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Worker health costs drag down Walmart profits even as retailer makes play to be shoppers' health care source

Walmart plans to open a dozen clinics by the end of this fiscal year that will provide a broad range of primary care services.

16 Aug 2014

State highlights: TB outbreak in Alabama prisons; court order could force Wash. hospitals to release many psychiatric patients

Alabama's prison system, badly overcrowded and facing a lawsuit over medical treatment of inmates, is facing its worst outbreak of tuberculosis in five years, a health official said Thursday. Pam Barrett, director of tuberculosis control for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said medical officials have diagnosed nine active cases of the infectious respiratory disease in state prisons so far this year (8/14).

16 Aug 2014

Nutrition counseling by registered dietitian nutritionist can help prevent or delay diabetes

A new study, indicating that Americans have approximately a 40 percent risk of developing diabetes during their lifetime, offers more evidence that nutrition counseling provided by a registered dietitian nutritionist can help prevent or delay diabetes and its related health problems through lifestyle and dietary changes, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

16 Aug 2014

VA begins discipline process for workers involved in health system waiting scandal

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to recommend action against six employees at veterans' medical facilities in Colorado and Wyoming. Meanwhile, news outlets report on questions about whether offering veterans the option of private care will address some of the VA health system's problems.

16 Aug 2014

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services has taken steps to prevent its contractors from conducting certain duplicative postpayment claims reviews - reviews of the same claims that are not permitted by the agency - but CMS neither has reliable data nor provides sufficient oversight and guidance to measure and fully prevent duplication.

16 Aug 2014

UCSF study shows price differences for ten common blood tests across California hospitals

New UC San Francisco research shows significant price differences for ten common blood tests in California hospitals, with some patients charged as little as $10 for one test while others were charged $10,169 for the identical test.

16 Aug 2014

Physician disclosure website back on track

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announces it has fixed the glitch that took down the website where doctors and hospitals can review information about payments from drug and device makers. Meanwhile, The New York Times looks at how costly compounded medicines are drawing the ire of health insurers, and a U.K. agency recommends the government pay for a costly new hepatitis treatment.

16 Aug 2014

New x-ray imaging system helps monitor effectiveness of treatment for cystic fibrosis

Scientists have developed an x-ray imaging system that enables researchers to see 'live' how effective treatments are for cystic fibrosis.

16 Aug 2014

Health law's next challenge: Maintaining enrollment momentum

The Huffington Post explores why the people who did not sign up for health coverage during the 2014 open enrollment period may be much harder to reach. News outlets also report on developments from Massachusetts regarding the state's online insurance marketplace.

16 Aug 2014

Assessing stroke survivors for medication self-administration ability may predict memory disorder

Kessler stroke researchers and colleagues have identified an association between over-optimistic estimation of one's own ability to take medications accurately, and memory loss among stroke survivors.

16 Aug 2014

Fox News poll finds slim majority continues to oppose the health law

According to Fox News, opposition among voters has been above 50 percent for more than a year. Meanwhile, Politico Pro takes a look at the congressional district of the new House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., where constituents who appear to be benefiting from new health law coverage are still supporting politicians like McCarthy, who want to repeal it.

16 Aug 2014

Vitamin D deficiency linked to higher surgical risk

Patients with low blood levels of vitamin D are at increased risk of death and serious complications after noncardiac surgery, suggests a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

16 Aug 2014

Cops, computer analysts hunt for Medicare fraud

The Wall Street Journal looks closely at the work of the Medicare Strike Force, which includes FBI agents and CMS workers. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office finds Medicare audit contractors may hammer hospitals with multiple reviews of the same payment claims.

16 Aug 2014

Philosys receives FDA approval for Gmate SMART Blood Glucose Monitoring System

Philosys announces it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510K approval for the highly anticipated Gmate SMART Blood Glucose Monitoring System. The Gmate SMART meter is the size of a quarter and connects to the headphone jack on the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, while using the free Gmate® SMART app to deliver blood glucose test results, without the use of an adapter or Bluetooth device.

16 Aug 2014

Calif.'s Medicaid expansion brings renewed concerns about pay for doctors

Some advocates fear that state efforts to cut payments to doctors and other providers will make it hard for new enrollees to get care. Also, committees in Texas and Idaho look at ways to expand care for low-income residents.

16 Aug 2014

Prime Healthcare completes acquisition of St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey

Prime Healthcare announced today that it has completed its acquisition of St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey.

16 Aug 2014

Change Healthcare recognized as one of 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2014

Change Healthcare, the market leader in healthcare consumer engagement and cost transparency, has been named one of Modern Healthcare's "100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare" for 2014, an honor the company also received in 2013.

16 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Enrollment 'plummeting'?; Arkansas' 'boondoggle'; move Medicare to Obamacare exchanges

In the latest leg of their endless journey to find bad news about the Affordable Care Act, conservative analysts and websites have seized on some ambiguous figures to declare that enrollment is "plummeting," "shrinking," "sinking rapidly"--choose your headline. The most charitable interpretation of this claim is that it's based on extreme cherry-picking. The most accurate interpretation is that it's wrong (Michael Hiltzik, 8/13).

15 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of updates regarding health policy and the health care marketplace.

15 Aug 2014

The rush is on: Process immigrant paperwork to keep them insured

The Wall Street Journal reports on reaction to the Obama administration's announcement that coverage would be cut off for as many as 310,000 people if they don't prove they are citizens or legal residents by Sept. 5. Other news outlets offer local takes on the issue.

15 Aug 2014

Healthcare News

Worker health costs drag down Walmart profits even as retailer makes play to be shoppers' health care source

State highlights: TB outbreak in Alabama prisons; court order could force Wash. hospitals to release many psychiatric patients

Nutrition counseling by registered dietitian nutritionist can help prevent or delay diabetes

VA begins discipline process for workers involved in health system waiting scandal

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

UCSF study shows price differences for ten common blood tests across California hospitals

Physician disclosure website back on track

New x-ray imaging system helps monitor effectiveness of treatment for cystic fibrosis

Health law's next challenge: Maintaining enrollment momentum

Assessing stroke survivors for medication self-administration ability may predict memory disorder

Fox News poll finds slim majority continues to oppose the health law

Vitamin D deficiency linked to higher surgical risk

Cops, computer analysts hunt for Medicare fraud

Philosys receives FDA approval for Gmate SMART Blood Glucose Monitoring System

Calif.'s Medicaid expansion brings renewed concerns about pay for doctors

Prime Healthcare completes acquisition of St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey

Change Healthcare recognized as one of 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2014

Viewpoints: Enrollment 'plummeting'?; Arkansas' 'boondoggle'; move Medicare to Obamacare exchanges

First Edition: August 15, 2014

The rush is on: Process immigrant paperwork to keep them insured

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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