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Is 'model health system' Geisinger replicable elsewhere?

Geisinger Health System, in central Pennsylvania, has been widely hailed as a model for health reform by leading Democrats including President Obama, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. But, its success may hinge on "a rare combination of factors" including "a relative lack of competition, its stable patient base, and the fact that its 800 doctors are on salary," as well as an in-house pharmacy and insurance plan that covers one-third of its patients.

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

eHealth launches new website to help consumers learn about Medicare health plan options

Today, eHealth, Inc., parent company of eHealthInsurance, the leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families, and small businesses, announced the launch of a new online service to help consumers learn about, and get access to, quality Medicare health plan options.

19 Oct 2009

Bederra Corporation to acquire Texas Mobile Health

Bederra Corporation, a Houston, Texas based diversified medical services provider, announced that the company has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Texas Mobile Health, Inc.

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

First Edition: October 19, 2009

Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas, Ark., needs help to get a highly coveted "critical access" hospital designation - and the extra Medicare funding that comes with it. Sen. Mark Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat, intends to provide it.

19 Oct 2009

Mcconnell: GOP will seek amendments to offset cost of Medicare physician pay fix

"U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters Thursday that Senate Republicans will offer amendments to offset the cost of a 10-year, $247 billion Medicare physician payment bill set for debate next week," according to The Wall Street Journal. The GOP amendments, he said, would "either pay for a one-year fix for Medicare physician payment rates - set to drop 21% in January - or a 10-year fix, possibly paid for with unused funds from the $787 billion fiscal stimulus measure passed earlier this year."

19 Oct 2009

Pelosi has tough words for insurers as she pushes public plan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is joining liberal Democrats in the House on warning insurers that health care reform could mean lower profit, more fees and new competition from government.

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

GOP leaders keep up the criticism about Democratic-backed health overhaul plans

Republicans are standing united — mostly — against health care reform in Congress as they try to make the case that Democratic-backed reforms are the wrong way to go.

19 Oct 2009

Lawmakers wrestle with health reform details - publicly and behind closed doors

Reporters examine which provisions - such as the public option or cost control provisions - may be included as House and Senate negotiators try to meld various Democratic health reform bills.

19 Oct 2009

Poll questions lead to varying answers on health reform

News outlets continue to analyze how polls and public opinion intersect.

19 Oct 2009

Public option re-emerges in Senate discussions; continues to play role in House

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's efforts to merge the two Senate health care reform bills is being complicated by question of whether to include a public plan and how it might fit with vote counting, the president's agenda and the more liberal version sure to come out of the House.

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

GOP, Some Dems object to plan for adjusting physicians' medicare pay

Senate Democrats next week will take up a $240 billion, stand-alone bill that would stop scheduled cuts in Medicare's payments to physicians, The Hill reports. Although the action would be separate from sweeping health reform legislation, "[f]ixing the physician payments could boost Democrats' health reform efforts by providing physicians with a win on their foremost priority.

19 Oct 2009

Lawmakers seek to quickly fix Medicare payments for physicians

Both the House and the Senate are considering moving quickly to bar cuts in Medicare payments to physicians.

19 Oct 2009

Latest ad audit asks if the insurers' claims add up

In his latest ad audit, Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau explores whether insurers' claims, made in a recent advertisement, add up.

19 Oct 2009

Leading Blue Dog suggests extending Medicare to uninsured

Leading Blue Dogs wrestle over options to increase coverage for the uninsured and extend Medicare. The Hill reports that Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., "who had emerged as a leader among centrist Blue Dog Democrats opposing the public health insurance option, has suggested something his colleagues consider even more drastic - opening Medicare to those under 65 without insurance. He made the suggestion in meetings with House Democratic leaders and brought the idea to the closed-door House Democratic Caucus meeting Thursday."

19 Oct 2009

Medicare advantage premiums could climb 25% next year

"Premiums that seniors pay for Medicare Advantage plans will increase an average of 25% next year, largely because insurers, in response to new federal requirements, are canceling many plans that carry no premiums, a top Medicare official said Wednesday," The Wall Street Journal reports.

19 Oct 2009