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State roundup: Health law could be critical for Miss.'s poor; Colorado passes end-of-life care laws, Penn. details plan for high risk pool

The health care overhaul, which "provides hundreds of billions of dollars to help states expand medical insurance for the poor," could prove critical for Mississippi, which "has the highest poverty rate in the nation and some of the sickest people, with the country's highest rate of heart disease and the second-highest rate of diabetes.

4 Jun 2010

States face budget scramble as chances for federal Medicaid assistance extension get slim

States are worrying that enhanced federal payments to help cover Medicaid expenses during the recession will soon end after the House opted not to include an extension of the funds in its recent jobs bill.

4 Jun 2010

Administration claims about Dartmouth Medicare analyses questioned

The New York Times, in a front page story, reports: "In selling the health care overhaul to Congress, the Obama administration cited a once obscure research group at Dartmouth College to claim that it could not only cut billions in wasteful health care spending but make people healthier by doing so.

4 Jun 2010

United Health, Cigna differ on how plans will change after exchanges begin

United Health's CEO Stephen Hemsley said he expects companies to keep offering benefits instead of pushing people to health exchanges created in 2014 by the federal government, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

4 Jun 2010

ViiV Healthcare to provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs

AHF is pleased to report that yet another drug company: ViiV Healthcare, a new drug company formed in a partnership between GSK and Pfizer, has announced an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide.

4 Jun 2010

Report ranks best children's hospitals

U.S. News & World Report reports on the nation's best children's hospitals: "Out of all of the roughly 5,000 U.S. hospitals, only about 1 in 30 has deep expertise in caring for children with serious problems. For youngsters who need that quality of care, the Best Children's Hospitals rankings showcase the medical centers that see kids every day who have cancer, cystic fibrosis, defective hearts, and countless other life-threatening or rare conditions beyond the capabilities of most hospitals, even those with sizable pediatric departments.

4 Jun 2010

Study: 10% increase in cigarette pricing can reduce smoking among people with alcohol, drug disorders

A new study from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA suggests that increasing cigarette taxes could be an effective way to reduce smoking among individuals with alcohol, drug or mental disorders.

4 Jun 2010

Sebelius to highlight geographic differences in Medicare hospital payments

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visits Rochester's Mayo Clinic Thursday morning. ... The visit comes after a recent report that Minnesota will receive money earmarked for states which provide low-cost, high-value health care. But just how much money Minnesota will receive is far from certain. Sebelius is expected to get a first-hand look at the clinic's technology for tracking health care information.

4 Jun 2010

Vermont regulator demands $3 million payback from insurer

Burlington Free Press: "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont overpaid its former chief executive officer by $3 million over an eight-year period and has been ordered to pay the money back to its subscribers by 2012 in the form of reduced premiums, a top state regulator said Wednesday. The action by the state Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department follows last year's disclosure that William Milnes, the nonprofit firm's former CEO, received a $7.2 million payout when he stepped down in 2008."

4 Jun 2010

Poll says more than half of Californians support health overhaul

Half of Californian voters support the new health care law, but many say "it's only a first of many necessary changes," The Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News reports. "In 1,522 telephone surveys of registered voters conducted in April, Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo says 30 percent strongly support the nation's new health care law, and another 22 percent somewhat support it. Compared to previous national polls, the new law is more popular in California than the rest of the country."

4 Jun 2010

Government health IT advisers examine privacy policies

One of the latest hurdles government advisers helping to shape health information technology policy must jump is addressing the amount of control patients should have over their own records, Modern Healthcare reports.

4 Jun 2010

European countries focus on drug price cuts

"European governments grappling to reduce large budget deficits are focusing their cost-cutting on a large spending item — pharmaceuticals," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Several countries in recent weeks, including Spain, Germany and Italy, have proposed or enacted reductions in what they will pay or taken other cost-control measures for various drugs.

4 Jun 2010

Mass. insurers ask for double-digit rate hikes, again

Massachusetts' two largest insurers have again asked regulators for permission to increase their rates. "Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's biggest health insurer, is requesting increases averaging 12 percent, on the lower end of the range it submitted earlier in the spring. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the number two carrier, wants increases that range from 8.8 percent to 11.9 percent, about the same range it sought in the round that was rejected" (Weisman, 6/3).

4 Jun 2010

GHP selects MirixaPro web-based clinical platform to support delivery of MTM services

The Geisinger Health Plan, a regional provider of health benefits to almost 250,000 members in Pennsylvania, has selected Mirixa Corporation's MirixaPro web-based clinical platform to support the delivery of medication therapy management services to its Medicare Part D members.

4 Jun 2010

Health overhaul politics churn as regulators move forward

Los Angeles Times: "Congress is shattering its longstanding reputation for being a gridlocked, lethargic, 'do-nothing' institution, instead compiling a record of landmark policy changes in healthcare, financial industry regulation, economic policy and more. But at the same time, Congress is suffering sky-high levels of public disapproval, signaling a big problem for Democrats as they head into the closing months of the midterm election campaign" (Hook, 6/2).

4 Jun 2010

Drug makers push for more time to pay half-off discount on drugs

Drug makers want 60 days instead of 15 to pay a half-off discount for branded drugs in a Medicare Part D coverage gap, Inside Health Policy reports. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also intends to ask drug makers to pay disputed amounts ahead of a decision about whether the company must pay the discount.

4 Jun 2010

Today's OpEds: New Republic and National Review on health law; Conservative bloggers blast CBO numbers

The shouting war over health reform's effect on the budget got a little louder today when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, pushed back at conservative bloggers who are saying federal officials were disingenuous about the real costs of the law (Kate Steadman, 6/2).

4 Jun 2010

AMA launches ad campaign to push Senators on 'doc fix'

CNN Money: The American Medical Association is launching an ad campaign to push lawmakers to stop a scheduled 21 percent cut to Medicare doctors' pay. "The House voted May 28 to delay the cuts for 19 months, but the Senate did not take action before the Memorial Day recess. The AMA's TV, radio and print ads slam senators for failing to pass the 'doc fix' before taking their week-long break.

4 Jun 2010

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

Over 90 percent of psychiatric patients who received treatment in community hospitals were cared for in hospital-based psychiatric specialty units, according to a study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and published today in Psychiatric Services.

3 Jun 2010

OMHS invites community to participate in 5K Walk-Run events

Owensboro Medical Health System will officially break ground for its 447-bed replacement hospital June 5th with a 5K Walk-Run, activities for families and a ceremony that includes participation from OMHS Board of Directors, employees, physicians, several community groups and elected officials, including US Rep. Brett Guthrie.

3 Jun 2010