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Alpha II’s CodeWizard software to be integrated with MedAppz' iSuite

Alpha II, a leader in healthcare coding, compliance and reimbursement, announced today a contract with MedAppz to integrate Alpha II’s CodeWizard software with iSuite. This integration of technologies will allow iSuite users to generate evaluation and management codes (E&M), delivering a more decisive calculation based on history, exam and medical decision making information obtained from medical records.

17 Mar 2010

House Democrats move health bill with controversial, complicated strategy

House Democrats have started the clock to a landmark vote on sweeping changes to America's health care system.

17 Mar 2010

California jury rules insurer should pay for out-of-state operation; Mass. probe shows insurers' payments can vary widely

The Los Angeles Times: "A Los Angeles jury concluded Monday that Anthem Blue Cross should cover the cost of an out-of-state liver transplant that a California man paid for after the insurer balked. In addition, the jury ordered Blue Cross to pay plaintiff Ephram Nehme's legal expenses, which could dwarf the $206,000 cost of the transplant. Blue Cross approved Nehme's liver transplant in late 2006, and he was on the waiting list at UCLA Medical Center.

17 Mar 2010

Emdeon signs definitive agreement to acquire HTMS

Emdeon Inc., a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Healthcare Technology Management Services, a management consulting company focused primarily on the healthcare payer market.

17 Mar 2010

Medtronic launches Every Patient First health equity initiative.

Medtronic, Inc. today introduced Every Patient First, a health equity initiative that, in partnership with health care providers, professional societies and patient advocacy groups, aims to reduce disparities in access to health care in the United States. The announcement was made at the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.

17 Mar 2010

Democrats continue tallying health bill support; Republicans criticize 'deem and pass' rule

Politico: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats don't yet have the votes to pass a bill this week and that they're still talking with every single member of the caucus. He also told reporters during his half-hour weekly news conference that he hopes to have language for a reconciliation bill finalized later in the day and defended the possible use of the rules to deem the Senate bill passed without forcing members to actually take the uncomfortable vote to support it."

17 Mar 2010

Obama makes a final overhaul pitch in Ohio

With a possible deciding vote on health care overhaul legislation nearing, President Obama traveled Monday to Ohio to make a last-minute plea for political "courage" to pass the legislation, The Washington Post reports. "Making an impassioned pitch in a part of the country where unemployment runs high and insurance coverage is uncertain, Obama said in a speech at a senior center here, 'I don't know about the politics, but I know what's the right thing to do'" (Slevin and Branigin, 3/15).

17 Mar 2010

Reports gauge the possible fallout of health care failure for Democrats

If the health overhaul fails to clear Congress, there may be lasting implications for Democratic lawmakers and President Barack Obama, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

17 Mar 2010

Tea Party activists rally in Washington against Dem's health reform bill

Fox News: "Tea Party activists from across the country rallied outside Democratic congressional offices in Washington on Tuesday to protest the $875 billion health care bill and demand meetings with their respective members of Congress." A memo was circulated in advance by the House Democratic leadership offering tips for dealing with the activists (3/16).

17 Mar 2010

Ascent's hospital partners save millions using medical device remanufacturing programs

Ascent, the market leader in the remanufacturing of medical devices in the U.S., announced today that its hospital partners realized hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings through the use of medical device remanufacturing programs in 2009. On a per-hospital basis, some hospitals saved more than $600,000 per year.

17 Mar 2010

Democrats making final push for health reform votes

The Associated Press: As "Democratic leaders make a desperate scramble for votes," President Obama "is wooing freshman Democrats in the Oval Office, holding at least two one-on-one sessions in the past few days that never appeared on his official schedule, according to aides to two lawmakers invited, Reps. Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., and Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla.," who both voted no on a House health reform measure last year.

17 Mar 2010

Novel health programs try to help uninsured

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in collaboration with USA Today, writes about an approach known as "three share" which helps expand health coverage by spreading health insurance premium costs among the community, the employer and the worker.

17 Mar 2010

Researchers evaluate novel organ sharing system that could help save more lives

Saint Louis University's Center for Outcome Research has received a $1 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to review regional kidney and liver distribution in the United States and equalize the access to transplantation among patients with similar stages of organ failure across the country.

17 Mar 2010

Catholic Bishops oppose health bill, while other Catholic groups offer support

McClatchy: "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Monday it opposes the Democratic health care plan heading for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives because of its language on abortion. The group noted that it liked the House health care bill because it would continue the strict ban on federal financing of abortion.

17 Mar 2010

Study: Jump in number of California's uninsured

"The state's uninsured population jumped to 8.2 million in 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007, marking the highest number over the last decade, investigators from UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research said," the Los Angeles Times reports.

17 Mar 2010

Health ad campaigns emerge in final days of debate

As Congress approaches a possible finale to its year-long health debate, advertisements that attempt to influence the results have flooded airwaves, Time reports. "Across the country, groups on all sides of the health care reform debate have been targeting swing members of Congress with costly ad campaigns." Firms, industry groups, unions and advocacy organizations could spend $24 million this week alone, on top of $200 million already spent on health overhaul-related ads (Scherer, 3/16).

16 Mar 2010

BioVigil's second generation hand hygiene monitoring system released

BioVigil LLC has released the second generation of the BioVigil hand hygiene monitoring system. The innovative system enables hospitals to more effectively combat Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) by dramatically increasing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers.

16 Mar 2010

National, state efforts seek to reduce medical errors

The Wall Street Journal: "Errors made by doctors, nurses and other medical caregivers cause 44,000 to 98,000 deaths a year. Hospital infections, many considered preventable, take another 100,000 lives. ... Hospitals are taking what might seem like a surprising approach to confronting the problem: Not only are they trying to improve safety and reduce malpractice claims, they're also coming up with procedures for handling—and even consoling—staffers who make inadvertent mistakes."

16 Mar 2010

Sharp Health Plan selects PureWellness for supporting NCQA accreditation goals

PureWellness, Inc., the leading provider of online wellness solutions, announced today that San Diego-based Sharp Health Plan selected the company to deliver a comprehensive online wellness platform for their employer groups and members.

16 Mar 2010

Correction to daily report, Mar. 15

In the March 15 Morning Edition, "Economists, Dems Differ On Who's To Blame For Insurers' Rate Hikes," KHN omitted a word in a summary of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage.

16 Mar 2010