Healthcare News

RSS

DOJ sues Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield over pricing deals

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and alleging that it violated antitrust laws by forcing hospitals to charge higher prices to rival insurers.

20 Oct 2010

Health IT sector may face workforce shortage

A top federal health IT official said there is a workforce shortage in the sector that could hinder the widespread adoption of electronic medical records, but federal aide is on the way, for that, too. David Blumenthal, the national health IT coordinator, said federal training programs would meet 85 percent of the demand, which he estimated as a shortage of about 50,000 workers.

20 Oct 2010

BIOTRONIK EHR DataSync software offers advanced patient management capabilities

BIOTRONIK SE Co. & KG, a leading manufacturer of implantable cardiac devices, has announced the European release of BIOTRONIK EHR DataSync. The software supports physicians, hospitals and clinics by integrating routine follow-up details, BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring remote follow-up information and data from the company's cardiac device programmers - ICS 3000 and the new programmer, Renamic, soon to be launched across Europe.

20 Oct 2010

Reports examine drug company payments to doctors

ProPublica: "Drug companies say the millions of dollars they pay physicians for speaking and consulting justly compensates them for the laudable work of educating their colleagues. But a series of lawsuits brought by former employees of those companies allege the money often was used for illegal purposes — financially rewarding doctors for prescribing their brand-name medications.

20 Oct 2010

Feds ask Connecticut to reconsider rate hike approval, other health law implementation news

The Hartford Courant reports that a high-ranking health official in the Obama administration has asked Connecticut insurance regulators to reconsider allowing Blue Cross Blue Shield in Connecticut to raise health insurance rates by as much as 47 percent.

20 Oct 2010

ASBP reviews current rules of prescription medication to treat obesity in Kansas

In response to the alarming increase in the overweight and obese population in Kansas, a representative of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) recently testified to the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. ASBP is America's oldest and most experienced society devoted to the medical treatment of overweight and obesity and associated health conditions and risks.

20 Oct 2010

New research blames billions in medical costs on obesity

Joint research from Cornell University and Lehigh University finds that nearly 17% of U.S. medical costs can be blamed on obesity.

20 Oct 2010

Candidates continue to clash over health care law

Candidates around the nation are increasingly focusing on what they'll do with the new health law if they're elected as clashes over the overhaul's usefulness and future continue to occur on the campaign trail.

20 Oct 2010

As state commissioners meet on medical loss ratio, insurers warn of impact

Insurers are warning that a provision in the health law that requires them to spend 80 or 85 percent of premiums they collect on actual medical costs and not administrative expenses could put them out of business.

20 Oct 2010

State Roundup: Md.'s heath info exchange; LA to cut retiree health benefits; N.Y.'s mental health building boom

The Washington Post: "A Maryland health information exchange that will allow hospitals, physicians, labs and radiology centers to share patient information within the state went live last week. Three hospitals, three radiology centers, Quest Diagnostics and the Laboratory Corp. of America are already participating in the exchange."

20 Oct 2010

Boeing to shift health costs to workers

The Wall Street Journal: Boeing will increase the costs of health insurance for its 90,000 nonunion workers next year in response to rising health costs, spurred, in part, a Boeing official said, by the federal health law. The company plans to "phase in higher employee costs for deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance during 2011.

20 Oct 2010

Agendia establishes contract with Humana for coverage of MammaPrint breast cancer recurrence test

Agendia, a world leader in molecular cancer diagnostics, announced today that it has established a contract with leading insurance provider Humana to reimburse for the company's MammaPrint test. Agendia's contract with Humana expands the coverage for MammaPrint by more than 17 million lives. In November 2009, Palmetto GBA, California's Part B Medicare administrator, established coding guidelines for MammaPrint, allowing healthcare providers from across the United States to submit claims for the test.

19 Oct 2010

Celebrity health messages play an important role in society: Study

Celebrity journalism is often considered to be without merit, discounted due to its sensational details and lack of news value. MU researchers now say that celebrity journalism may be an underappreciated way to communicate health messages. In a recent award-winning paper, Amanda Hinnant, assistant professor of magazine journalism in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, found some readers of celebrity health stories report that the stories have an impact on their own behavior and how they discuss health issues.

19 Oct 2010

Research calls for better environmental risk assessments of pharmaceuticals

The strategies used to assess the environmental risks posed by pharmaceuticals are not enough to protect natural microbial communities, reveals a researcher from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) who is calling for better environmental risk assessments.

19 Oct 2010

ProBuild raises $275,000 for City of Hope

ProBuild Company LLC, one of the nation's largest suppliers of building materials to professional contractors, continued its commitment to further cancer and diabetes research by hosting its 2010 Charity Golf Tournament at The Omni Interlocken Resort and Hotel in Broomfield, Colo. ProBuild and its supply partners from across the Rocky Mountain Region together raised more than $275,000 for City of Hope, one of the nation's leading research and treatment centers for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

19 Oct 2010

U.S. patient monitoring market to reach $4 billion by 2017: iData Research

According to a new report by iData Research the leading global authority in medical device and pharmaceutical market research, the U.S. patient monitoring market is expected to reach almost $4 billion by 2017.

19 Oct 2010

Legacy joins in collective call to ban menthol in all tobacco products

As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) weighs the evidence on the deadly impact of menthol cigarettes, three African American organizations have spoken out against a potential ban, urging the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee to consider the negative implications of a ban and to discount any unsubstantiated evidence on menthol.

19 Oct 2010

Novartis to implement Veeva CRM for global deployments

Veeva Systems announced today that Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG, a world leader in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of products to protect and improve health and well-being, has chosen Veeva CRM® for various global deployments.

19 Oct 2010

Metcare enters definitive agreement to acquire assets of Delima's medical practice

Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc. a leading provider of healthcare services in Florida, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Metcare of Florida, Inc., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and assume certain liabilities of Selma C. Delima, M.D., P.A.

19 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 19, 2010

Today's major health policy headlines include reports about the latest developments in Virginia's court challenge against the health law, a U.S. government lawsuit targeting Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield for anti-trust activities and a study about the Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital Compare.

19 Oct 2010