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EMSC acquires U.S. anesthesiology service providers

Emergency Medical Services Corporation (the “Company”) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Pinnacle Consultants Mid Atlantic and the management services company of Pinnacle Anesthesia Consultants, P.A. (the “MSO”).

21 Dec 2009

BAE Systems signs agreement with Marathon Health to provide onsite health services

Marathon Health today announced that BAE Systems has signed an agreement with Marathon Health to provide integrated, onsite health services for BAE Systems employees at BAE Systems' Kingsport, TN location.

21 Dec 2009

Task force's role in reform bills draws scrutiny in the wake of mammography guidelines

The Washington Post reports that the "once-obscure federal panel that triggered a firestorm with its new mammography guidelines would get far greater authority under the health-care reform proposals pending in Congress, sparking more debate about its power and independence. Critics of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force say that the panel would become a stealth tool for government bureaucrats bent on rationing health care.

21 Dec 2009

KHN column: The Senate bill saves families money

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Jonathan Cohen writes about costs under the Senate health bill. "It's certainly true that, under the terms of the Senate bill, insurance would cost more and cover less than many of us would prefer. But would it really produce little social progress?

21 Dec 2009

Winners, losers examined in Senate health bill tax treatment, insurer regulations

The Associated Press reports on some winners and losers in the Senate health reform bill including cosmetic surgeons who helped defeat a proposed 5 percent tax on their services and a handful of states getting more federal aid to help them afford a proposed Medicaid expansion.

21 Dec 2009

Technologies for optimizing medication adherence in older adults needed

Avoiding medication-related errors and improving medication adherence among older adults could save the nation billions of dollars and save thousands of lives, according to information included in "Technologies for Optimizing Medication Use in Older Adults," a recent report produced by the non-profit Center for Technology and Aging, and available at www.techandaging.org.

21 Dec 2009

Senate Democrats win overnight procedural vote; move one step closer to approving health bill by Christmas

The New York Times: "After a long day of acid, partisan debate, Senate Democrats held ranks early Monday in a dead-of-night procedural vote that proved they had locked in the decisive margin needed to pass a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's health care system."

21 Dec 2009

Health insurance industry reports decline in net income

According to a new analysis by Highline Data, the leading data provider of financial and marketing information on insurance companies, the health insurance industry reported a decline of 12.4 percent in net income, to $8.2 billion, as of September 30 compared to the same period in 2008.

21 Dec 2009

Requirement for Americans to get insurance is central to health overhaul

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in partnership with USA Today, writes about the mandate included in pending health reform proposals. "Both the House and Senate health care overhaul bills require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty.

21 Dec 2009

Reid's fight to get 60 votes dims Liberals' hopes of compromises in conference committee

Although the liberals and union leaders once hoped that a House-Senate conference committee could undo some of the compromises and move the health overhaul bill more to their liking, the "titanic struggle to lock in Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) as the 60th senator for the first key test vote early Monday morning has changed all that," Politico reports.

21 Dec 2009

ValueOptions employs TriZetto’s Clinical CareAdvance application

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced that ValueOptions® Inc., the nation’s largest independent behavioral healthcare and wellness company, recently went live with TriZetto’s Clinical CareAdvance® application 4.41 and expects to launch TriZetto’s Personal CareAdvance® application in early 2010.

21 Dec 2009

Democrats seek to regulate how insurers spend their customers' money

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby explores the following concept advanced in current health overhaul plans. "Both the House measure and the newly recast Senate bill would force insurers to spend the vast majority of premium revenue on medical care for their customers, reducing the amount available for profits, executive salaries, sales and administration.

21 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

We usually associate presidential leadership with the pursuit of goals that, though initially unpopular, serve America's long-term interests. Obama has reversed this (Robert Samuelson, 12/21).

21 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 21, 2009

From today's headlines, the biggest overnight news is the Senate's vote to move its sweeping health reform bill one step closer to the finish line.

21 Dec 2009

Elysium Internet launches new Chiropractor directory

Elysium Internet, Inc., an emerging leader in local performance based advertising and digital media, today announced that it has launched a new local Chiropractor directory under its recently acquired brand www.Chiropractor.net.

21 Dec 2009

MEDNAX acquires neonatal physician group in Louisiana

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of a neonatal physician group based in Alexandria, Louisiana.

21 Dec 2009

Leicester doctor becomes President of International Federation for Emergency Medicine

A Leicester doctor who was a pioneer in developing emergency medical care in Leicestershire and throughout the world has become the first elected President of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine.

21 Dec 2009

Manager's amendment does not alleviate Americans' problems, says FRC

Early this morning, the U.S. Senate voted for cloture on the manager's amendment which includes abortion language that would force the federal government to pay premiums for private health plans that will cover any or all abortions while doing nothing to protect individual conscience rights.

21 Dec 2009

New Manager's amendment holds tax burdens that may raise Missouri premiums and subsidize other states

Yesterday, Senator Reid released his Manager's amendment to the health care reform legislation currently being discussed in the U.S. Senate. One provision in the amendment involved the $6.7 billion annual tax that will be levied on the health insurance industry.

21 Dec 2009

FreedomWorks opposes proposed health care legislation

While a blizzard paralyzed Washington, it did not slow down the health care legislative stampede on Capitol Hill. The bill being rushed through by Senator Harry Reid and Senate Democrat leadership will fundamentally alter American health care.

21 Dec 2009