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Private Medicare Advantage to receive $11.4 billion more in 2009

Private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be paid $11.4 billion more in 2009 than what the same beneficiaries would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program, according to a new report released today by The Commonwealth Fund.

4 May 2009

Sen. Baucus proposes Medicare changes he says could drive 'transformation of the health care delivery system'

The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday during a six-hour meeting discussed proposed changes to the Medicare system from committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 4/30).

30 Apr 2009

Congress approves $3.5 trillion budget resolution that includes reconciliation language

Congress on Wednesday -- President Obama's 100th day in office -- passed a $3.5 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget resolution (S Con Res 13) that includes budget reconciliation as an option for passing health reform legislation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Apr 2009

Study links arm/hand swelling to number of lymph nodes removed during breast cancer surgery

In older breast cancer survivors, the number of lymph nodes removed during surgery and the presence of cancer in the lymph nodes were the two factors most directly linked to the development of lymphedema, swelling of the arm and hand, according to a study from the Medical College of Wisconsin's Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

23 Apr 2009

Change to Medicare reimbursement policy may pose risks to black kidney patients

A change in Medicare reimbursement policy could make it more difficult for African Americans with kidney disease to access dialysis services, suggests a study in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

23 Apr 2009

Many people skipping health care in the past year

As economic conditions remain poor, a majority of the public continues to say that they or a member of their household have delayed or skipped health care in the past year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's April health tracking poll.

23 Apr 2009

Medicare recipients see declines in continuity of care

According to a study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, elderly Medicare recipients transitioning from outpatient to hospital settings were more likely to experience lapses in continuity of care in 2006 than 1996.

22 Apr 2009

Continuity of care for older adults from outpatient to hospital is low, and decreasing

The proportion of Medicare patients experiencing continuity of care between outpatient and inpatient settings decreased substantially between 1996 and 2006, with decreases occurring in all areas of the country and in all types of hospitals, according to a study in the April 22/29 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

22 Apr 2009

Healthcare reform should start with paying evidence-based financial incentives to doctors

Healthcare Reform should start with "evidence-based reimbursement", structuring physician payment incentives around existing empirical evidence of clinical benefit, which would improve quality and reduce the cost of healthcare, says a commentary written by two cardiologists and published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes .

20 Apr 2009

Complications, death rates similar at bariatric surgery centers of excellence, other hospitals

Patients who undergo bariatric surgery at hospitals designated as centers of excellence do not appear to have lower mortality rates or lower rates of complications than those whose procedures are performed at other hospitals, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

20 Apr 2009

Medicare payments for outpatient prescription medications jumped $38 billion between 2005 and 2006

Medicare payments for outpatient prescription medications increased by more than $38 billion when comparing 2005 and 2006 data, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

13 Apr 2009

Hispanics appear to face poorer quality nursing home care

Nursing homes serving primarily Hispanic residents provided poorer quality care compared to facilities whose patients were mostly white, according to Brown University research.

12 Apr 2009

Many skin cancer patients do not receive sentinel lymph node biopsy

Although clinical practice guidelines recommend sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for many patients with clinically node-negative melanoma, a new analysis from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has found approximately half of patients do not receive recommended evaluation of their lymph nodes and that the type of health insurance a patient has, the type of hospital delivering treatment, and the hospital's geographic region are all associated with provider compliance with those guidelines.

9 Apr 2009

Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases risk of physical disabilities adulthood

Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases the risk of developing problems with mobility in old age, even if the weight is eventually lost, according to new research out of the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

8 Apr 2009

Large safety gaps identified between top and bottom performing hospitals

The 2009 HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients were identified in a report issued today by the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

8 Apr 2009

More intensive treatment not associated with better outcomes in early bladder cancer

Patients with early bladder cancer who receive more intensive treatment within the first two years of diagnosis do not appear to have better survival than patients who receive less intensive treatment, according to a retrospective analysis published in the April 7 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Apr 2009

Aggressive treatment for early stage bladder does not improve survival

Despite enduring more invasive tests and medical procedures, patients who were treated aggressively for early stage bladder cancer had no better survival than patients who were treated less aggressively.

8 Apr 2009

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet. We split pills in half or take the drugs every other day to stretch our doses. We stop filling the prescriptions for our most expensive drugs. We buy prescriptions from online pharmacies with questionable credentials.

6 Apr 2009

CMS announces $35.8 million for state health insurance assistance programs

CMS on Friday announced that State Health Insurance Assistance Programs will receive $35.8 million to provide health insurance information to Medicare beneficiaries, CQ HealthBeat reports.

6 Apr 2009

'Well-fortified' drugstores have 'fighting chance' against government reform, Wall Street Journal says

Recent events in Washington state indicate that "well-fortified" pharmacy chains have a "fighting chance" as the health care industry gears up for "an assault of government reform," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Apr 2009

Medicare News and Research

Private Medicare Advantage to receive $11.4 billion more in 2009

Sen. Baucus proposes Medicare changes he says could drive 'transformation of the health care delivery system'

Congress approves $3.5 trillion budget resolution that includes reconciliation language

Study links arm/hand swelling to number of lymph nodes removed during breast cancer surgery

Change to Medicare reimbursement policy may pose risks to black kidney patients

Many people skipping health care in the past year

Medicare recipients see declines in continuity of care

Continuity of care for older adults from outpatient to hospital is low, and decreasing

Healthcare reform should start with paying evidence-based financial incentives to doctors

Complications, death rates similar at bariatric surgery centers of excellence, other hospitals

Medicare payments for outpatient prescription medications jumped $38 billion between 2005 and 2006

Hispanics appear to face poorer quality nursing home care

Many skin cancer patients do not receive sentinel lymph node biopsy

Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases risk of physical disabilities adulthood

Large safety gaps identified between top and bottom performing hospitals

More intensive treatment not associated with better outcomes in early bladder cancer

Aggressive treatment for early stage bladder does not improve survival

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet

CMS announces $35.8 million for state health insurance assistance programs

'Well-fortified' drugstores have 'fighting chance' against government reform, Wall Street Journal says

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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