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Sun Healthcare's subsidiary acquires Allegiance Hospice Group

Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, SolAmor Hospice Corporation, has completed the acquisition of Allegiance Hospice Group, Inc. Allegiance is a privately-held, Medicare-certified hospice company headquartered in Lowell, Mass. that provides services to approximately 300 hospice patients in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

3 Oct 2009

NCPA: Bill may allow seniors to continue getting valuable health care supplies from community pharmacies

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 3663, a bill introduced yesterday by Reps. Zach Space (D-OH) and Lee Terry (R-NE) extending the accreditation deadline for pharmacies providing Medicare Part B Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31, 2009.

3 Oct 2009

Six hospitals to pay $8 million to Medicare to settle allegations of false claims

Six hospitals in Indiana and Alabama have agreed to pay the United States more than $8 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Department of Justice announced today.

3 Oct 2009

Seniors fret cuts to private Medicare plans

Seniors' number one reform concern is Medicare, which stands to face up to $500 billion in cuts over the next decade, NPR reports. About 25 percent of the savings will come from Medicare Advantage, a program of privately-operated managed care plans that provide seniors' benefits.

3 Oct 2009

Data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States available online

Incidence and prevalence data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States will be available online from the U.S. Renal Data System a year earlier than usual, announces the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the data will be updated online every three months and will show quarterly counts of patients at www.usrds.org/qtr/qrt_report_table_new.html.

3 Oct 2009

Recent releases in health policy research

"Emergency Department Visits in Massachusetts" - This policy brief examines why the number of people in Massachusetts who seek care in emergency rooms has remained high even though "health reform in Massachusetts has succeeded in increasing health insurance coverage and access to care."

3 Oct 2009

Medicare advantage plans to increase premiums for some -- but not all -- in 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports on the future prospects for seniors who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage. "In Miami next year, seniors once again won't have to pay any monthly premiums for a Medicare health plan sold by HMO giant Humana Inc.

3 Oct 2009

New (and old) ideas for health care show possibility of savings, improvements

The search for reform models continues, with news reports exploring the Veterans Administration's "government-run health care," Washington State's "reputation for lower-cost, higher-quality health care," and Kaiser Permanente's new money-saving approach to heart attack treatment.

3 Oct 2009

New health care ads hit the airwaves

The onslaught of health care advertising continues, with new ads from MoveOn.org, Organizing for America, the medical industry and Americans United for Change.

3 Oct 2009

Health reform unlikely to fix Medicare doctor payment system

Health care reform in Congress is unlikely to reform the Medicare physician payment system, and lawmakers are likely to settle for another one-year fix to block a reduction in payments to doctors, CQ Politics reports.

3 Oct 2009

FDA grants Fast Track designation to Corthera's relaxin for treating acute heart failure

Corthera Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to relaxin, the company's investigational drug for the treatment of acute heart failure (AHF). The Fast Track program facilitates the development and expedites the review of new drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs.

3 Oct 2009

Eye treatment reimbursement change could cost Medicare millions

A change in the reimbursement rate for the drug Avastin, used off-label to treat an eye illness in the elderly, could lead Medicare doctors to use a much costlier drug that would cost the system millions, The New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2009

American Kidney Fund to host national gala to support kidney care community

In celebration of people who are living with kidney disease, as well as the individuals and corporations who are working to improve the lives of kidney patients, the American Kidney Fund will host its first national gala, The Hope Affair, at the Newseum on October 6.

3 Oct 2009

Democratic leaders shift on public plan, but push ahead despite setbacks

Despite recent setbacks, congressional Democratic leaders have continued pushing for a new government-run insurer as part of health reform. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warmed this week to a more moderate approach to the health insurance plan proposed by centrist Democrats, The Hill reports.

3 Oct 2009

Doctors battle proposed penalties for heavy use of tests

"Doctors are trying to remove a provision in the Senate's latest health bill that would cut Medicare payments to those who administer the most tests and treatments," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The proposal -- aimed at reducing waste -- is one of several proposals in the bill by the Senate Finance Committee that could change how doctors are evaluated and paid."

3 Oct 2009

Cleveland and Mayo Clinic CEOs raise concerns about Congressional reform proposals

The chief executives of the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, both held up as models for health reform, voiced concerns about the health care proposals moving forward in Congress.

3 Oct 2009

For American majority - those confused about health reform - a fresh wave of primers

For those still confused about the various health reform bills - six in ten are confused, and half say they don't know enough to form an opinion, the New York Times reports - news organizations offer a series of primers on key bills and provisions today.

1 Oct 2009

Fact check: Canadian versus. U.S. systems; AARP claims

The Associated Press examines rhetoric and reality in the case of a Canadian who came to the U.S. for health care.

1 Oct 2009

CBO estimate left out hospital exemption; Baucus savings likely lower

The Congressional Budget Office "did not consider that hospitals would be exempt from a Medicare cost-cutting commission in Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus' healthcare overhaul mark, an omission that will slash a conservative $11 billion from $23 billion in savings the commission was expected to produce," CongressDaily reports.

1 Oct 2009

UMDNJ's University Hospital agrees to pay $8.3M to settle allegations

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has agreed to pay the government $8.3 million to settle allegations that it illegally paid kickbacks to cardiologists and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.

1 Oct 2009