Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Post Acute Medical acquires Hill Country Specialty Hospital

Post Acute Medical today announced the purchase and immediate operation of 40-bed Hill Country Specialty Hospital.

3 Oct 2011

Supreme Court hears arguments in Calif. Medicaid case

Justices will hear arguments today regarding California's plan to cut Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals and other medical providers in an effort to address the state's budget issues. Experts say the case has national implications because its central issue involves states' rights to regulate their Medicaid programs.

3 Oct 2011

IOM essential benefits report — long-awaited — expected out later this week

The report will offer the Institute of Medicine's recommendations regarding how the health law's essential benefits package should be determined. In other health law news, federal regulators also must decide whether family planning should be included as a preventive care benefit. Religious groups say the "carve-out" exemption included in the draft regulations is too narrow.

3 Oct 2011

Drug shortages lead to rationing of critical medicines

Though a number of reasons have created the shortfalls, everyone agrees that the proliferation of "gray markets" is one of the biggest factors.

3 Oct 2011

Florida AHCA renews Medicaid Management Information System service agreement with HP

HP Enterprise Services today announced the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has signed a renewal service agreement to manage the state's Medicaid Management Information System.

3 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 3, 2011

Today's headlines include stories previewing how health policy issues will fit into the Supreme Court's new term.

3 Oct 2011

NHI partners with Polaris Hospital affiliates to develop acute care hospital in Murfreesboro

National Health Investors, Inc. announced today it has entered into a development and lease transaction with affiliates of Polaris Hospital Company to develop a 60-bed general acute care hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee that will provide acute psychiatric and in-patient rehabilitation services. NHI's total commitment to the project is $21.5 million.

3 Oct 2011

MEDNAX acquires maternal-fetal medicine physician group practice in St. Louis, MO

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of a maternal-fetal medicine physician group practice based in St. Louis, MO.

3 Oct 2011

HealthPort is the first HIH to transmit records via CMS' esMD gateway

HealthPort, the industry authority on the HIPAA-compliant exchange of protected health information through release of information services and audit management technology, today announced that the Company is the first Health Information Handler (HIH) to successfully transmit records via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) electronic submission of medical documentation (esMD) gateway for information exchange from healthcare providers, once again leading the way in release of information innovation.

3 Oct 2011

Women's Care Florida chooses eClinicalWorks comprehensive EHR solution

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announced that Women's Care Florida, one of the largest independent, fully integrated OB/GYN groups in the United States, has chosen the eClinicalWorks comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) solution for its 165 providers across 52 locations.

3 Oct 2011

Pace Homecare acquires Sarnia-Lambton Physiotherapy

Pace Homecare is pleased to announce the acquisition of Sarnia-Lambton Physiotherapy, a home healthcare service provider located in Sarnia.

3 Oct 2011

Supreme Court's decision on health law likely to affect 2012 election

The Obama administration's request last week that the justices resolve whether the health care law is constitutional makes it more likely than not that they will deliver their verdict by June 2012, just as Obama and his Republican opponent charge toward the fall campaign. ... Their decision could rank as the court's most significant since the December 2000 ruling that effectively sealed George W. Bush's election as president.

3 Oct 2011

Palmetto establishes formal coverage policy for all Medicare patients

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced that Palmetto GBA, the designated national contractor for its Oncotype DX colon cancer test, has established a formal coverage policy for all Medicare patients.

1 Oct 2011

AHF protests J&J over AIDS drug prices

A group of committed AIDS activists and advocates are expected to participate in a protest and "die-in" hosted by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Friday, September 30th at 12:30 pm near the New Brunswick headquarters of Johnson & Johnson to protest the company's pricing of its HIV/AIDS medications.

1 Oct 2011

HealthSpring announces its 2012 Medicare offerings

HealthSpring, a leading Medicare Advantage plan, today announced its 2012 Medicare offerings, which include a range of health and prescription drug plans, as well as special needs plans.

1 Oct 2011

H.I.M. ON CALL releases AVIANCE DNFB Management solution at AHIMA Convention and Exhibit

H.I.M. ON CALL, a technology and outsourcing services company for health information management, coding and revenue cycle, announced the availability of its latest AVIANCEHealth technology solution, AVIANCE DNFB Management today at the American Health Information Management Association Convention and Exhibit at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1 Oct 2011

National Healing to merge with Diversified Clinical Services

National Healing Corporation, a provider of wound and disease management solutions for hospitals, and Diversified Clinical Services, also a provider of specialized wound care management services to hospitals, today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which the two companies will merge.

1 Oct 2011

Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care President expresses concern over job instability

Pointing to new job losses at a Nebraska nursing home attributed to a new federal Medicare regulation reducing funding by 11.1 percent, the President of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care today expressed concern that the Nebraska job loss example represents the leading edge of additional job losses and layoffs at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) throughout the nation, as facilities, care staff and patients struggle with an accumulation of Medicare and Medicaid funding reductions.

1 Oct 2011

CCS Medical moves corporate headquarters to Farmers Branch, Texas

CCS Medical today announced the relocation of their corporate headquarters from Clearwater, Florida to Farmers Branch, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. CCS Medical has more than 1,500 employees in seven offices across the nation, and is a market leader in distributing home healthcare products and services to patients with chronic conditions in the United States.

1 Oct 2011

QHR announces 1,000,000 stock options to various directors and employees

QHR Technologies Inc. announced today that it has granted an aggregate of 1,000,000 stock options to various directors, employees and consultants of the Company.

1 Oct 2011