Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

MedLion announces expansion into Fresno region

Nearly one in four Fresno residents is without any kind of health care coverage. MedLion, Inc., a pioneering Direct Primary Care practice, today announced the company's expansion into the Fresno region by including William Work, M.D., in its fast-growing network of affiliated physicians.

6 Jan 2012

US News & World Report recognizes Weight Watchers as best diet program

At Weight Watchers, we're proud that US News & World Report and the 22 independent experts who participated in the second annual Best Diets rankings have recognized us as the #1 program again for "Best Weight-Loss Diet" and "Best Commercial Diet Plan". We are also thrilled to have earned the top ranking in the new "Easiest Diet to Follow" category.

6 Jan 2012

State roundup: Colo. reports 'record' number of Medicaid recipients; Hollywood nursing home stymied by Congress?

Nearly 615,000 Coloradans were on Medicaid in November, by far a record high, officials said Wednesday, attributing the vast bulk of the growth to economic hard times rather than recent eligibility expansions. ... the 614,146 Coloradans enrolled in Medicaid in November represented a 57.7 percent increase over January 2007. ... roughly 13 percent of all Coloradans are covered by state health-insurance programs.

6 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 5, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that health law opponents want to add plaintiffs to their lawsuit as well as dispatches from the GOP primary election compaign trail.

5 Jan 2012

More abdominal gunshot and stab wounds are being treated without unnecessary operations

An increasing number of abdominal gunshot and stab wounds are being treated without the need for unnecessary operations, according to a study in the January Trauma Supplement published by BJS, the British Journal of Surgery.

5 Jan 2012

Postpartum Support International unveils new Spanish language educational DVD

Postpartum Support International Unveils New Spanish Language Educational DVD "MADRE SALUDABLE, FAMILIA FELIZ" Offered to Hospitals & Healthcare Agencies Nationwide As Part of Clinical Training & Education Program Helping Alleviate the #1 Complication of Child Birth: Untreated Depression

5 Jan 2012

Healthfirst to implement MedAssurant's Star Advantage solution

MedAssurant, Inc., a leading provider of data-driven healthcare solutions, today announced that Healthfirst, Inc., will implement Star Advantage, MedAssurant's quality outcomes improvement solution that enables health plans to both better understand and meaningfully impact their CMS Five-Star Quality Ratings.

5 Jan 2012

Scope and power of today's nursing practice

From educators and students in the classrooms to nurses at the bedside and healthcare policy makers on Capitol Hill, today's nursing practice involves engagement on multiple levels. The latest issue of Johns Hopkins Nursing magazine looks at the scope and the power of this practice and the nurses influencing it.

5 Jan 2012

Bachmann's parting shot: Repeal health law

News outlets noted that as she announced she was leaving the GOP presidential race, Rep. Michele Bachmann continued to criticize the Affordable Care Act

5 Jan 2012

CMS acknowledges clinical improvement linked with use of Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System

Boston Scientific Corporation announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers the Medicare program, has acknowledged the substantial clinical improvement associated with the use of the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System to perform bronchial thermoplasty for the management of severe asthma.

5 Jan 2012

Health insurance fee draws GOP attacks

The health care law tacks on a fee of $1 per year to private insurance plans. The money will fund comparative effectiveness research - studies into which treatments work best for particular conditions. The Senate Republican Policy Committee contrasted the fee with Obama's opposition, during the 2008 campaign, to taxing employer-based health benefits.

5 Jan 2012

HHS issues initial set of 26 Medicaid quality measures

HHS has issued a final notice containing an initial set of 26 quality measures for Medicaid-eligible adults. The measures, which cover areas such as prevention, care coordination and chronic disease management, will be used for quality reporting.

5 Jan 2012

Romney wins GOP Iowa caucus by eight votes

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney edged out rival Rick Santorum by a margin so slim it is viewed by many as a tie. News outlets review the political dynamics behind the vote tally, and highlight how the outcome reflects the ongoing GOP ideological divide as well as what might happen next.

5 Jan 2012

Congress returns to 'same old health fights' in 2012

Congress starts 2012 facing the same old health policy fights, including the GOP push to pay for a more permanent Medicare "doc fix" with cuts to health law programs or Medicare. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., has been pivotal in Republican efforts to undermine the health overhaul law.

5 Jan 2012

Hospital stocks fall after analyst prediction of tough times

A new report from Citigroup Global Markets forecasts difficult times ahead for hospitals and other related businesses that rely on government spending.

5 Jan 2012

Re-introduction of rotavirus vaccine does not increase intussusception rates in the U.S.

The rotovirus vaccine was pulled from the marketplace in 1999 after being associated with painful gastrointestinal complications, however, the updated rotavirus vaccines do not appear to increase the occurrence of these potentially fatal side effects, according to a new study by child health experts at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

5 Jan 2012

Michigan opts not to appeal feds' MLR rule

The state was one of 13 seeking an exemption from the health law's medical-loss ratio requirement that insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Others, however, get a 30-day extension. Also in the news, the Department of Health and Human Services named 73 advisers to work with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

5 Jan 2012

State roundup: Mass. insurance co-ops to launch; Fla. hospital commission ponders nonprofits

A federal appeals court will review a judge's decision to temporarily block the state of Texas from enforcing a law requiring doctors to show sonograms to patients and describe the images before an abortion. In August, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin, Texas, ruled that several provisions of the law violated the free-speech rights of abortion-performing doctors.

5 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery can improve blood sugar control in diabetes patients

Weight loss surgery is not a cure for type 2 diabetes, but it can improve blood sugar control, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Surgery. Whereas some previous studies have claimed that up to 80 per cent of diabetes patients have been cured following gastric bypass surgery, researchers at Imperial College London found that only 41 per cent of patients achieve remission using more stringent criteria.

5 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Sebelius on 'essential benefits'; WSJ columnist on Democrats' 'Mediscare' argument - is it a lie?

Insurance needs and health systems vary state to state, and experience tells us that the best way forward is not to mandate a one-size-fits-all answer. Instead, our approach gives states the flexibility to take their own paths, while ensuring they all end up in the best place possible: with an Affordable Insurance Exchange that offers access to comprehensive, quality, affordable health insurance to small business owners and individuals who currently have few good choices in an expensive and broken market.

5 Jan 2012