a Penn State Children's Hospital study suggests.

4 Oct 2004

Black men in the United States are significantly less likely to be screened for prostate cancer

Although black men in the United States are more likely than white men to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and have a two-fold greater risk of dying from it, they are significantly less likely to be screened for prostate cancer

29 Sep 2004

Draft Medicare plan to cover implantable defibrillators

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today proposed to expand coverage of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), a move expected to save thousands of lives a year.

29 Sep 2004

Elderly African American men are less likely to get tested for prostate cancer

Elderly African American men are less likely to get tested for prostate cancer than elderly white men, according to an article in the September 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

26 Sep 2004

One-third to buy cheaper Canadian drugs, 100 million find insurance coverage cut or costlier

Faced with a double-barreled crisis of shrinking health care coverage and fast-rising medical costs, two out of three American adults (67 percent) now think health care coverage should be a “guarantee” as in Canada, Britain and other nations.

16 Sep 2004

HHS enhances Medicare drug card program to help seniors

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced new measures to help seniors get the lowest price possible for their medicines by allowing them -- for the first time -- to compare prices for similar drugs used to treat common diseases such as high cholesterol or blood pressure.

15 Sep 2004

Pneumococcal vaccine reduces the incidence of middle ear infection and pneumonia

Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria can cause serious illness and death. Invasive pneumococcal disease is responsible for about 200 deaths each year among children under 5 years old.

8 Sep 2004

Call for pediatricians to educate the public about emergency department overcrowding

Each year more than 100 million Americans, including 30 million children, receive emergency care - a 600 percent increase since 1958. The result is overtaxed emergency departments (EDs) and potentially substandard care for children and families.

8 Sep 2004

13 percent of U.S. children have had a special health care need

Approximately 13 percent of U.S. children have had a special health care need, and significant proportions of their families experience financial problems related to the child's condition, according to an article in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Sep 2004

Chickenpox (Varicella) vaccine has saved the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction

A new University of Michigan study has found that the Chickenpox (Varicella) vaccine has saved the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction in 1995 by preventing the kinds of severe cases that used to send children, teens and adults to the hospital.

7 Sep 2004

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the Medicare premium amounts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the Medicare premium, deductible and coinsurance amounts to be paid by Medicare beneficiaries in 2005.

4 Sep 2004

Payments to rural hospices are projected to increase $23 million in 2005

For 2005 there is an overall projected increase of $60 million dollars to hospice providers, an increase of 1 percent for all hospices.

26 Aug 2004

Two more drugs added to Medicare demonstration program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced it is adding two more drugs to the list of drugs covered under a Medicare demonstration program providing substantial savings to beneficiaries with serious diseases, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

17 Aug 2004

Potential for a significant increase in the number of Americans without health insurance

As the U.S. economy struggled during the 2001 economic recession and less-than-robust job growth during the recovery, concerns escalated about the potential for a significant increase in the number of Americans without health insurance.

16 Aug 2004