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Workers in small businesses more likely to have high premium for employer-sponsored health plans: AHRQ

Nearly 13 percent of workers with employer-sponsored health plans who worked in firms with 10 or fewer employees had premiums of $7,200 or more a year for single-coverage plans in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This amount is much higher than the $4,704 average, national premium for employer-sponsored single-coverage health plans in 2008.

25 Jun 2010

Electronic medical records a national priority, but adoption lags

When optometrist Meera Sutaria opened up shop last year in Brambleton, Va., she had an electronic medical record in place, setting her at the "forefront of a national agenda to better utilize information technology in the health care industry," The Washington Post reports.

25 Jun 2010

Congressional hearing explores Medicare payment issues, including permanent 'doc fix'

A House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday ostensibly about a recent Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report veered to discussion of the so-called "doc fix." The panel's chairman, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., called the ongoing efforts to delay the 21 percent cut in Medicare physician payments "the elephant in the room" and added that the "Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, as well as the physician community, need to work together to develop a permanent fix to this problem that has vexed all of us for far too long.

25 Jun 2010

Efforts to make medicine cheaper, more efficient underway

One of Minnesota's largest providers of supportive housing for seniors will begin testing telemedicine and sensor technology to help frail seniors stay healthier and delay institutional care under an $8 million grant announced Wednesday. It will be the largest project of its kind in the nation, involving about 1,600 clients in 40 rural cities.

25 Jun 2010

Medicare to use new fraud identification tool

Gov Info Security: "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is the first agency to use a new fraud mapping tool that ultimately will be used throughout the federal government.

25 Jun 2010

Latino population less likely to receive basic preventive tests, says study

"Prevention" is the new buzzword for health professionals and the new emphasis for containing future health care costs. Yet Latinos, who currently represent about 15 percent of the U.S. population, have the lowest level of preventive care of all racial and ethnic groups in the nation.

25 Jun 2010

Conn. AG launches probe of CVS prescription plan termination threat

Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general and a candidate for the U.S. Senate, announced an investigation of CVS Caremark after the corporation threatened to terminate a discount prescription drug program, Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal reports.

25 Jun 2010

Researchers call for new psychological support for people living with disfigurement

Disfigurement can be a challenging and distressing experience for many of the 1 million people in the UK who have a visible difference of any kind.

25 Jun 2010

KHN column: About those presidential promises

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, James Capretta writes: "Over the past three years, President Barack Obama made many promises to the American people about his health care plan.

25 Jun 2010

Day-long shifts for rookie doctors to be scaled back

Rookie doctors would get shorter shifts and more supervision if new guidelines proposed by the body that accredits medical residency programs go into effect, The Wall Street Journal reports.

25 Jun 2010

Devastating 21% SGR cuts to Medicare disproportionately impact cancer care

Today a group of cancer patients, oncologists, oncology nurses and practice administrators will meet with Members of Congress to speak out about the enormous burden placed by the massive Medicare cuts to U.S. cancer care, and to offer solutions.

24 Jun 2010

Six-month Medicare patch slows Medicare meltdown for now

“The six-month Medicare patch Congress passed today is a very temporary reprieve for seniors and baby boomers who rely on the promise of Medicare. Delaying the problem is not a solution. It doesn’t solve the Medicare mess Congress has created with a long series of short-term Medicare patches over the last decade – including four to avert the 2010 cut alone.

24 Jun 2010

e-Health identifiers for Australians to be allocated next week

The new Australian electronic healthcare database service has been on the cards for a while now. The legislation that flags off this scheme passed in the federal parliament and may be implemented next week on 1st July. This will ensure that every Australian is given a unique healthcare identification number. Doctors, hospitals, healthcare organisations and allied health providers will receive similar identifiers.

24 Jun 2010

University of Michigan professor recognised with PHA Award of Excellence

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) and Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., today announced Dr. Vallerie McLaughlin of the University of Michigan Health System as the recipient of the annual PHA Award of Excellence in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) Care. As part of the award, the University of Michigan System will receive a grant in the amount of $50,000 to support continued excellence in care for patients with PAH.

24 Jun 2010

BCBST achieves certification for implementation of CAQH CORE Phase II rules

CAQH announced today that BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has achieved certification for its implementation of the CAQH Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange Phase II rules. The certification will benefit more than 3 million insured members of the Tennessee health plan.

24 Jun 2010

LTCFP announces publication of revised guidebook, Long Term Care Insurance at the Worksite

Many companies seem conflicted by a key part of the recent Health Reform legislation, the CLASS Act, which will offer a form of long term care insurance for working people who may become disabled. "CLASS" stands for Community Living Assistance Services and Supports; and the program, a legacy of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is intended to offer new choice and security for millions now at risk. But, "we find that those who manage employees or employee benefits don't know how to react," says Denise Gott, Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners LLC, one of the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agencies.

24 Jun 2010

Premier healthcare alliance recognizes winners of Pinnacle and Performance Awards

The Premier healthcare alliance has recognized the winners of its fifth annual awards for suppliers exceeding operational and quality expectations.

24 Jun 2010

Individuals get involved in alcohol or drug related accidents during summer holidays

As the days grow longer and hotter, some chemical dependency professionals have their own name for summer: substance abuse season, because that's when individuals who abuse or are addicted to alcohol, prescription medications and drugs get involved in alcohol or drug related accidents during the summer holidays.

24 Jun 2010

MHQP survey assesses patients' experiences with primary care since health reform law implementation

A report released today by Massachusetts Health Quality Partners provides the first comprehensive assessment of how patients rate their experiences with primary care since the state's groundbreaking health reform law was implemented.

24 Jun 2010

Personalized medicine holds promise for the future of healthcare

With the accelerating pace of scientific discovery in life sciences, coupled with our ability to process and analyze enormous amounts of genetic information, the field of personalized medicine holds great promise for the future of healthcare.

24 Jun 2010