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BayCare receives SAMHSA grant to develop VFCN network

BayCare Behavioral Health today announced that it has been awarded a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the amount of $200,000 to develop the Veteran, Family and Community Network (VFCN).

18 Nov 2010

Colo. nurse practitioners struggle for recognition, reimbursement; Mass. struggles with health care access

The Denver Post: "When nurse practitioner Mary Lou Hendrix opened her own high-risk-pregnancy practice in Evergreen and Cherry Creek last spring after more than 25 years of providing such care in physicians' offices, she was well-prepared for the medical challenges she would face. But she was not ready for the still-unresolved nightmare of trying to get recognized and reimbursed by insurance companies.

18 Nov 2010

CMS issues new rules to protect patients' right to choose visitors during hospital stay

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued new rules for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals that protect patients' right to choose their own visitors during a hospital stay, including a visitor who is a same-sex domestic partner.

18 Nov 2010

National leaders to formulate recommendations for high-value health care system

With the 2010 election over and new Capitol Hill leadership arriving in 2011, it is important to continue the discussion about patient-centered health care. In a sustained effort to seek consensus-driven policies that would build a high-value health care system, the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center will host a symposium Dec. 5 entitled Achieving the Vision: Advancing High-Value Health Care.

18 Nov 2010

Health Net partners with DoD for Major Depression Disease Management Program

Health Net Federal Services, LLC, part of the Government Contracts segment of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), today announced its Major Depression Disease Management Program established in partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) for TRICARE beneficiaries, ages 18-64. TRICARE is the DoD's health care plan for active duty and retired service members and their families.

18 Nov 2010

US has highest out-of-pocket costs and most complex health insurance

A new 11-country survey from The Commonwealth Fund finds that adults in the United States are far more likely than those in 10 other industrialized nations to go without health care because of costs, have trouble paying medical bills, encounter high medical bills even when insured, and have disputes with their insurers or discover insurance wouldn't pay as they expected. According to the report, the findings highlight the need for Affordable Care Act reforms that will ensure access to health care, protect people from medical debt, and simplify health insurance.

18 Nov 2010

Survey finds concern over regulatory compliance as major challenge to Life Sciences industry

Cegedim Relationship Management, the world's leading provider of Life Sciences-specific Customer Relationship Management solutions, today issued the results of the 2010 European Trends in Aggregate Spend, Transparency, and Disclosure Report, a market research study conducted through September and October of this year.

18 Nov 2010

March of Dimes reports decline in Colorado’s premature birth rate

Premature birth in Colorado has declined along with three key contributing factors, it was reported today by the March of Dimes in its annual assessment, the Premature Birth Report Card. However, despite these improvements (and for the third straight year), the state's overall grade is a "D."

18 Nov 2010

PerformRx awarded pharmacy benefit management contract by California DGS

PerformRx, a full-service pharmacy benefits management company, today announced it has been awarded the pharmacy benefit management contract by the California Department of General Services (DGS). Chosen as the result of a competitive RFP process, PerformRx will help the California Department of General Services provide efficient pharmacy benefit management services to portions of the state's population covered by DGS's statewide pharmaceutical program.

18 Nov 2010

Report plus Great American Smokeout offer reasons to quit, renew tobacco prevention efforts

A new report issued by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) shows that each year, smoking is responsible for 5,135 deaths in Minnesota and $2.87 billion in excess medical costs to treat diseases caused by smoking. The report, titled "Health Care Costs and Smoking in Minnesota," was completed by Jeffrey Fellows, Ph.D., and a nationally known health economist from the Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Northwest.

18 Nov 2010

UC Berkeley receives $16.5 million to support three research centers to examine children's health

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health are getting $16.5 million to support three research centers as part of a federal initiative to examine the environmental factors influencing children's health.

18 Nov 2010

First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research kicks off in Switzerland

The First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research bringing together researchers, policymakers and donors kicked off in Montreux, Switzerland, on Tuesday, with some conference attendees calling for African leaders to do more to promote health progress in their countries, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

18 Nov 2010

Cholera case confirmed in Dominican Republic; Haitian protestors blame U.N. peacekeeping troops for cholera outbreak

Officials on Tuesday said they had confirmed the first case of cholera in Haiti's neighbor, the Dominican Republic, the Associated Press/Forbes reports

18 Nov 2010

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launches projects to improve care, reduce cost

Kaiser Health News: "Promising fast action, the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation is launching a series of initiatives aimed at improving medical care while reducing its cost, officials said Tuesday. ... In one initiative, eight states will participate in a Medicare demonstration project to evaluate the effectiveness of doctors and other health professionals working 'in a more integrated fashion and receiving more coordinated payment,' according to CMS, the parent agency of the center and a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

18 Nov 2010

Doctor groups urge Congress to grant temporary reprieve from Medicare payment cuts

Doctors' groups are stepping up their pressure on lawmakers to approve another temporary reprieve from Medicare payments cuts scheduled to go into effect next month.

18 Nov 2010

Insurer news: 2010 could be record profit year; Anthem settles underpayment cases

A California health insurer will pay seven hospitals $1.62 million to settle a dispute over alleged underpayments, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Anthem, a unit of health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. of Indianapolis, admitted no wrongdoing and said in a statement that it settled the matter to avoid litigation. Regulators said the problem stemmed from Anthem's process for handling claims.

18 Nov 2010

Benefits: OMB recoups $687 million across agencies, including Medicare; Department of Labor sues businesses for withholding employee money

The Office of Management and Budget, which has been working to track and recoup the money paid by agencies in the wrong amount or to the wrong vendors and contractors reported "$687 million was recovered across all agencies in Fiscal Year 2010.

18 Nov 2010

Scorecard: How health industry PACs placed their election bets

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with Politico, Bara Vaida and Christopher Weaver write: "Health-sector PACs - ranging from doctors to hospitals to drug companies - generally favored Democrats.

18 Nov 2010

New deficit report recommends seniors pay more for Medicare

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Jordan Rau report: "Offering the latest tough-love strategy to reduce the nation's debt, a panel of high-profile Republicans and Democrats is scheduled on Wednesday to recommend that Medicare beneficiaries pick up far more of their health care costs and the government substantially curb the amount both Medicare and Medicaid programs can grow in future years" (Galewitz and Rau, 11/16).

18 Nov 2010

Berwick's big day: Senators will grill CMS administrator

Donald Berwick, administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is testifying today before the Senate Finance Committee, presenting an opportunity for Republicans on that panel to revisit their objections to the health law, CQ HealthBeat reports.

18 Nov 2010

Healthcare News

BayCare receives SAMHSA grant to develop VFCN network

Colo. nurse practitioners struggle for recognition, reimbursement; Mass. struggles with health care access

CMS issues new rules to protect patients' right to choose visitors during hospital stay

National leaders to formulate recommendations for high-value health care system

Health Net partners with DoD for Major Depression Disease Management Program

US has highest out-of-pocket costs and most complex health insurance

Survey finds concern over regulatory compliance as major challenge to Life Sciences industry

March of Dimes reports decline in Colorado’s premature birth rate

PerformRx awarded pharmacy benefit management contract by California DGS

Report plus Great American Smokeout offer reasons to quit, renew tobacco prevention efforts

UC Berkeley receives $16.5 million to support three research centers to examine children's health

First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research kicks off in Switzerland

Cholera case confirmed in Dominican Republic; Haitian protestors blame U.N. peacekeeping troops for cholera outbreak

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launches projects to improve care, reduce cost

Doctor groups urge Congress to grant temporary reprieve from Medicare payment cuts

Insurer news: 2010 could be record profit year; Anthem settles underpayment cases

Benefits: OMB recoups $687 million across agencies, including Medicare; Department of Labor sues businesses for withholding employee money

Scorecard: How health industry PACs placed their election bets

New deficit report recommends seniors pay more for Medicare

Berwick's big day: Senators will grill CMS administrator

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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