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Senators at odds about drug importation amendment

The New York Times: "Debating an overhaul of the health care system, the Senate found itself tied in knots on Thursday over a bipartisan proposal to allow people to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and certain other countries."

13 Dec 2009

Senate faces another working weekend as holiday target appears increasingly hard to reach

CongressDaily: "Senators continued to quibble over procedure Thursday, complicating Majority Leader [Harry] Reid's plans to file cloture on three pieces of his healthcare bill at once, a procedural step he hopes will allow passage before Christmas, though that appears increasingly unlikely."

13 Dec 2009

Loophole in Senate bill would let insurers cap payments for costly diseases

The Associated Press: "A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurers place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer, prompting a rebuke from patient advocates." An earlier version of the bill in a Senate committee forbid the practice, but a tweak would allow limits so long as they aren't "unreasonable" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/11).

13 Dec 2009

Skilled Healthcare Group acquires nursing facility in Iowa

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. today announced that its wholly owned company, St. Mary Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC (“St. Mary HRC”), has completed the acquisition of a 118-bed, skilled nursing facility located in Davenport, Iowa. St. Mary HRC plans to begin building upgrades and improvements that are expected to increase skilled mix and to increase occupancy rates from current levels of approximately 50 percent.

13 Dec 2009

Pelosi calls House, Senate bills "75 percent compatible"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated Thursday that she may be amenable to a Senate compromise that would expand Medicare and allow the federal government to oversee nonprofit national health plans in lieu of the public option, CNN reports.

13 Dec 2009

Democrats struggling to find delicate balance on Senate health bill

The Hill: "Two key senators criticized the most recent healthcare compromise Sunday, saying the policies replacing the public option are still unacceptable. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) both said a Medicare 'buy-in' option for those aged 55-64 was a deal breaker.

13 Dec 2009

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta receives $5 million multi-year gift to care for low-income children

Kaiser Permanente of Georgia today announced a $5 million multi-year gift to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta with the goal of improving access to care for low-income children.

12 Dec 2009

State Medicaid programs face cuts, backlog of applications

The Associated Press reports Minnesota Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that they hope to save health coverage for 35,000 low-income adults after state funding runs out in March. "Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration already plans to switch patients into another subsidized program, MinnesotaCare.

12 Dec 2009

UPMC Health Plan signs agreement to offer brain fitness software from Posit Science

UPMC Health Plan announced today that it has signed an agreement to offer award-winning brain fitness software from Posit Science®, at no cost, to all UPMC for Life Medicare Advantage members.

12 Dec 2009

Illinois prepares to implement medical error reporting law

Illinois prepares to implement a medical reporting law while CVS receives a contract to provide $1 billion in pharmacy benefits in Texas.

12 Dec 2009

Health reform profiles: People working in the health industry and those struggling with coverage

News reports today include profiles of people who work in the health care industry and people struggling with their insurance coverage.

12 Dec 2009

Health policy study roundup

Relationship of Primary Care Physicians' Patient Caseload With Measurement of Quality and Cost Performance - To "determine whether primary care physicians in the same physician practice collectively see enough Medicare patients annually to detect meaningful differences between practices in ambulatory quality and cost measures," the authors of this study combed through a national sample of Medicare beneficiaries and a database identifying the practice affiliations of the physicians who delivered care to these patients.

12 Dec 2009

Expansion of Medicare in health care compromise faces challenges

The expansion of Medicare included in a Senate compromise hailed as a breakthrough in the discussions of health care overhaul earlier this week is now encountering some friction.

11 Dec 2009

Patients can reduce their health care costs, improve overall wellness by communicating with doctors

Patients can reduce their health care costs and improve their overall wellness by communicating more effectively with their doctors, according to a recent report and list of 10 tips released by InfoMedics, Inc., a patient feedback company that works to improve patient-physician communication.

11 Dec 2009

Disabilities account for a quarter of U.S. adult health care costs

"Just over one-quarter of U.S. adult health care spending was associated with disability in 2006, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention," Insurance Journal reports.

11 Dec 2009

BaylorHealth.com wins gold at Healthcare Internet Conference and silver at W3 Awards

Baylor Health Care System's website - BaylorHealth.com - took home the gold at the thirteenth annual Healthcare Internet Conference and silver at this year's W3 Awards.

11 Dec 2009

Talk To Me Technologies to help customers get funding through Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance

AbleNet, Inc. announces a new program to offer Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance funding support through Talk To Me Technologies, LLC. This service is effective December 2009 for the AbleNet SuperTalker™ progressive communicator and FL4SH™ scanning communicator products.

11 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 11, 2009

Today's headlines track the fits and starts of the Senate's health bill debate, including moderates' concern regarding the recent Medicare expansion deal and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's positive reaction to it. Meanwhile, floor action appears snagged on a drug importation amendment.

11 Dec 2009

Prescription drug and healthcare expenditures increase for U.S. adults

In 2006 the average cost for a prescription drug purchase for Americans age 18 to 44 was double the inflation-adjusted average for 1996, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

11 Dec 2009

SCAN Health Plan Arizona named to the 2009 "Best Places to Work" list

The Phoenix Business Journal and BestCompaniesAZ, co-founders of the "Best Places to Work" competition, announced today that SCAN Health Plan Arizona has been named to the 2009 list in the medium-sized category. Companies were nominated by their employees, who provided extensive insight into employee life.

11 Dec 2009