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Senate clears way for COBRA vote

Laid-off workers are waiting to hear if a subsidy for health insurance will continue to be available as part of a jobless benefits package working its way through the Senate.

15 Apr 2010

Research report focuses on key influencers within employer health care market

Health Industries Research Companies' Employer & Coalition Service has released its spring 2010 market research. HIRC finds that employers are increasingly concerned about cancer medications and report sustained interest in health, wellness, and disease management initiatives.

15 Apr 2010

FICO's Insurance Fraud Manager to be incorporated in Emdeon's healthcare revenue and payment cycle solutions

FICO, the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, and Emdeon Inc, a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced a commercial agreement aimed at preventing fraud, waste and abuse in the health insurance system.

15 Apr 2010

Rush University Medical Center's Orthopedic Building awarded Gold LEED certification

The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the Orthopedic Building at Rush University Medical Center Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

15 Apr 2010

Loyola University internist advises patients to complete their living wills

On April 16, Americans are being urged to complete living wills and other types of "advance directives" in observance of National Health-care Decisions Day.

15 Apr 2010

Lawyer suggests tips on insurance and well being

"You've just found out that your insurance co-pays or coinsurance to see your physician are going to be higher this year. You may think, 'I'll just not see my doctor unless I get really sick.' This way of thinking may reduce a few co-pays to save money but a recent study found that deferring regular care is actually increasing the amount of money and time patients are spending for inpatient care," says Frank N. Darras, the nation's top insurance lawyer.

15 Apr 2010

Medicare doc payment cut looms with new deadline: Tomorrow

Congress has already missed the deadline for new legislation to block cuts of 21% in Medicare payments to doctors. The pay reduction officially took effect April 1, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the federal agency that oversees the giant health systems — put a hold on processing physician payments for 10 business days, effectively pushing off the bite on payments for physicians' services until April 15.

15 Apr 2010

In Italy and in second life, hospitals succeed by challenging status quo

The Wall Street Journal: "As the U.S. debates the proper roles for the public and private sectors in health care, Italy's Lombardy region suggests a way that encouraging competition between the two can improve health care overall. For the past 10 years, public and private hospitals in Lombardy have competed directly for patients, and in doing so have created what is considered by many to be one of Europe's most efficient health-care systems" (Stancati, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

States respond to health law with lawsuits, policy shifts

"The insurance commissioner of Georgia has chosen not to comply with a federal request to create a state pool for high-risk insurance plans, opening a new front in the resistance by state Republican officials to the new federal health care law." The commissioner is a Republican candidate for governor (R. Brown, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

$SBUMC adds Toshiba Aquilion ONE \320-detector row CT system with pediatric imaging capabilities$

SBUMC adds Toshiba Aquilion ONE \320-detector row CT system with pediatric imaging capabilities

A new state-of-the art computed tomography (CT) scanner that provides physicians with precise images of internal organs with a single rotation of the gantry is now in operation at Stony Brook University Medical Center (SBUMC), adding to the hospital's advanced scanner technology.

15 Apr 2010

Health IT Roundup: Data exchange, personal health records on the rise

The Wall Street Journal: "Three leading health-care providers in Colorado's Front Range region recently teamed up in an electronic health-record exchange program that will allow them to share data on more than a million Colorado residents. … The three [health systems] have agreed to share their records on a secure network that will allow clinics, doctors' offices and hospitals to exchange data on common patients instantly, including lab reports, radiology images and medical history" (Landro, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

Free health reform webcast on health risk management, wellness for employers

Employers concerned about new health insurance rules under the new health reform law will get practical tips during Lockton's free Health Reform Summit online May 4-5 and May 11-12.

15 Apr 2010

States examine role in health reform implementation, worry over scams

The federal government is turning to states to "to institute key components" of the health overhaul law, "some of which have never existed before."

15 Apr 2010

Better safety performance in health care settings associated with reduced malpractice claims

Reducing the number of preventable patient injuries in California hospitals from 2001 to 2005 was associated with a corresponding drop in malpractice claims against physicians, according to a study issued today by the RAND Corporation.

15 Apr 2010

After close call, actor Dennis Quaid takes on medical mistakes

USA Today: After nearly losing twin newborns to a medical mistake - adult doses of blood thinners were given to the infants - actor Dennis Quaid has taken up the cause of shedding light on the often invisible issues surrounding patient safety.

15 Apr 2010

SCL provides affordable orthodontic program for children

You've done your taxes and 2009 proved to be a pretty bad year. Your tax return shows just how much less money your family earned, making the possibility of providing orthodontic treatment for your children this year even more distant.

15 Apr 2010

Study: Lawsuit fears, peer pressure drives higher costs, more tests

The Associated Press: A quarter of heart doctors order more tests than were necessary, driving up costs, according to a new study. "Most said they weren't swayed by such things as financial gain or a patient's expectations.

15 Apr 2010

OHSU awarded $5.8M in ARRA funds to educate health IT professional work force

Oregon Health & Science University has been awarded $5.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to advance the widespread adoption and meaningful use of health information technology by educating professionals to work in this rapidly growing field.

15 Apr 2010