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AMA's National Health Insurer Report Card helps improve claims processing performance

The American Medical Association today announced that one in five medical claims are processed inaccurately by health insurers, according to the AMA's third annual check-up of the nation's commercial health insurers and the systems they use to manage and pay claims. This was the key finding of the AMA's 2010 National Health Insurer Report Card, which for the first time, benchmarked the overall claims processing accuracy of the nation's largest health insurers.

15 Jun 2010

ATA members raise concern about reduction in dietary iodine intake

Following publication of an article in the February 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (Vol. 362 No. 7 pp 590-599) by Bibbins-Domingo, et al. that projected the effect of moderate dietary salt reductions on future cardiac disease rates, several members of the American Thyroid Association, concerned about the subsequent potential reduction in availability of iodine, have responded with a letter in the current issue of the NEJM (Vol. 362 No. 23 pp 2224-2226).

15 Jun 2010

Medicare coverage of unproven mammography screening device leads to surge in usage

In a study illustrating the potentially powerful influence of political pressure on medical practice, a UC Davis physician-researcher has found that use of a largely unproven mammography screening device has surged since Medicare began covering its cost.

15 Jun 2010

ASGE Endoscopy Unit Recognition Program honors 48 endoscopy units

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy has recognized 48 endoscopy units as part of its program specifically dedicated to promoting quality in endoscopy, in all settings where it is practiced in the United States. The ASGE Endoscopy Unit Recognition Program honors endoscopy units that follow the ASGE guidelines on privileging, quality assurance, endoscopy reprocessing and CDC infection control guidelines.

15 Jun 2010

Retiring health care professionals may strain an overburdened system

The Washington Post: "Since the passage of the health-care law in March, much has been said about the coming swarm of millions of retiring baby boomers and the strain they will put on the nation's health-care system. That's only half the problem. Overlooked in the conversation is a particular group of boomers: doctors and nurses who are itching to call it quits.

15 Jun 2010

Senate wrangling on bill with 'doc fix,' Medicaid payments, possible COBRA subsidy

President Barack Obama seems to be losing the battle to include in the jobs bill - also known as the "extender" bill - a continuation of federal subsidies for laid-off workers to help pay for health insurance through COBRA, The Associated Press reports. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, "who are seeking a vote this coming week, want to attach their nearly $7 billion provision to must-pass legislation that would extend unemployment benefits and make changes in dozens of federal programs.

15 Jun 2010

Free clinics across the U.S. care for 1.8M uninsured patients annually: Survey

Free clinics across the U.S. provide care to about 1.8 million mostly uninsured patients annually and the majority of clinics receive no government support, according to the first comprehensive survey of all known free clinics since the 1960s.

15 Jun 2010

Canada invites Africa, Caribbean, South American leaders to meeting during upcoming G8 summit

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Sunday invited several leaders from Africa, the Caribbean and South America "to a meeting on development and security issues, to be held on the sidelines of the G8 summit later this month," Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Jun 2010

Media examine Women Deliver conference

As the conference closed, Women Deliver President Jill Sheffield said advocates would address the economic dimensions of maternal mortality, the BBC reports. "Finance ministers are on our list - and they're not going to stay safe," she said. "They don't always see this as a critical issue. Our economic arguments for investing in women's health are pretty dramatic."

15 Jun 2010

Texas prepares for health reform's changes despite opposition to new law; Other states brace for federal funding cuts

When Congress approved the sweeping federal health care overhaul in March, Texas Governor Rick Perry was one of the loudest critics. He blasted the initiative as unconstitutional, a government takeover of health care and an unfunded federal mandate on the states. … That sentiment remains widespread in Texas, which has joined with 20 other states in suing to block the law from taking effect.

15 Jun 2010

WHO calls for more blood donations worldwide

Seventy-seven countries do not have a blood donation rate high enough to meet "the basic needs for blood transfusions," the Associated Press reports. The WHO released new global data on blood donation for World Blood Donor Day on June 14. "[H]alf of the global blood donations are collected in developed nations, home to only 16 percent of the world's population," according to the AP (6/11).

15 Jun 2010

Report: Violent crime increasing at hospitals and clinics

"More and more violent crimes are occurring in America's hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities, according to a new alert issued by the Joint Commission, an independent health care oversight group," USA Today reports.

15 Jun 2010

Study: Millions of cancer survivors put off care they can't afford

The Associated Press: A new study says about 2 million of the 12 million cancer survivors in the United States put off medical care because they cannot afford it. "The study is being called the first to estimate how often current and former patients have skipped getting care because of money worries. It was led by Kathryn Weaver, a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

15 Jun 2010

HHS issues interim rules for grandfathered health plans

The government suggested that under a highly complicated interim rule released today more than half of employer-sponsored health plans could lose their special status that shields them from some aspects of the new health overhaul. The administration outlined "a number of ways health plans could lose their grandfathered status. Plans that substantially eliminate benefits to diagnose or treat a particular condition would lose the status, for instance.

15 Jun 2010

Behind the Numbers report: Employers' medical costs to increase by 9% in 2011

The nation's employers can expect medical costs to increase by 9 percent in 2011, a decrease of 0.5 percent from the 2010 growth rate, according to the annual Behind the Numbers report published today by the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Health Research Institute. For the first time, the majority of the American workforce is expected to have a health insurance deductible of $400 or more, as more employers return to "indemnity style" cost-sharing by raising out-of-pocket limits, replacing co-pays with co-insurance and adding high-deductible health plans.

15 Jun 2010

States, Feds look to expand ACOs and medical homes

Crain's New York Business, on ACOs in New York: "Authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, ACOs are intended to reward providers that shift their focus to preventive care and presumably reduce the need for expensive procedures.

15 Jun 2010

CMS to hold Medicare claims for four more days

Doctors treating Medicare patients won't be hit with a steep pay cut Tuesday, as previously scheduled, the Obama administration announced Monday. Instead, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is holding claims until Friday, anticipating that Congress will intervene this week. The move is the latest in a string of efforts to prevent Medicare doctors from receiving a 21 percent pay cut, which technically went into effect June 1."

15 Jun 2010

AMA adopts new policies to strengthen physician workforce

The American Medical Association adopted today at its Annual Meeting new policies to strengthen the physician workforce to meet the nation's growing health care needs. The United States faces a shortage of between 124,000 and 159,000 physicians by 2025. Already at least 22 states and 15 medical specialties have reported physician workforce shortages, including in medically underserved regions and front-line specialties including primary care and general surgery.

15 Jun 2010

Stryker's facilities in Michigan, US and Suzhou, China earn LEED certifications

Stryker Corporation announced today that two of its manufacturing facilities have earned Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, developed by the USGBC, which provides a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

From Stryker 14 Jun 2010

Studies show rising health costs, ways to slow them

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report suggests a leap in the portion of health costs paid directly by employees will leave the majority of the American workforce with deductibles of $400 or more for the first time next year, The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times reports. "Two years ago, only 25 percent of companies participating in the annual survey said they asked employees to pay deductibles of $400 or more.

14 Jun 2010