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Fourth-quarter and full year fiscal 2009 results announced

United American Healthcare Corporation (Nasdaq: UAHC) today announced financial results for the Company's fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended June 30, 2009.

28 Sep 2009

Pelosi tries to unite divided Democratic factions in House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is facing a difficult task in the House: herding the different Democratic factions to fashion a single health care bill.

28 Sep 2009

Progress on the Baucus Bill is in the eye of the beholder

The New York Times: "Senate Democrats on Friday preserved the guts of their proposal to reinvent the health care system, but Republicans scored political points on several issues, like the effects of the bill on older Americans. The Democrats beat back Republican attacks on the legislation as the Senate Finance Committee deferred some of the most contentious issues to next week."

28 Sep 2009

NCPA commends U.S. Senate Finance Committee's approval of the Cantwell amendment

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today commended the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for approving by unanimous, voice vote an amendment by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to lower health care costs through common-sense disclosure requirements for any pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) participating in the health insurance exchanges envisioned in Chairman Max Baucus’ (D-MT) America’s Healthy Future Act.

26 Sep 2009

Cantwell amendment will raise cost of prescription drugs: PCMA

“America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) believe strongly in the principle of transparency and empowering payers to make informed health-care purchasing decisions resulting in lower prescription drug costs and higher quality. Regrettably, today’s amendment moves the health care system in the opposite direction.”

26 Sep 2009

Biden emerges as health care messenger

The vice president took the stage Wednesday for the administration's health reform campaign with a talk with seniors at Leisure World in suburban Maryland. The Associated Press reports: "Vice President Joe Biden sought to reassure nervous seniors Wednesday that they won't see cuts in their Medicare benefits if the nation's health care system is revamped. ...

26 Sep 2009

New research offers significant insights into the long-term impact of a major disaster on routine surgical services

New research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons offers important insights into the long-term impact of a major disaster on routine surgical services in a hospital. In the study, researchers at Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA, showed that although Hurricane Katrina resulted in a significant loss of surgical staff and an increase in the number of uninsured patients undergoing operations, greater cost efficiencies were achieved.

25 Sep 2009

Pelosi continues push for public plan in house bill

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped up her push for a publicly run health plan that has divided congressional Democrats, saying it could 'save enormous amounts of money,'" The Wall Street Journal reports. "Congressional aides said including a government-run plan for people under 65 in the health overhaul could save as much as $100 billion, if such a plan were to pay health-care providers the low rates used by Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly."

25 Sep 2009

At Finance Committee, fireworks surround efforts to add drug discount, eliminate individual mandate

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday defeated an amendment that sought to squeeze more money out of pharmaceutical companies to help pay for the costs of changing the health care system. The panel's vote was a victory for President Obama and Finance Chairman Max Baucus.

25 Sep 2009

GOP to stall confirmation of HHS nominees, due to flap over insurers' letters to seniors

Debate continues about the administration's reaction to letters sent by insurers to seniors about health overhaul.

25 Sep 2009

Finance committee agonizes over Medicare cuts

Politico reports: "The top Senate Republican says Democratic cuts to Medicare will cost them in the 2010 elections, warning that the hundreds of billions in reductions to the senior citizen health program is 'Orwellian.' Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, criticized Democrats for insisting that a half-trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare as part of the health care overhaul, well, aren't exactly cuts to Medicare.

25 Sep 2009

House passes bill to stop some Medicare premium increases

The House voted overwhelmingly to stop premium increases in Medicare Part B— which covers doctor visits — from taking effect next year.

25 Sep 2009

Labor chief asks for probe into health insurance lobbying

The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones reports: "AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on Thursday urged some state insurance commissioners to investigate how the costs of insurers' lobbying to defeat health-insurance reform are affecting premiums."

25 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 25, 2009

Today's headlines reflect the continuing action in the Senate Finance Committee and around Congress, focusing on legislative strife related to the White House deal with drug companies and the debate over the public plan.

25 Sep 2009

Vermont Information Technology Leaders to collaborate with Allscripts

Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc., the non-profit organization facilitating the expanded use of health information technology in Vermont, and Allscripts, the leading U.S. health information technology provider with a major facility located in South Burlington, Vermont, today announced their intention to enter into a strategic alliance.

25 Sep 2009

House passes bill to eliminate Medicare premium hike

"The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to eliminate monthly premium increases for millions of Medicare patients next year," The Associated Press reports. "It voted 406 to 18 to send the bill to the Senate, which is expected to act soon. Lawmakers said older Americans shouldn't have to pay higher Medicare Part B premiums because they are not expected to get a cost of living increase from Social Security."

25 Sep 2009

Survey reveals that cardiologists are seeing more patients than ever before

The healthcare crisis that has affected millions of Americans has hit the nation's cardiologists as well, according to a new survey: they are seeing more patients than ever and performing more tests on those patients. But they are being reimbursed less for those services by Medicare and insurance firms, in what one cardiologist called "a revenue roller coaster of uncertainty," even as their costs continue to increase steadily.

25 Sep 2009

Senators fight over Medicare spending cuts, what it would mean for beneficiaries

Senators on the Senate Finance Committee spent much of Wednesday duking it out over proposed Medicare cuts that would fund part of a Democratic push at health care reform. The intensity of the debate highlights the political importance of the senior citizen demographic.

25 Sep 2009

Mayo Clinic's views on how to get high-value health care

Mayo Clinic's perspective about how to get high-value health care is the focus of a Perspectives article in the New England Journal of Medicine, published online on Sept. 23, 2009, and in the print issue on Oct. 1, 2009.

25 Sep 2009

Senate Finance Panel rejects amendment to squeeze drug makers

"Senators rebuffed an attempt to squeeze more money from the drug industry Thursday after two Democrats warned it would undermine the fragile political coalition pushing a sweeping health care overhaul," The Associated Press reports.

25 Sep 2009