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For NAIC, some signals suggest broker bill is losing traction

The Hill reports that a spokeswoman for the chairman of the NAIC's Professional Health Insurance Advisors Task Force said no major action on the issue was planned for the group's conference. In other news, MSNBC reports that, as insurance prices rise, options appear to diminish, creating questions about how much relief the health law will provide. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explores health reform's winners and losers.

29 Aug 2011

CMS: Insurers need to create plans for dual eligibles

Medicare Advantage insurers that cover some of the most expensive patients must develop individualized plans to coordinate care for each one, according to a final CMS rule issued Friday. The agency also formalized language in the Affordable Care Act requiring these so-called Special Needs Plans, which handle the costly population covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, to implement quality improvement programs and be certified in 2012 by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

29 Aug 2011

Kassebaum reflects on HIPAA's impact

[Nancy Landon] Kassebaum [Baker], the name she went by in the Senate as a three-term Republican from Kansas and before her marriage to former Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.), was a co-sponsor along with Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Kassebaum, now 79, is living with her husband in Huntsville, Baker's hometown in the Cumberlands of northeastern Tennessee.

29 Aug 2011

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for procurement of energy

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that new agreements for the procurement of energy have been awarded to Amerex Brokers, LLC. of Sugar Land, Texas; Co-eXprise Inc. of Wexford, Pa.; Hospital Energy Development LLC. of Middletown, Conn.; Vical Energy Consultants Inc. of Hackensack, N.J.; and World Energy Solutions, Inc. of Worcester, Mass.

29 Aug 2011

Disappearance of mosquitoes from some parts of Africa puzzles researchers

"Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are disappearing in some parts of Africa, ... indicat[ing] controls such as anti-mosquito bed nets are having a significant impact on the incidence of malaria in some sub-Saharan countries," researchers report in a paper published in Malaria Journal, according to BBC News. But the team of Danish and Tanzanian "researchers say mosquitoes are also disappearing from areas with few controls," and "[t]hey are uncertain if mosquitoes are being eradicated or whether they will return with renewed vigor," the news agency writes.

29 Aug 2011

Allscripts launches 2011 ACE annual conference

Allscripts today launched its annual conference, the Allscripts Client Experience (ACE), with over 450 educational sessions for more than 4,700 attendees representing care providers in all settings, sizes and specialties.

29 Aug 2011

ConversePoint plans to develop, commercialize next generation clinician communications

ConversePoint, a privately owned company based in Chicago, has announced its plans to develop and commercialize a communications platform for the healthcare industry that will significantly save clinicians time, hospitals millions in productivity costs and improve accountability measurements for critical events per the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals along with the license of key Qualcomm technology.

29 Aug 2011

Cederquist Medical Wellness Center now offers state-of-the-art genetic testing

Cederquist Medical Wellness Center is now offering genetic testing which demonstrates how genetics influence a wide variety of behaviors relating to diet and weight control.

29 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 29, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, writes: "The federal health law calls for a huge expansion of the Medicaid program in 2014 - a potential bonanza for insurers if the law survives court challenges and opposition by Republican contenders for the White House. The expansion will add 16 million enrollees, mostly in private plans, bringing the total nationwide to about 65 million and raising the stakes for controlling costs. As budgetary pressure rises, states are increasingly passing it on to private plans".

29 Aug 2011

Safety tips for children to avoid pedestrian-related accidents

With the start of the school year quickly approaching, physicians from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital are urging parents and drivers to do their part to keep kids safe as they walk to school.

29 Aug 2011

HH&S, CDC announce eight finalists for 2011 Sentinel for Health Awards

Hollywood, Health & Society, a program of the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are announcing eight finalists for the Sentinel for Health Awards.

29 Aug 2011

New whitepaper about RTLS location accuracy and its impact on hospital ROI

TeleTracking Technologies, Inc. in association with its real-time locating system division, TeleTracking RTLS, today released a white paper underscoring the top 10 reasons why RTLS location accuracy in healthcare matters.

29 Aug 2011

SIUH, Southside Hospital receive DOH approval to reopen

After evacuating more than 1,000 patients, Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, NY, and the north and south campuses of Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) have received state Department of Health (DOH) approval to begin accepting inpatients on Sunday evening.

29 Aug 2011

Health Endeavors releases web-based ACO Audit Program

Health Endeavors releases web-based ACO Audit Program to assist healthcare providers in achieving PQRS quality measures and ACO success.

29 Aug 2011

BancoVida, CBAI partner to offer umbilical cord blood collection services in Puerto Rico

Cord Blood America, Inc. announced today it has entered into an agreement with BancoVida to offer umbilical cord blood collection services in Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean.

29 Aug 2011

AF AWARE campaign launches Atrial Fibrillation in Primary Care tool

The AF AWARE campaign today, at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2011 in Paris, announces the launch of the Atrial Fibrillation in Primary Care (AFIP) tool, developed to help primary care physicians (PCPs) with early diagnosis and optimal management of patients with atrial fibrillation.

29 Aug 2011

Thirty two projects to receive €1M donation for prevention of AF-related stroke

Last night at an award ceremony in Paris, the 32 winning projects of the global disease awareness initiative 1 Mission 1 Million - Getting to the Heart of Stroke were announced.

29 Aug 2011

EAS/ESC develops new dyslipidaemias guidelines

Clinicians should aim for comprehensive lipid control using lifestyle as a first step and tailoring treatment to patients. Lifestyle interventions, including stopping smoking, improving diet, exercising sufficiently and moderate alcohol consumption, should be the crucial first step for managing lipids in all patients.

29 Aug 2011

First Dental Health's new discount plan now available nationwide

New Dental Choice, a comprehensive and affordable discount dental plan provided by First Dental Health, is now available nationwide. In addition, the plan now offers its members access to discount vision, hearing and prescription drug programs.

29 Aug 2011

AAO-HNSF's 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to convene in San Francisco

The 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), the largest meeting of ear, nose, and throat doctors in the world, will convene September 11-14, 2011, in San Francisco, CA.

29 Aug 2011