Mayo social media project reflects deeper interest by doctors
(American Medical News © 08/09/2010)
The Mayo Clinic's effort to start a social media center to train physicians and hospitals in the ways of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and podcasting is one of the biggest signs yet that social media in health care has gone mainstream. Although no formal studies have outlined proven benefits from using social media, anecdotal evidence of how it has connected physicians and patients -- and the ubiqu...
Dropping an insurer requires care and analysis
(American Medical News © 08/09/2010)
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT A column about keeping your practice in good health SEE ARCHIVES The economic downturn has more physicians giving serious thought to dropping insurers who pay too little, or create too many hassles. Approximately 55.8% of medical practices surveyed earlier this year by the Medical Group Management Assn. said they were renegotiating or eliminating low-paying commercial pa...
Health plan acquisitions target small- to medium-sized companies
(American Medical News © 08/09/2010)
As a newly reformed health system takes shape, private equity firms are eyeing investments in health plans. "Private equity funds are out to make money, to invest money, and they've got money they want to put to work now," said Chip Clark, partner in the provider care sector in Ernst & Young's North America Transaction Advisory Services practice. The practice, among other services, advises c...
Abortion coverage unchanged in high-risk plans, White House clarifies
(American Medical News © 08/09/2010)
Washington -- The Obama administration has swiftly closed another potential health reform law loophole that the Congressional Research Service said could have allowed federally sponsored elective abortion coverage. By doing so, the White House again assuaged concerns from anti-abortion lawmakers and disappointed abortion rights advocates. New federal high-risk insurance pools will not offer exp...
Perry plans to hand Obama letter about border
(Austin American-Statesman © 08/09/2010)
Obama and Perry to meet at airport, White works Midland and Abilene and PolitiFact seeks the truth on BTEC. (Happy birthday to Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party.) • So it’s a big day around here. President Barack Obama will fly into Austin from Washington this morning, headline a luncheon fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Four Seas...
Is Bill White taking political risk in skipping Obama event?
(Austin American-Statesman © 08/09/2010)
Published: 7:17 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White is taking a calculated risk by putting distance between himself and President Barack Obama, who pops into the Lone Star State today for a pair of Democratic fundraisers and a speech to University of Texas students. Could appearing to snub Obama put distance between White and liberal...
Social media meets health care
(Boston Globe © 08/09/2010)
Dr. Tara Lagu is a health care researcher at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield who studies social networking as a tool in patient care and quality improvement. She recently published a paper on consumer sites that rate doctors. Q. In your recent study, did you find that primary care doctors were suspicious of consumer rating sites? A. Their biggest fear is the person who is writing a re...
No evidence for using antidepressants in autism
(Boston Globe © 08/09/2010)
Children and adults with autism spectrum disorders have trouble with communication and social interaction. There are no drugs specifically approved to treat these problems, although antidepressants are sometimes recommended. But a new analysis finds no evidence that they help people with autism and some signs that they may cause harm in children. Dr. Katrina Williams of the University of New Sout...
Battle over medical insurance premiums moves to states
(Chicago Tribune © 08/09/2010)
WASHINGTON Advertisement — As Americans struggle with double-digit hikes in their health insurance bills, millions are coming up against a hard reality: The state regulators that are supposed to protect the...
Eaten Alive: A nurse spends 5 years fighting flesh-eating bacteria to go home and be a mom
(Chicago Tribune © 08/09/2010)
BALTIMORE (AP) — Waking from a fog of anesthesia, Sandy Wilson found she was a patient in one of the hospitals where she worked as a nurse. She remembered having a baby, and being told she had gotten an infection. But nothing could prepare her for what lurked beneath the sheets. Flesh-eating bacteria were eating her alive. "When I looked down at my belly, basica...
Docs Offer Advice on Keeping Children Healthy
(Chicago Tribune © 08/09/2010)
Parents always want to listen to the pediatrician when a child is sick, but what do the pediatricians want parents to hear when the goal is to keep children well? We posed that question to three doctors - Dr. Joel B. Steinberg, professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center and attending physician at Children's Medical Center Dallas; Dr. Chris Straughn, a pediatrician at Medical Ci...
Effectiveness of statins is called into question
(Chicago Tribune © 08/09/2010)
As the world's most-prescribed class of medications, statins indisputably qualify for the commercial distinction of "blockbuster." About 24 million Americans take the drugs — marketed under such commercial names as Pravachol, Mevacor, Lipitor, Zocor and Crestor — largely to stave off heart attacks and strokes. At the zenith of their profitability, these medications raked in $26.2...
Medicare already benefiting from law, Obama says
(Columbus Dispatch © 08/09/2010)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says Medicare will exist for many more years, thanks to new legislation that helped put the health-care program for America's seniors on stronger financial footing. Seniors already are benefiting from that new health-care law, said Obama, noting that many have received $250 rebates to help buy medicine, for example. Obama said the law and effor...
Obama visiting Dallas today to raise campaign cash
(Dallas Morning News © 08/09/2010)
Obama visiting Dallas today to raise campaign cash 12:28 AM CDT on Monday, August 9, 2010 By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News tgillman@dallasnews.com WASHINGTON – Texas has mainly provided a thorn in Barack Obama's side. The governor taunts him. The senators defy him. He lost the state by nearly 1 million votes in 2008. When the ...
What does the Missouri vote mean?
(Dotmed © 08/09/2010)
A majority of those polled in Missouri are in favor of a measure that would deny the federal government the authority to punish citizens for refusing to purchase private health insurance. Seventy-one percent were in favor of the measure. This is the first such voting referendum in the country, and many commentators have suggested that the vote reflects a nationwide rejection of the Affordable Care...
Almost one in four security breaches affected health centers in 2010: survey
(Dotmed © 08/09/2010)
Almost one out of four data security breaches affected health care centers in 2010, according to reports, though the numbers are likely somewhat padded by mandatory breach reporting data added this year. Still, the numbers are leading privacy rights advocates to push for tougher disclosure laws. As of Tuesday, there were nearly 400 serious data breaches this year in the United States, potentially ...
Long-term care insurance can alleviate financial burden
(Fort Worth Business Press © 08/09/2010)
Tom Gilmour never expected his father, who had a history of heart problems, to outlive his mother and to require nursing home care. Caroline Henson never expected her active, healthy husband to have a catastrophic health event just weeks after his 60th birthday and require skilled nursing and a home nurse before he recovered. Few families are entirely prepared for health crises that requir...
Special credit cards leave some patients financially ill
(Houston KHOU (CBS) 11 © 08/09/2010)
HOUSTON -- Peggy Ritch was a worried mother. "I got concerned about my daughter because she had bad teeth," she said. But the 74-year-old retiree from Arlington wasn’t exactly rich herself, so she wrote a letter to a local dentist's office, asking "in any way you know, if they wanted to help me." But be careful what you wish for. Several weeks later, a credit card sudd...
When Facebook goes to the hospital, patients may suffer
(Los Angeles Times © 08/09/2010)
William Wells arrived at the emergency room at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach on April 9 mortally wounded. The 60-year-old had been stabbed more than a dozen times by a fellow nursing home resident, his throat slashed so savagely he was almost decapitated. Instead of focusing on treating him, an employee said, St. Mary nurses and other hospital staff did the unthinkable: They snapped p...
New Defibrillator May Lead To Safer Heart Treatment
(Medcompare © 08/09/2010)
8/6/2010 9:36:00 AM Source: Scottsdale Healthcare Scottsdale Healthcare is only Arizona hospital, 1 of 35 worldwide in clinical study SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scottsdale Healthcare is the only Arizona hospital system testing a new under-the-skin device that uses an electrical shock to interrupt possibly fatal heart rhythms, restoring a normal heartbeat for patien...
Signs of Puberty Seen Earlier in White Girls
(MedPage Today © 08/09/2010)
eviewed by Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Action Points Discuss with patients that the age of puberty for girls has fallen in the past two decades and that earlier maturation for girls could have a number of adverse consequences -- including lower self-esteem, less favorable body image, and greater rates of eating problems, depression, and suicide attempts. Also discuss with patients some lim...
Human Salmonellosis Traced to Pet Food
(MedPage Today © 08/09/2010)
By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: August 09, 2010Reviewed by Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Action Points Discuss with patients that according to recent analyses of Salmonella linked to dry pet food, most cases among young children were associated with cross contamination in the kitchen. Also, discuss with patients the importance of proper handling and storage of pe...
Part 1: High-tech births vs. nature's way
(Minneapolis Star Tribune © 08/09/2010)
Dannette Lund wanted to have her second baby the natural way, but she had to flout all the best medical advice to do it. Because she had delivered her first child by Caesarean section, a hospital birth would almost certainly mean surgery again. Home birth? Her midwife refused, saying it was too risky. A birth center outside a hospital? She'd have to shell out $7,000 because her insurance wouldn't...
Newest fair attraction: DNA on a stick
(Minneapolis Star Tribune © 08/09/2010)
State fairgoers wait in long lines for purple shoulder bags and two-bit yardsticks. But will they donate their children's fingernail clippings or blood droplets for free ride tickets and a string backpack? Genetic researchers at the University of Minnesota hope the answer is yes. During the first week of the fair, researchers will invite 500 children and their parents to answer health questions,...
Managed Care: Findings from Kaiser Permanente provide new insights into managed care
(NewsRX © 08/09/2010)
Today's Medical & Research News Managed Care Findings from Kaiser Permanente provide new insights into managed care August 9th, 2010 Printer-Friendly Version City:Pasadena State:CA Country:United States Active Immunotherapy Biological Products Biological Therapy Computers Human Immunization Immunomodulation Influenza Vaccines Managed Care Therapeutics Vaccination Viral Vaccines Fresh data on manag...
State challenges to healthcare reform law
(Sacramento Bee © 08/09/2010)
The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Friday, August 6: Opponents of the new healthcare reform law notched two victories recently, one at the ballot box and one in court. Voters in Missouri overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure prohibiting residents from being compelled to participate in "any healthcare system." The measure targeted the law's mandate that almos...
Patients losing patience with rising health premiums
(Salt Lake Tribune © 08/09/2010)
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Steve Jones broke his foot falling off a ladder last month while on a painting job. But a 33 percent increase in his health insurance premium this year will make it financially unfeasible for him to cover the out-of-pocket costs to get it treated. So, he's going without medical care and hoping for the best. Here he continues to work with a boot on his foot Thu...
New health law may bring pricier premiums
(San Francisco Chronicle © 08/09/2010)
Employers and consumers sorting through their health insurance options may see a bump in their rates next year to account for the potential impact of some of the early elements of the federal health overhaul law, according to some health experts. Jeff Sher, an independent health insurance agent and consultant in San Francisco, said he's anticipating employee coverage at mid-size companies to go...
State extending medical coverage to thousands in high-risk category
(San Jose Mercury News © 08/09/2010)
California will open a new high-risk health insurance plan in September for people who have medical conditions that make it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain coverage. The plan will be one of the first major results of the national health reform law. With $761 million in federal funding, it is expected to provide coverage for 20,000 to 25,000 Californians. People can begin submitting appli...
Doctors Get Dose of Technology From Insurers
(The Wall Street Journal © 08/09/2010)
Health-insurance companies including Humana Inc. and Aetna Inc. are stepping into the race to equip doctors with high-tech patient records. The lure: the estimated 80% of U.S. physicians and 90% of hospitals whose records are still on paper, and the $27 billion in federal stimulus money available to help these holdouts switch. The Obama administration last month outlined how doctors can qualify f...
Social Security, at 75, strained by recession and baby boomers
(Abilene Reporter-News © 08/10/2010)
Evelyn Sekula’s widowed grandmother struggled to survive during the Depression. Like millions of other elderly people, she had no pension and no savings. “She had no income at all except for what my father gave her”— maybe $10 a month, said Sekula, 90, who lives in a senior residence in Sacramento County, Calif. Today’s older adults were youngsters when President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed th...
Text of President Obama's UT speech
(Austin KEYE (CBS) 42 © 08/10/2010)
From Office of the Press Secretary Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas August 9, 2010 Hello Austin! Hello Longhorns! It’s wonderful to be back. I love this town. I remember paying you all a visit during the campaign. I toured the stadium with Mack Brown. Got a photo with the Heisman. Even rubbed the locker room’s longhor...
President Barack Obama arrives, greeted by governor
(Austin KVUE (ABC) 24 © 08/10/2010)
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama’s late-summer dash for campaign cash is picking up with two high-dollar fundraisers in Texas for the Democratic Party. His other business Monday will be a speech underscoring his commitment to higher education, although no new policy announcements are expected. From Washington to New York City to Atlanta to Chicago, Obama has headlined events to raise m...
Mass. Senate OKs postpartum depression legislation
(Boston Globe © 08/10/2010)
BOSTON—The Massachusetts Senate has given final approval to a bill designed to help new mothers struggling with postpartum depression. The bill would require Massachusetts health insurers to submit annual reports on their efforts to screen for postpartum depression. The legislation also calls on the Department of Public Health to develop regulations and policies to address postpartum depre...
A bitter health care pill
(Boston Globe © 08/10/2010)
TO CONTAIN ever-rising health care costs, a commission established by the state recommended a year ago that Massachusetts replace the traditional payment model in which each doctor is paid for delivering each medical service, with the “capitation’’ approach in which a group of doctors is paid an annual fee for providing a patient with all healthcare. However, the Legislature rece...
NRA, Farm Bureau backing Chet Edwards
(Bryan-College Station Eagle © 08/10/2010)
Two prominent conservative-leaning organizations have endorsed Democratic U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards for re-election, his campaign said Monday. The National Rifle Association and the Texas Farm Bureau unveiled their support for Edwards during a four-city tour through the 17th Congressional District. Their backing could prove useful in the strongly conservative district. "With less than 100 days le...
Consumers pushed to alternative brands in light of Tylenol recalls
(Chicago Tribune © 08/10/2010)
When seven people died from Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide in 1982, Johnson & Johnson CEO James Burke pulled Tylenol from shelves and went on "60 Minutes," painting the company as the victim of a madman. Within six months, Tylenol became the first product of its kind to use tamper-resistant packaging. In a year, Tylenol regained more than 80 percent of the market share it held before the ...
Dallas-Fort Worth not-for-profit hospitals taking note of announced Medicare cuts
(Dallas Morning News © 08/10/2010)
Dallas-Fort Worth not-for-profit hospitals taking note of announced Medicare cuts 12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 By JASON ROBERSON / The Dallas Morning News jroberson@dallasnews.com Not-for-profit hospitals will be hurt more than for-profit hospitals when Medicare cuts take hold next fiscal year, according to a report Monday from Moody's Investors Service. In a note to investor...
US 'steroid cop' quizzes Armstrong's ex-teammates
(Dallas WFAA (ABC) 8 © 08/10/2010)
BURLINGAME, California (AP) — He's been called high-minded, a trailblazing lawman and "America's top steroid cop." For someone who does his best work behind the scenes, federal agent Jeff Novitzky is hardly a stranger to the spotlight. And depending on the results of an ongoing investigation into the sometimes-shadowy world of pro cycling, he could soon become bette...
Merck discloses probe of foreign sales practices
(Dallas WFAA (ABC) 8 © 08/10/2010)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Two federal agencies are probing drugmaker Merck & Co. for possibly violating anti-bribery laws in multiple foreign countries. Merck, the world's second-biggest drugmaker by revenue, has received inquiry letters from both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said in a regulatory filing. The letters "se...
Recession causing cancer patients to quit life-extending drugs
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 08/10/2010)
By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- In 2009 and 2010, as the economic collapse shuddered across the globe, oncologists in California noticed a troubling trend: Three patients who had had serious tumors under control for as long as eight years reappeared in the clinic with massive cancer regrowth which, in one case, required emergency surgery. In retrospect,...
New dentist test to detect oral cancer will save lives
(E-Science News © 08/10/2010)
A new test for oral cancer, which a dentist could perform by simply using a brush to collect cells from a patient's mouth, is set to be developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The international research team, involving scientists in Sheffield, has been awarded $2 million from the USA's National Institutes of Health to develop t...
Aetna Announces Expanded Support of Health Information Technology
(Fierce HealthIT © 08/10/2010)
Aetna Chief Medical Officer to present insurer's plan to advance electronic health records adoption and meaningful use at Health Industry Forum HARTFORD, Conn., August 05, 2010 - Today in Washington, D.C., Aetna Chief Medical Officer, Lonny Reisman, M.D., will attend the Health Industry Forum and present the insurer's plan to advance electronic health records adoption and meaningful use to help ...
Contact Lens Use Increases Risk of Eye Ulcers
(Fox News © 08/10/2010)
Ulcers of the cornea — the transparent front layer of the eye — may be twice as common in the U.S. as previously thought, likely owing to the recent rise in contact lens use, suggests a new study. Based on more than a million people in northern California, researchers found that contact lens wearers were about 9 times more likely to develop the eye condit...
A Doctor's Prognosis for Obamacare -- The Four Essential Problems With the Patient
(Fox News © 08/10/2010)
This week Dr. Howard Dean, an internist by training and the former head of the Democratic National Committee, went on the record in an appearance on cable TV and predicted that the mandate in the new health care law that requires everyone to carry health insurance would be dropped, either because it will be ruled unconstitutional or because people are just uncomfortable being told what to do. ...
Study: Medical errors cost U.S. economy almost $20 billion in 08
(Healthcare Finance News © 08/10/2010)
SCHAUMBURG, IL – A new study estimates that measurable medical errors cost the U.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008. Commissioned by the Society of Actuaries and completed by Milliman, Inc., the study used claims data to project a measurement of costs for avoidable medical injuries. Of the approximately $80 billion in costs associated with medical injuries, around 25 percent were found to b...
Humana and athenahealth team up to reward clinical performance
(Healthcare Finance News © 08/10/2010)
LOUISVILLE, KY – Humana, Inc., a health and supplemental benefits company, and athenahealth, a provider of Web-based practice management and electronic health record software, have announced an alliance with the aim of combining Humana’s Primary Care Rewards Program with athenahealth’s EHR service. “Parallel to the government’s efforts to drive meaningful use of...
Health reform will save Medicare billions, CMS says
(American Medical News © 08/11/2010)
Washington -- The new health system reform law will help Medicare achieve savings of nearly $8 billion by the end of 2012, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS has been working on a number of cost-saving provisions since the law was signed in March. Those provisions include expanding the use of recovery audit contractors, ending added payments to Medica...
Maine launches health care website
(Boston Globe © 08/11/2010)
AUGUSTA, Maine—Maine health officials have launched a new online tool where residents can learn more about the federal health care reform law passed earlier this year. The Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance says the website provides up-to-date information about the Affordable Care Act and how it affects Maine. The site, http://www.maine.gov/healthreform, includes a summary of t...
Promote health, not high costs
(Boston Globe © 08/11/2010)
WATCHING DRUG firms and insurers go at it over manufacturers’ coupons for high-priced brand-name drugs is like watching a grandmasters’ chess game in which patients are the pawns. But the pawns could come out ahead if the Legislature sets sensible limits on the coupons. Drug companies want the right they have in every other state but Massachusetts — to offer consumers coupons or...
Premium hikes are another pitfall of long-term care plans
(Boston Globe © 08/11/2010)
IN THEIR Aug. 2 op-ed “A public home-care insurance cushion,’’ Alison Bass and Susan Parkinson applaud that portion of the new federal healthcare law known as CLASS, or the Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act. Generalizing from their father’s (and father-in-law’s) experience, they present CLASS as at least some protection against the substantial diffi...
Molina prices 4 million share offering at $27 per share to pay back debt
(Chicago Tribune © 08/11/2010)
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Molina Healthcare Inc. will price its 4 million share offering at $27 each. The company announced the pricing late Tuesday, making the offering worth $108 million. The offer is slightly below the company's current stock price. Shares fell 34 cents in premarket trading Wednesday to $27.54, as many indexes sold off in electronic trading. ...
US report shows a drop in dangerous drug-resistant staph in hospital or health care settings
(Chicago Tribune © 08/11/2010)
CHICAGO (AP) — Aggressive, drug-resistant staph infections caught in hospitals or from medical treatment are becoming scarcer, another sign of progress in a prevention effort that has become a national public health priority. The decline was seen in a federal study of methicillin-resistant staph, or MRSA. The bug often causes only a boil or skin infection. But researchers in t...
State Rep. ranked the fourth most conservative
(Copperfield Sun © 08/11/2010)
According to a study performed at Rice University, only three spots separate State Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Dist. 150) from being considered the most conservative member of the Texas House of Representatives.“I’d prefer to be number one. The reality is there’s just not much day light between the four of us. Three-hundredths of a point is negligible. I’d say we are all in a tie,” Riddle said.Jessica C...
White House in dispute with 'professional left'
(Dallas WFAA (ABC) 8 © 08/11/2010)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is defending Press Secretary Robert Gibbs over his criticism of the "professional left." Gibbs said some liberals critical of the administration ought to be drug-tested and wouldn't be satisfied until the Pentagon was eliminated. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton downplayed Gibbs' comments Tuesday, saying the press secretary simply...
Many stroke patients stop taking meds, study shows
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 08/11/2010)
By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Many stroke patients stop taking their medications while many heart failure patients are never prescribed recommended medications in the first place, new research shows. In one report, researchers found that 25 percent of stroke patients stopped taking one or more of their stroke prevention medications within three months a...
Father Sues Medicaid To Get Diapers Covered
(Disability Scoop © 08/11/2010)
A widower raising four kids on $1,000 a month is suing Medicaid after the government program refused to pay for diapers for his 16-year-old daughter who has severe cerebral palsy. In the lawsuit, Floyd Smith claims that Florida’s Medicaid program is violating federal law by refusing to cover the cost of diapers for his daughter Sharett and others like her. Sharett is non-verbal and she i...
Congress passes FMAP Medicaid extension; Pres. Obama’s signature expected soon
(Drug Store News © 08/11/2010)
WASHINGTON (Aug. 10) Moving rapidly to ward off at least one financial threat to millions of Americans and the state-administered federal health benefit program that supports them, the House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon voted to extend an emergency funding program for cash-strapped state Medicaid programs. Called back from an August recess by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House passed by a vot...
Cogent Healthcare Selected by Allegiance Health to Provide Hospitalist Services
(Fierce Healthcare © 08/11/2010)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- Cogent Healthcare today announced a new hospital medicine affiliation with Allegiance Health , a 411-bed health system located in Jackson, Mich. a??For the past several years, Allegiance Health has developed a national reputation for delivering the highest standards of care,a?? said Dr. Len Scarpinato, North-Central Regional Medical Director for Cogent Heal...
STATEMENT ON FMAP EXTENSION
(Fierce HealthIT © 08/11/2010)
Rick Pollack Executive Vice President American Hospital Association August 10, 2010 Today's extension of the federal assistance for state Medicaid programs - or FMAP - provides critical relief to states that are struggling to ensure access to care for low-income families and individuals. Given these challenging economic times, Medicaid is forced to play an even greater role as ...
Texas starting to emerge from economic slump
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 08/11/2010)
By April CastroThe Associated Press AUSTIN -- Texas has begun emerging, slowly, from a 14-month economic slump that has contributed to an expected $18 billion shortfall in the next two-year state budget, the state's top accountant said Tuesday.Republican Comptroller Susan Combs said the state's economy is improving but still "bumping along the bottom," while Republican Go...
Remembering Ted Stevens -- A Great Man and a Good Man
(Fox News © 08/11/2010)
Theodore Fulton Stevens served Alaska for 40 years in the United States Senate, but his career goes back to the Eisenhower administration and extends through 60 years of overall public service to the State of Alaska and the nation. Ted’s public service career began as a lawyer with the Department of the Interior in the 1950’s, when he helped write the Statehood Act and convince President Eisenhow...
CeltiCare responds to criticism on physician access
(Healthcare Finance News © 08/11/2010)
BRIGHTON, MA – CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts contends that a letter to the editor appearing in the Aug. 5 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine makes “very damaging allegations that are both false and unfounded about the care and access CeltiCare provides.” The letter, written by two resident physicians at the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance and a...
Sen. Miller to introduce bill to deal with nurses' records
(Indianapolis Star © 08/11/2010)
State Sen. Patricia L. Miller, R-Indianapolis, plans to introduce legislation that makes background checks mandatory for Indiana nurses. Miller said she has asked the Legislative Services Agency to draft such a bill in response to an Indianapolis Star report showing Indiana is one of only a handful of states that do not require background checks for nurses. The Star's investigation found nurs...
One in Five Americans Visited ER In 2007
(Kaiser Health News © 08/11/2010)
The New York Times: One in five Americans visited the emergency room in 2007 whether they were insured or not, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. "Among the uninsured, 7.4 percent made two or more visits to an E.R., but so did 5.1 percent of people with private insurance. Medicaid recipients were the heaviest users of E.R.'s, with 15.3 percent of them making two or m...
Leaders Study Up On Health Care Reform
(AHIP Wire © 08/12/2010)
Leaders Study Up On Health Care Reform...
Hospital finances show improvement; mass layoffs decline
(American Medical News © 08/12/2010)
Operating margins at hospitals are getting stronger, according to a pair of reports issued by Standard & Poor's in July. In addition, government statistics indicate the number of mass layoffs by hospitals declined in June. The S&P report, "U.S. Not-For-Profit Health Care System Fiscal 2009 Ratios Show Moderate Improvement," issued July 26, documented that after a difficult couple of years in the...
UT System presidents voice health law concerns
(Austin American-Statesman © 08/12/2010)
The presidents of the University of Texas System's six health-related universities on Wednesday listed their worries about the prospect of millions of uninsured Texans becoming covered in 2014 under the country's sweeping new health care law: not enough doctors, too little money from government health care programs and fewer commercial insurers to cushion financial losses like they do now. "It's ...
Texas nurses who filed complaint against doctor settle lawsuit
(Austin American-Statesman © 08/12/2010)
A lawsuit from two Texas nurses fired and charged after filing a complaint against a doctor whose medical practices they found improper was never about getting a check, one of the women said Wednesday. "This has never been about the money," Anne Mitchell said, "because these situations are never about money. It's about good care." Her comments came a day after Winkler County commissioners voted ...
'Medical home' concept saving Illinois millions on health care
(Chicago Tribune © 08/12/2010)
The "medical home" concept under a state initiative started about four years ago appears to be saving Illinois taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars from the state Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, a new study shows. Illinois Health Connect saved the state $140 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009, and an additional $80 million in fiscal 2008, according to the study by...
Fake insurers sued by FTC, states
(Cincinnati Enquirer © 08/12/2010)
WASHINGTON - Fake health insurers who may have defrauded tens of thousands of Americans have been targeted in a nationwide crackdown, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and 24 states, including Ohio and Indiana, announced Wednesday. The FTC and the states filed 54 lawsuits or regulatory actions against companies selling "medical discount plans" alleged to be bogus, David Vladeck, dire...
Newly insured expected to crowd ERs
(Columbus Dispatch © 08/12/2010)
The new health-reform law means more Americans will have health insurance in four years, but it doesn't ensure that they'll have a doctor to see when they have a medical problem. Emergency-room physicians predict that many of the newly insured will end up in already overcrowded ERs because they won't have easy access to family doctors, whose numbers are dwindling. The prediction is based in pa...
Foster kids gain from mentoring, relationship skills
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 08/12/2010)
TUESDAY, August 3 (HealthDay News) -- Mentoring and relationship skills programs can improve the mental health of foster children, a new study from the University of Colorado suggests. The study appears in the August issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. "Children who have been maltreated and placed in foster care are at risk for significant mental health problems includ...
UT medical school presidents warn of fewer new doctors under U.S. planned cuts
(Denton Record-Chronicle © 08/12/2010)
AUSTIN – The federal health overhaul could dry up funds that the state's academic medical centers use to produce doctors in Texas, leaders of the University of Texas' six health science centers warned Wednesday. The medical school presidents said they're not necessarily opposed to the sweeping legislation signed by President Barack Obama last spring, but they worry that their centers may ab...
Firms trim health-insurance costs with dependent audits
(Denver Post © 08/12/2010)
A new kind of audit is becoming standard procedure in many workplaces. Looking for ways to cut costs, employers are requiring workers to produce marriage licenses, birth certificates, student IDs and partial tax returns to prove their listed dependents are eligible for health-insurance coverage. Such "dependent audits" are on the rise in the private and public sectors. A survey released by ...
The race issue: Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White
(El Paso Times © 08/12/2010)
Gov. Rick Perry's campaign today demanded that Democrat Bill White apologize for "racially motivated" comments made during a speech to a black audience in Dallas. The campaign pointed to an article in the Dallas Morning News that quoted White telling a group of African-American business and community leaders, “We need a governor who's a servant, as opposed to Rick Perry, who wan...
States respond in health care overhaul lawsuit
(El Paso Times © 08/12/2010)
The Justice Department in June asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the U.S. District Court in Pensacola lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over some of the lawsuit's claims. They also said other parts of the lawsuit failed to state claims upon which relief can be granted. The states, the National Federation of Independent Business and several individual taxpayers will file th...
Congress passes FMAP extension
(Healthcare Finance News © 08/12/2010)
WASHINGTON – Despite a bitter partisan battle over federal spending, Congress has passed a six-month, $16.1 billion extension to federal matching funds for Medicaid. The FMAP extension was passed last week by the Senate and on Tuesday by the House as part of H.R. 1586, an amendment to the Teacher Jobs and State Fiscal Relief bill. It will provide a phased-down enhanced federal match of 3...
Lugar says he plans to run for a 7th term in 2012
(Indianapolis Star © 08/12/2010)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Republican Sen. Richard Lugar said Wednesday that he plans to seek a seventh term in 2012 in a bid that would extend his run as the longest-serving U.S. senator in Indiana history. After speaking about world affairs and taking questions during a luncheon at The Summit Club, a private dining club in South Bend, the 78-year-old Lugar said he will run again, though he has not for...
Obama Signs Bill Giving States $16 Billion In Enhanced Medicaid Payments
(Kaiser Health News © 08/12/2010)
President Obama signed a bill Tuesday that gives states an extra $16 billion in Medicaid funding. The Wall Street Journal: The House returned Tuesday from its August recess to vote on the bill. "The session was set up by last week's surprise Senate passage of the $26 billion measure [including $10 billion to preserve teacher jobs] after House members had already departed. Democratic le...
Patients' files left at public dump
(Boston Globe © 08/13/2010)
Four Massachusetts community hospitals are investigating how thousands of patient health records, some containing Social Security numbers and sensitive medical diagnoses, ended up in a pile at a public dump. The unshredded records included pathology reports with patients’ names, addresses, and results of breast, bone, and skin cancer tests, as well as the results of lab work following misca...
Cambridge health group seeks buyer or partner
(Boston Globe © 08/13/2010)
Financially struggling Cambridge Health Alliance — which runs Cambridge Hospital, Somerville Hospital, and Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett — is seeking a buyer or an affiliation with another Boston area health care provider. Cambridge Health Alliance, whose “safety net’’ hospitals serve a large population of Medicaid patients and low-income immigrants, earlier t...
Fact or fiction? Health care overhaul and taxes
(Chicago Tribune © 08/13/2010)
Q I have heard that there is going to be a 3 percent tax on real estate sold in the U.S., which will be applied toward the new health care bill recently approved. Is this true, and, if so, when will this take effect? In addition to the 1 percent transfer tax I have to pay my state, the real estate commission of 5 to 6 percent and this new tax, a total of approximately 10 percent will be paid in fe...
Omnicare legal troubles linger
(Cincinnati Enquirer © 08/13/2010)
Omnicare Inc. has replaced its long-time CEO and promises a change in corporate culture, but a shelf full of potentially costly lawsuits and other legal problems still await. At least five lawsuits against the health-care company are working their way through the federal courts and already have cost the company millions in legal fees. • Follow EnqBusiness on Twitter At least t...
BP agrees to pay $50M for Texas refinery penalties
(Dallas WFAA (ABC) 8 © 08/13/2010)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Beleaguered oil giant BP has agreed to pay a record $50.6 million fine for failing to correct safety hazards at its Texas City oil refinery after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday it is still working to collect another $30 million from BP Products North America for other penalties that the com...
University Medical Center to freeze salaries
(El Paso Times © 08/13/2010)
EL PASO -- The El Paso County Hospital District will not raise taxes in the budget year that starts Oct. 1, but only by making some difficult decisions. Employees of University Medical Center of El Paso will not get raises, and the district will spend $30 million in cash reserves, leaving $100 million. The hospital district, which operates the medical center, met earlier this week in joint sessi...
More Than 40 Health Systems Join Premier Healthcare Alliance Accountable Care Organization Readiness Collaborative to Impr
(Fierce HealthIT © 08/13/2010)
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- More than 40 leading health systems have joined the Premier healthcare alliance’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Readiness Collaborative. Working together, participating health systems will develop the organization, skills, team and operational capabilities necessary to become effective ACOs capable of lowering costs by improving care coordination, efficiency, qu...
Health Care Reform Costs Insurers, Study Shows
(Health Leaders © 08/13/2010)
Compliance by health insurers with the medical loss ratio provisions in the new healthcare reform law, along with other reforms included in the White House's "Patients' Bill of Rights," may cost those companies more than analysts have predicted, according to research from Weiss Ratings, which provides independent insurance company ratings. Weiss reported that companies already complying in 2009 ha...
Insurers, Small Businesses And ER Care All Affected By Overhaul
(Kaiser Health News © 08/13/2010)
News outlets consider the impact of health reform on insurers — who are seeking flexibility on mandates — as well as changes to premiums, small businesses and emergency room care. The Hill: Insurers are planning to lobby lawmakers to avoid some provisions of the health overhaul. "An internal memo to members of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) obtained by The Hill offers health plans three...
FTC Works To Crack Down On Health Care 'Discount' Plans
(Kaiser Health News © 08/13/2010)
Reuters: "The Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday it is working with 24 states to crack down on sellers of medical discount plans that market them as health insurance that covers doctors, hospitals and other services." The prevalence of such plans has increased since March, when Congress passed its health overhaul. "The FTC along with several state attorneys general have filed lawsuits agai...
Insurers Defend Limited-Benefit Health Policies In Fight Over Proposed Restrictions
(Kaiser Health News © 08/13/2010)
A few months into a new job as a contract engineer, Jim Arey was stunned by an $8,000 bill he received for two doctor-administered infusions of an expensive drug he needs regularly. That’s when the Columbia, Md., man learned that the insurance provided through his placement firm capped doctor office care at $2,000 a year. He unknowingly hit his cap on his first visit because of the cost of the dru...
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