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Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights opposes Medicare payment cuts

Due to Congressional inaction, Medicare’s reimbursement rates to doctors for their care of our nation’s elderly population will be cut a staggering 21 percent today.

2 Mar 2010

MedPac urges Feds to cut payments to private insurers

Reuters: The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) on Monday issued nonbinding recommendations that Medicare "cut U.S. government payments to private insurers and home healthcare providers." The panel, which is an independent body set up to advise Congress on Medicare, "repeated its earlier call for the federal government to pay private insurers that offer coverage known as Medicare Advantage the same as it pays when Medicare reimburses providers directly."

2 Mar 2010

Opeds: GOP ideas, HSAs, calls for 'yes' on health bill

It turns out that, when someone is spending his own money alone for routine expenses, he is far more likely to ask the questions he would ask if purchasing any other good or service: "Is there a generic version of that drug?" (Gov. Mitch Daniels, 3/1).

2 Mar 2010

New treatment guidelines demonstrate that best care does not always cost more

Arizona Oncology is proud to be a part of the larger network that just completed a recently conducted study by US Oncology and Aetna that finds evidence-based care for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) results in an average cost savings of 35 percent over 12 months while demonstrating equivalent health outcomes.

2 Mar 2010

Medical identify theft on the rise

NPR/WBUR: Medical identity theft - in which thieves use stolen social security numbers, names and insurance information to seek treatment under an assumed identity - is on the rise. "Over the past 12 months, [CoxHealth Hospital in Missouri] has seen nine instances of identity theft — four in the past 45 days, says Betty Breshears, vice president of corporate integrity at the hospital."

2 Mar 2010

WHO Director-General calls for greater efforts to reduce tobacco use

In a speech on Friday marking the fifth anniversary of an international tobacco control treaty, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called for government officials worldwide to increase efforts to protect their population from the harmful effects of tobacco, Reuters reports. "Tobacco kills more than 5 million people a year from cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, including about 600,000 from second-hand smoke, according to the United Nations agency," the news service writes.

1 Mar 2010

Health votes pose imminent test for Pelosi; Hutchison pledges to stay in Senate as long as reform debate continues

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's latest test on a health reform overhaul will come in the form of living up to the words that she has the votes on a health reform package, Politico reports.

1 Mar 2010

Aventyn launches healthKrypt security technology for health information and trusted transaction processing

Aventyn Inc., an innovative provider of secure connected clinical information processing solutions, today announced the introduction of healthKrypt™, patent pending technology for securing health information and trusted transaction processing. This announcement was made jointly at HIMMS in Atlanta, GA and RSA2010 in San Francisco, CA.

1 Mar 2010

Drugmakers' business practices draw scrutiny

Three top California Medicaid officials in charge of pharmacy issues failed to disclose trips paid for by drug-industry funded business groups, California Watch/San Francisco Chronicle reports. Officials who are directly involved in setting drug policy and negotiating payments took about 12 trips paid for by these nonprofit business groups. The nonprofits hold conferences such as the those attended by the Medicaid officials and raise their money through fees from drug representatives who attend conferences, too.

1 Mar 2010

Palliative care helps improve quality, cut end of life care costs

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on palliative care and focuses on a fairly typical American hospital in Abington.

1 Mar 2010

Thirty-six organizations urge Congress to pass health reform legislation

State, regional and national public health associations today called on Congress to send comprehensive health reform legislation to the president in the coming weeks. Thirty-six organizations representing tens of thousands of public health professionals from Alaska to Maine, Iowa to Kentucky and states in between signed on to a letter to members of Congress urging action.

1 Mar 2010

First Personal Injury praises HSE's workplace safety campaign

The latest phase of the campaign aims to raise awareness of the potential dangers of trips and falls in the workplace and features some graphic and hard hitting posters. The posters, typically featuring alarming images of workers 'shattering' upon impact following a fall, also feature safety information targeted at reducing such accidents.

1 Mar 2010

Physicians urge Senators to repeal Medicare cuts

The U.S. Senate's failure to act before today's 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut has put seniors at grave risk of reduced access to health care and choice of physician.

1 Mar 2010

Groups preparing to fight cutbacks, ready final health overhaul push

A renewed push to pass health care reform in America has lobbyists and interest groups pushing to have their voices heard and heeded as lawmakers prepare the endgame on health reform legislation, The Washington Post reports.

1 Mar 2010

Medicare cuts to doctors payments go into effect today

Starting today, doctors face a 21 percent cut in their reimbursements from Medicare based on a federal budget law that sets physican payments based on other economic factors. In past years, Congress has routinely waived such cuts. The House passed a bill to again postpone the cuts but a similar attempt in the Senate stalled last week.

1 Mar 2010

While Congress debates, health costs continue steep rise

The New York Times' "Week in Review" section features a story that begins: "Suppose Congress and President Obama fail to overhaul the system now, or just tinker around the edges, or start over, as the Republicans propose. ... Then 'my health care' stays the same, right? Far from it, health policy analysts and economists of nearly every ideological persuasion agree. The unrelenting rise in medical costs is likely to wreak havoc within the system and beyond it. ... Even those families that enjoy generous insurance now are likely to see the cost of those benefits escalate.

1 Mar 2010

Validus Medical Systems introduces bi-directional mobile software solution for hospital systems

Validus Medical Systems, Inc., a privately held healthcare IT firm founded by veteran entrepreneur David Kashtan (Network Alchemy, TGV Software), formally launched its breakthrough bi-directional mobile software solution for hospital systems. The Validus inTouchTM software system was developed by Kashtan, a team of leading physicians, software engineers, cloud computing experts, and network security specialists to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare.

1 Mar 2010

Amerigroup introduces long-term care program to address complex health concerns

Amerigroup Corporation today announced that its Tennessee health plan began offering long-term care (LTC) services to approximately 4,000 existing middle Tennessee members through the state's TennCare CHOICES in LTC program.

1 Mar 2010

QuadraMed to showcase EHR and Smart Identity Management solutions at HIMSS Interoperability Showcase

QuadraMed® Corporation, a leading provider of healthcare technologies and services that help turn quality care into positive financial outcomes, will demonstrate its award-winning electronic health record (EHR) and Smart Identity Management solutions at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference and Exhibition’s Interoperability Showcase. The event takes place March 1-4 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

1 Mar 2010

4medica's IHR to be demonstrated at HIMSS conference

4medica, the leading independent provider of Web-based connectivity between physicians and clinical laboratories, today announced the launch of its Integrated Health Record (IHR™), which includes modular components designed to enable hospitals and eligible providers to demonstrate “meaningful use” and qualify for federal government incentives in 2011.

1 Mar 2010