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U.S. Department of Labor register apprenticeship programs organized by BlueCross BlueShield

The U.S. Department of Labor has registered information technology apprenticeship programs organized by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina with Apprenticeship Carolina(TM), a division of the S.C. Technical College System.

3 Sep 2009

Criminal pricing of Merck’s HIV/AIDS drug Isentress challenged by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation

As part of its ongoing campaign to lower drug prices and increase access, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today unveiled its latest advocacy campaign challenging Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the steep price of its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress (raltegravir). The first phase of the public awareness campaign includes a postcard mailer, scheduled to arrive this week in the mailboxes of residents of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, where Merck is headquartered.

3 Sep 2009

Alliance for Health Reform to brief reporters on the hurdles to a meaningful health reform bill

This briefing, for reporters only, will look at some of the important issues that must be settled if President Obama is to sign a meaningful health reform bill this year.

3 Sep 2009

Reliable and relevant information needed to rein in the costs of federal health-care programs, says study

For economists and policy-makers to understand the true value of the costs and savings of preventive health programs for chronic disease, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) should incorporate long-term clinical outcomes data and look beyond the 10-year window when making cost estimates, says a team of University of Chicago researchers in today's issue of Health Affairs.

3 Sep 2009

Health insurers ask employees to lobby Congress to weaken health reform

Consumer Watchdog today asked California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to investigate major health insurers that have asked their workers to lobby Congress -- during business hours -- to weaken health reform. United Healthcare and Wellpoint have launched national campaigns to individually "assist" employees in writing and calling members of Congress.

3 Sep 2009

Pfizer pleads guilty of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and other government-funded health care programs

Pfizer, Inc. announced today it has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and to pay more than $2 billion in criminal and civil fines, penalties and damages to settle allegations made in multiple whistleblower lawsuits that the pharmaceutical giant defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other government-funded health care programs in connection with its market practices for four of its drugs. The settlement is the largest qui tam settlement in U.S. history.

3 Sep 2009

TAHU recommends revision of proposed healthcare plan

The Texas Association of Health Underwriters (TAHU) released a statement on behalf of more than 1700 insurance agents from across the state of Texas outlining their recommendation for a revision to the proposed healthcare plan.

3 Sep 2009

New electronic medical device for treating leg pain

ReBuilder Medical Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets: RBRM) a provider of electronic treatments for the pain resulting from peripheral neuropathy and Peripheral Artery Disease today announced that it has released a new way to deliver the impulses of the ReBuilder for pain.

3 Sep 2009

Gentiva Health Services acquires Rush Home Care

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIV), a leading provider of comprehensive home health services, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Rush Home Care, Inc. (d/b/a Magna Home Health), a part of the Rush Health System, located in central Mississippi and west central Alabama. The purchase was funded from Gentiva's existing cash reserves.

3 Sep 2009

The AARP seeks a more neutral image after shedding thousands of members

AARP, the seniors' lobby, has shed as many as 60,000 members in two months over its implicit support for health reform that some members say could lead to Medicare cuts, USA Today reports. The group will launch a campaign next week in hopes of regaining ground with seniors and reestablishing a politically neutral image.

3 Sep 2009

Pfizer to pay $2.3 billion for health care fraud settlement

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. (hereinafter together "Pfizer") have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department announced today.

3 Sep 2009

Ohio state to expand Medicaid program to more counties

Unison Health Plan of Ohio announced the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will extend a contract that will enable Unison to offer its programs for aged, blind and disabled (ABD) Medicaid recipients in 18 additional Northwest Ohio counties.

3 Sep 2009

Research reveals that 21% of death claims are rejected by California's largest private insurers

More than one of every five requests for medical claims for insured patients, even when recommended by a patient's physician, are rejected by California's largest private insurers, amounting to very real death panels in practice daily in the nation's biggest state, according to data released today by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.

3 Sep 2009

Abbott to acquire Visiogen for $400 million in cash

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today a definitive agreement to acquire Visiogen, Inc. for $400 million in cash, providing the company with a next-generation accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) technology to address presbyopia for cataract patients.

3 Sep 2009

Tort reform and changes to doctor payment could cut health costs

Limiting medical malpractice lawsuits and changing the doctor payment system are being debated as possible ways to make health care more cost-effective.

3 Sep 2009

Colorado braces for mental health cuts, Florida nursing homes brace for Medicare cuts, and other developments

Kaiser Health News: "Three years after Massachusetts implemented a state program to provide near universal health care, officials said that a key to their success was that stakeholders from the state's health care sector and the business community had a commitment to implementing the program." Despite successes, one state official said cost containment remains a challenge (Marcy, 9/1).

3 Sep 2009

NCPA urges Congress to prevent Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement cuts

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) is urging Congressional action in the next 30 days to preserve the access Medicaid patients have to approximately 23,000 community pharmacies.

2 Sep 2009

CIGNA partners with MCNT to launch a medical home type program in Texas

CIGNA (NYSE:CI) and Medical Clinic of North Texas (MCNT) are preparing to launch a pilot program that incorporates components of the medical home model based on a comprehensive, accountable and collaborative approach they believe will lead to improved patient access, better continuity and coordination of care, improved quality of care for patients, and lower medical costs.

2 Sep 2009

SynerMed's announces a 35 percent growth in membership since the beginning of the first quarter of 2009

SynerMed, Inc. today announced a 35 percent growth in membership since the beginning of the first quarter of 2009. Representing 550,000 beneficiaries through its clients, SynerMed is the largest Medicaid managed service organization (MSO) in the country.

2 Sep 2009

Irregular heartbeat is a common cause of stroke

Mellanie True Hills knows personally the toll that atrial fibrillation (afib) takes. Just two years ago, with a sense of urgency about afib that only a survivor can possess, she designated September as Atrial Fibrillation Month.

2 Sep 2009

Medicare News and Research

U.S. Department of Labor register apprenticeship programs organized by BlueCross BlueShield

Criminal pricing of Merck’s HIV/AIDS drug Isentress challenged by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Alliance for Health Reform to brief reporters on the hurdles to a meaningful health reform bill

Reliable and relevant information needed to rein in the costs of federal health-care programs, says study

Health insurers ask employees to lobby Congress to weaken health reform

Pfizer pleads guilty of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and other government-funded health care programs

TAHU recommends revision of proposed healthcare plan

New electronic medical device for treating leg pain

Gentiva Health Services acquires Rush Home Care

The AARP seeks a more neutral image after shedding thousands of members

Pfizer to pay $2.3 billion for health care fraud settlement

Ohio state to expand Medicaid program to more counties

Research reveals that 21% of death claims are rejected by California's largest private insurers

Abbott to acquire Visiogen for $400 million in cash

Tort reform and changes to doctor payment could cut health costs

Colorado braces for mental health cuts, Florida nursing homes brace for Medicare cuts, and other developments

NCPA urges Congress to prevent Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement cuts

CIGNA partners with MCNT to launch a medical home type program in Texas

SynerMed's announces a 35 percent growth in membership since the beginning of the first quarter of 2009

Irregular heartbeat is a common cause of stroke

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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