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Recent Health Care News
October (2010)

Medicaid enrollments soar to new high
(Boston Globe © 10/01/2010)
WASHINGTON — A record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, as the recession wiped out jobs and workplace health coverage. Enrollment in the safety-net medical insurance program jumped to more than 48 million — a record 15.7 percent share of the US population, according to a report released yesterday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. With the economy barely im...

Merck ordered to pay Mass. $4.6m
(Boston Globe © 10/01/2010)
Units of Merck & Co. were ordered by jurors to pay $4.6 million in connection with a lawsuit brought by Massachusetts that claimed they inflated wholesale prices of Proventil generics. A federal jury in Boston yesterday found in favor of the state over Schering Corp. and Warrick Pharmaceuticals, units of New Jersey-based Merck. The judge has the discretion to triple the award. The state cla...

McDonald's has a beef with insurance overhaul
(Chicago Tribune © 10/01/2010)
A dispute between McDonald's Corp. and the federal government over a new health care overhaul requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Thursday it has been in discussions with the Oak Brook-based fast-food giant over regulations that will require health plans to spend at leas...

Cleveland Clinic debuts Diabetes Center
(Cleveland Plain Dealer © 10/01/2010)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Clinic this week opened a freestanding Diabetes Center that can help patients manage the disease through education and new monitoring equipment. More than 100,000 people in Cuyahoga County are living with diabetes, and statistics on the prevalence of pre-diabetes show those numbers will rise. Tweet 0 Comment...

McDonald's: No health-care cut over law
(Columbus Dispatch © 10/01/2010)
  OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) - McDonald's denies reports it's considering dropping health-care coverage for some employees in response to a provision of the health-care overhaul law. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing a memo from McDonald's to federal officials, that McDonald's has warned regulators it could drop its plan for some 30,000 workers unless the government waives a ...

Not all chest pain treated equally in U.S. hospitals: study
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 10/01/2010)
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Black and Hispanic patients who seek care for chest pain in U.S. emergency departments are less likely to be classified as needing immediate care than white patients with similar symptoms, new research reveals. Depending on an initial assessment known as triage, patients are either targeted for immediate urgent care or deemed able to wait for a longer perio...

Flu shots protect health insurers from higher costs
(Denton Record-Chronicle © 10/01/2010)
The increased push to give flu shots this time of year is partly driven by money. Health insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, which pay millions of dollars in flu-related medical claims, are urging members to get flu shots immediately. Paying for vaccinations is cheaper than having people go to the hospital for costly care. "Health care costs are reflected in premiums, so the flu s...

What the imaging industry needs to know about meaningful use
(Dotmed © 10/01/2010)
Spread The News Log in or Register to rate this News Story Be the first to rate this story! More Video DOTmed AHRA video: ETIAM Emmanuel Cordonnier, president and CEO of ETIAM, took some time to talk to DOTmed News during AHRA 2010. DOTmed AHRA video: Riverain Medical Steve Worrell, chief technology officer for Riverain Medical, took some time to talk to DOTmed News during AHRA. DOTmed AHRA video:...

Most Americans Unfamiliar With Sepsis, Survey Finds
(EverydayHealth.com © 10/01/2010)
THURSDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of Americans don't know what the life-threatening immune response condition known as sepsis (or septic shock) is, according to a new survey. The survey results touch upon a serious illness that strikes a half million Americans each year and kills more than 200,000, but remains something of an enigma to the general public. "The lack of awareness a...

Statement on the Application of Medical Loss Ratio Standards to Certain Health Plans Under the Affordable Care Act
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/01/2010)
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Jay Angoff, director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the following statement today, regarding the application of medical loss ratio standards to certain health plans under the Affordable Care Act: “As many employers and insurers consider health insurance options for...

Forty-eight states receive new resources to build competitive health insurance marketplaces
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/01/2010)
Affordable Care Act will help states plan for health insurance exchanges WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded nearly $49 million to help 48 states and the District of Columbia plan for the establishment of health insurance exchanges. A key part of the Affordable Care Act, starting in 2014, health insurance exchanges – new, competitive...

Feds award 49 grants for health insurance exchanges
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/01/2010)
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration awarded 49 grants to states and the District of Columbia on Thursday to plan for new health insurance exchanges designed to help Americans shop for health plans beginning in 2014.These state-based exchanges, a key foundation of the new healthcare law, are to become the central Internet-based marketplace for consumers who do not get health benefits at work.Mos...

Bill Zedler is the man who fought the Medical Board -- and Hooters
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/01/2010)
Bill Zedler's greatest attribute may be that he is exactly what he seems, a zealous advocate for what he believes are just causes. What you see is what you get.Good questions have been raised about whether Zedler's zeal carried him too far when, as a state legislator and afterward, he relentlessly pursued a passion to reform disciplinary procedures at the Texas Medical Board.He definitely made som...

Pet insurance can pay off over the long term
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/01/2010)
Where would you draw the line on the cost of your pet's healthcare?Would it be $5,800 to treat glaucoma in your pet's eyes? Or $10,500 to treat diabetes? How about $5,400 for chemotherapy to treat cancer? Or $8,200 for pneumonia?Those are some recent claims made to Trupanion, a pet insurer based in Seattle.For Angela Boase in south Fort Worth, it was $4,800 in upfront veterinary costs for her two ...

South Texas Veterans and Medical Treatment
(Harlingen KGBT (CBS) 4 © 10/01/2010)
It's been years in the making, South Texas Veterans now have a new place to turn to for medical treatment. A new state of the art health care facility will open in Harlingen.  Serafin Guerra a local World War two veteran tells Action 4 News, "That's a big step forward to where I was before to where I am now." Guerra was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2007 and had to make multiple trips ...

CA Governor Signs Radiation Overdose Law
(Health Leaders © 10/01/2010)
In the first law of its kind, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that will require health facilities to notify the state Department of Public Health any time a patient receives a radiation dose in an imaging scan that exceeds 20% of what was intended. Effective July 1, 2012, the law requires that CT scanners receive accreditation by an organization approved by the Centers for ...

Physician to Settle Medicare Fraud Case for $20M
(Health Leaders © 10/01/2010)
A Chicago cardiologist who had staff privileges at three hospitals will pay $20 million to settle accusations that he lied "thousands of times to Medicare" and more than 30 other public and private health insurers to receive reimbursement for patients he never treated, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement. Sushil Sheth, M.D., will begin a five-year prison term on separate criminal c...

Deloitte: Reform should spur provider, health plan M&A activity
(Healthcare Finance News © 10/01/2010)
NEW YORK – With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in place, the healthcare industry should expect changes in the ranks of providers and health plans – which should fuel increased mergers and acquisition activity, according to a new report from Deloitte Development LLC. Among providers and physician practices specifically, changes related to health reform and expected cha...

McDonald's denies it might drop coverage
(Houston Chronicle © 10/01/2010)
The new health care law could make it difficult for companies like McDonald's to continue offering limited insurance coverage to their low-wage workers. The world's largest restaurant chain provides its hourly workers with low-cost plans known as "mini-meds" or limited benefits plans. These plans typically cover things like doctor's office visits and prescription drugs. But they don't provide comp...

CDC Picks 6 'Winnable Battles' In Health
(Houston KPRC (NBC) 2 © 10/01/2010)
ATLANTA -- Where would you start if you were charged with keeping the nation healthy? Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has chosen six priorities - winnable battles, he calls them. They are smoking, AIDS, obesity/nutrition, teen pregnancy, auto injuries and health care infections. These are long-standing, major challenges that get a lot...

Medicaid panel to study access to care, quality
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
Washington -- A new Medicaid commission's first order of business includes examining managed care plans' role in Medicaid and looking at how better to coordinate care for people eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, the commission's chair said at its inaugural meeting on Sept. 23-24. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, or MACPAC, was created by the Children's Health Insuranc...

Medicare Advantage premiums to dip an average of 1%
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
Washington -- The average premium individuals pay for private Medicare Advantage plans is slated to drop slightly next year, even as the new health system reform law mandates that insurers add more benefits to plans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Sept. 21 that on average, Medicare Advantage premiums will be 1% lower in 2011 than they were in 2010. In addition, benef...

AMA: Insurer appeals rule must protect medical role
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
Washington -- An interim final rule creating a federal process to appeal health insurers' coverage denials doesn't sufficiently protect clinical decision-making, according to the American Medical Association. In contrast, health insurance industry groups said the interim final rule, which spells out requirements in the national health system reform law, imposes unreasonable conditions on health...

Tougher health fraud prevention measures proposed
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
Washington -- Some physician practices and medical suppliers may face new screening measures and payment penalties if a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services goes into effect. CMS introduced the rule Sept. 21, saying the more stringent measures would help the agency continue to transition from a "pay and chase" system to one increasingly based on fraud prevention. ...

Consumers look to insurers to lower health care costs
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
A consumer survey shows that more people expect health insurers, rather than physicians, to help them sort through the health system reform law and lower the cost of health care. "We were surprised about how high expectations were for insurers to play the role of an educator, and also for them to be accountable to lower costs. It's really health insurers here who consumers are looking to make a ...

2010 could end up as worst year for hospital layoffs
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
Hospitals are on pace this year to carry out more mass layoffs than they did in 2009, and more employees would be affected. At the current rate, 2010 would be the worst year recorded for mass layoffs. Hospitals initiated 12 mass layoffs in August leading to 1,027 people claiming unemployment benefits, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Sept. 23. It was the second consecutive m...

Small hospitals less ready for "meaningful use" mandate
(American Medical News © 10/04/2010)
Smaller hospitals are less prepared to meet "meaningful use" requirements, compared with larger facilities, according to a recent survey by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. The survey found that of the 152 hospitals responding, 28% expect to qualify for stimulus funds in the first six months of 2011. That means these organizations would need to be ready to start demon...

Health care overhaul's high-risk pools somewhat empty
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/04/2010)
But the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan started this summer isn't living up to expectations. Enrollment lags in many parts of the country. People who could benefit may not be able to afford the premiums. Some state officials who run their own "high-risk pools" have pointed out potential problems. "The federal risk pool has definitely provided critical access, in some cases lifesaving access...

State working to corral hikes in health care costs
(Boston Globe © 10/04/2010)
THE PATRICK-MURRAY administration understands the negative impact that health care cost increases have on small businesses and working families (“Small firms’ rates soaring,’’ Page A1, Sept. 23), and continues to fight for lower premiums and urges providers and insurers to create long-term solutions to this problem. Because of efforts by the administration’s Division...

Preexisting-condition plans are off to a slow start
(Boston Globe © 10/04/2010)
WASHINGTON — It’s a centerpiece of President Obama’s health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them uninsurable. But the Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan that started this summer isn’t living up to expectations. Enrollment lags in many parts of the country. People who could benefit may not be able to afford...

Paul calls for raising Social Security age
(Boston Globe © 10/04/2010)
Rand Paul, the Republican candidate for senator from Kentucky, said yesterday that the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare may need to be raised for future recipients. But Paul, speaking during the first televised debate of the general election season with Democratic opponent Jack Conway, said he doesn’t want to change those benefits for older people already receiving them. ...

Insurance firms infuse GOP with big doses of cash
(Chicago Tribune © 10/04/2010)
WASHINGTON Advertisement — Faced with wide-ranging new requiremen...

New Supreme Court term begins; Kagan to recuse from dozens of cases
(CNN.com © 10/04/2010)
Washington (CNN) -- Noisy protests at military funerals, immigration reform and violent video games are among the issues on the Supreme Court's docket as the high court begins its new term Monday. The term also marks the debut of Justice Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court and the first time three women will serve on the nine-justice panel. Roughly 52 appeals are currently on the high court's schedul...

Texas receives $4.9 million in HHS grants
(Deer Park Progress © 10/04/2010)
On the six-month anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius highlighted another important facet of the law with the announcement of nearly $100 million in grants made possible primarily by the new law’s Prevention and Public Health Fund.Of those grants, $4.9 million will go to Texas.Grants being announced today represent proven ...

TAB urges lawmakers to expand Medicaid managed care
(Deer Park Progress © 10/04/2010)
In a letter to state lawmakers and leadership, the Texas Association of Business President and CEO Bill Hammond advocated strongly in favor of an expansion of Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) to help address the state’s budget crisis, while at the same time ensuring a higher quality of health care for the clients of the state and federal taxpayer-funded program.“An estimated $21 billion budgetary short...

Reduce overuse of medical imaging
(Houston Chronicle © 10/04/2010)
It's all over the news, and it's likely affecting your own family's finances. Health care costs are skyrocketing. According to several national studies, a likely contributor to the problem is a significant increase in referrals for advanced diagnostic imaging services such as MRIs, PET scans and CT scans. In fact, diagnostic imaging services have significantly outpaced the rate of growth for hea...

A licensed 'threat to public welfare'
(Houston Chronicle © 10/04/2010)
Cardiologist Dr. John Edward Perry III ran a diverse practice in three cities that attracted hordes of patients and spawned allegations of pill-pushing, naked greed and wrongful deaths.In the Houston Heights, he ran a high-volume clinic where drug bosses ferried poor people to obtain prescriptions for controlled drugs for resale on the black market, medical board records show.In Beaumont, another ...

Returning To The Argument: Can Health Reform Reduce Costs?
(Kaiser Health News © 10/04/2010)
Sep 27, 2010View all previous columns » This column is a collaboration between KHN and The New Republic . Here we are again, having yet another argument about whether health care reform can really reduce costs. The occasion this time is the recent announcement by several insurers of their intention t...

Insurer Jumps Ship, But Is The Health Law To Blame?
(Kaiser Health News © 10/04/2010)
The New York Times: The Principal Financial Group of Iowa will stop selling health insurance plans - which currently cover about 840,000 people who get coverage from employers - as provisions of the health overhaul take effect. "Principal's decision closely tracks moves by other insurers that have indicated in recent weeks that they plan to drop out of certain segments of the market, like the busi...

Report Says Drugmakers Failing To Give Medicaid Adequate Price Data
(Kaiser Health News © 10/04/2010)
Several news outlets report on drug policy issues. The New York Times: "Drug manufacturers often flout a federal law that requires them to provide the government with pricing data needed to calculate discounts on medications prescribed for poor people under Medicaid, federal investigators say in a new report. The information is not submitted at all, is filed late or is incomplete, the ...

Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP)
(Kaiser Health News © 10/04/2010)
Want to find your state's children's health insurance program? Click on a state's marker. The hyperlink takes you to the state's CHIP Web site, which contains information on program requirements and how to enroll. (Graphic: Beth Liu/KHN)...

Medical Loss Ratio Rule Should Encourage Health Care Fraud Fighting
(Kaiser Health News © 10/04/2010)
Oct 04, 2010View all previous columns » Rankings of the nation's best places to live -- those with the best quality of life -- generally count the crime rate as a key factor. It's a calculation that translates to the health care system, too. Just as high crime erodes the quality of a neighborhood, the incidence of health care fraud erodes quality of care for patients. That's w...

Bloomberg Analysis Finds 'Doughnut Hole' Deal To Cost Drugmakers Less Than 1% Of Profits
(Kaiser Health News © 10/04/2010)
News outlets report how closing the Medicare 'Doughnut Hole' affects drugmakers and seniors. Bloomberg: "Drugmakers led by Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. may provide more than $2 billion in drug discounts to senior citizens next year under a deal pharmaceutical companies made with the White House, according to data compiled by Bloomberg." The data came from a rec...

Provenge: Pricey prostate cancer breakthrough
(Minneapolis Star Tribune © 10/04/2010)
After years of controversy and debate, a novel -- and enormously expensive -- treatment for advanced prostate cancer has arrived in Minnesota and is being offered to patients who have few other options. The treatment, called Provenge, triggers the patient's own immune cells into attacking cancer cells. It was approved earlier this year by the Food and Drug Administration after years of delay that...

HHS consumer website adds new features; health law provisions affecting open season
(News-Medical.Net © 10/04/2010)
HealthCare.Gov, the consumer health care insurance website run by the federal government, unveiled a slew of new features this morning. USA Today: Consumers can find "pricing information for 4,400 individual and family health plans offered by more than 225 insurance carriers ... Plan information will be updated monthly, said Todd Park, HHS chief technology officer." Insurance shoppers can find mon...

Characteristics that help dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates
(News-Medical.Net © 10/04/2010)
Characteristics such as patient engagement, physician communication, and staff coordination may help to explain why some dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates than others, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) "The purpose of this study was simple: to figure out what top-performing dialysis units m...

Tea Partiers tepidly lean toward Perry
(Abilene Reporter-News © 10/05/2010)
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry enjoys pounding the podium at Tea Party rallies and rails against Washington. He regales listeners about the 10th Amendment and states’ rights. “If you care about America, if you care about taking this country back, you find you a Tea Party. Get involved,” Perry shouted in April to thousands who gathered in Tyler in East Texas to see him with conservative talk show host...

Edwards says he's the underdog in US House bid
(Amarillo Globe-News © 10/05/2010)
DALLAS — U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards acknowledged to a newspaper editorial board on Monday that he trails in his bid for re-election, but he believes he can win an 11th term in Congress. The Waco Democrat told The Dallas Morning News that he is the underdog against his Republican challenger, Bill Flores, a retired energy executive from Bryan. Edwards said he is unsure if he ...

Report: Health insurance exchanges face implementation hurdles
(Cardiovascular Business © 10/05/2010)
Report: Health insurance exchanges face implementation hurdles FURTHER READING Organization * Medicaid * ...

Advil makers encourage safe medication disposal
(Drug Store News © 10/05/2010)
MADISON, N.J. (Oct. 4) Pfizer Consumer Healthcare on Monday launched a consumer campaign encouraging Americans to clean out their medicine cabinets and properly dispose of unwanted, expired and recalled products. Pfizer also is partnering with Suzy Cohen, author of “The 24-Hour Pharmacist,” to offer essential tips on medicine cabinet safety. “This campaign encourages people to take a few simp...

Texas Pharmacies File RICO Suit Against CVS Caremark
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/05/2010)
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Six independent pharmacies in Texas are suing CVS Caremark for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations and trade secret misappropriation. The complaint also says CVS Caremark contracts requiring patients to buy maintenance medications only from CVS Caremark violate the Texas "Any Willing Provider" law. The suit claims CVS Caremark viol...

UnitedHealthcare in Agreement to Provide Compelling Benefit Plan Options to Principal Financial Group Medical Customers
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/05/2010)
MINNETONKA, Minn. - Sept. 30, 2010 - UnitedHealthcare today announced it has entered into an agreement to renew medical insurance coverage for The Principal Financial Group's (The Principal®) medical plan customers as The Principal completes its plans to exit the medical insurance business. The Principal will continue to offer life insurance, dental, disability, vision and wellness progr...

Nurses' push for greater role gets big ally
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/05/2010)
WASHINGTON — A report released Tuesday may give nurses with advanced degrees a potent weapon in their perennial battle to get the authority to practice without a doctor's oversight. The report, released by the Institute of Medicine and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says nurses should take on a larger and more independent role in providing health care in Ame...

Comparative Effectiveness Research And Medicare
(Health Affairs © 10/05/2010)
Project HOPE New Online Uninsured Children This Article Reprint (PDF) Services Google Scholar PubMed Related Collections Health Reform Legal/Regulatory Issues Medicare Costs & Value TECHWATCH How Medicare Could Use Comparative Effectiveness Research In Deciding On New Coverage And Reimbursement Steven D. Pearson1,* and Peter B. Bach2 1 Steven D. Pearson (spearson}icer-review.org) is president of t...

Smokers get hit with extra fee on health insurance
(Houston KHOU (CBS) 11 © 10/05/2010)
HOUSTON—Some smokers are paying even more for health insurance thanks to a smoking surcharge from employers. An increasing number of companies are docking workers anywhere from $30 to $60  a month, and that includes non-smokers with dependents who light up too. Lya Coulter doesn’t smoke, but agrees that you should pay more for choices that affect your health. “I thi...

Report Calls For More Independent Role For Nurses
(Kaiser Health News © 10/05/2010)
A new report released today may give nurses with advanced degrees a potent weapon in their perennial battle to get the authority to practice without a doctor's oversight. The Institute of Medicine report says nurses should take on a larger and more independent role in providing health care in America, something many doctors have repeatedly opposed, citing potential safety concerns. I...

Accountable Care Organizations Trigger Legal Worries From Health Care Providers And Insurers
(Kaiser Health News © 10/05/2010)
Doctors and hospitals eager to pursue a new model of health care being promoted by the Obama administration are raising concerns that they could run afoul of antitrust and anti-fraud laws, while insurers are warning that the new arrangements could lead to higher prices for medical care.  The differences will be hashed out Tuesday, when hundreds of health care representatives attend a meeting...

Texas begins regulating freestanding ERs
(KTRK 13 News © 10/05/2010)
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston's emergency rooms are taxed. We have seen again and again how busy they are, how they have trouble handling the load. And because of it, over the last few years, hospitals added satellite emergency clinics and freestanding emergency rooms not affiliated with those hospitals popped up throughout southeast Texas. Related Content More: Got a story idea? Let us kno...

Health insurers pour money into GOP campaigns, hoping to limit new regulations
(Los Angeles Times © 10/05/2010)
The insurance industry is pouring money into Republican campaign coffers in hopes of scaling back wide-ranging regulations in the new healthcare law but preserving the mandate that Americans buy coverage. Since January, the nation's five largest insurers and the industry's Washington-based lobbying arm have given three times more money to Republican lawmakers and political action committees t...

Medicaid smoking cessation benefit begins
(Louisville Courier-Journal © 10/05/2010)
FRANKFORT, Ky. ? Kentucky Medicaid recipients are now eligible for nicotine replacement products and drugs to help them quit smoking, Gov. Steve Beshear announced Monday. ?This is a great opportunity for Medicaid recipients to stop smoking or using tobacco,? Beshear said at a news conference in the Capitol. The 2010-12 state budget provides $3 million for the program, which will be ma...

Care Improvement Plus releases 2011 Medicare health plan benefits to improve quality of care
(News-Medical.Net © 10/05/2010)
Care Improvement Plus, operator of one of the largest special needs plans in Texas, is standing by its commitment to serve chronically ill and underserved Medicare beneficiaries with the release of its 2011 Medicare health plan benefits in preparation for the upcoming Medicare annual election period, which begins November 15th. "At a time when there is concern over unpredictable change in healthca...

Comparative effectiveness research panel made up mostly of doctors
(American Medical News © 10/06/2010)
Washington -- Physicians comprise the majority of a new 21-member panel that will guide federal efforts to compare how effective different treatments, devices and drugs are on a particular condition or disease. The nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, created by the national system health reform law, will have at least 11 physicians. Acting U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Do...

U.S. grants health insurance waivers to companies, affecting nearly 1 million workers
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/06/2010)
Thirty companies and organizations, including McDonald's Corp. and the United Federation of Teachers, won't be required to raise the minimum annual benefit included in low-cost health plans covering seasonal, part-time or low-wage employees. The Department of Health and Human Services said it granted waivers in late September so workers with minimum plans could keep coverage without sizable premi...

White promises less partisanship
(Austin KXAN (NBC) 36 © 10/06/2010)
White leads in Facebook followers The Texas Democratic Trust, which just released a report called… Perry primed for 4 more years He’s served 25 years in public office in Austin, including … Perry reports $10M cash in TX gov. race Republican Gov. Rick Perry reported Monday that he has $10 … Edwards said he's underdog in House bid The Waco Democrat told The Dallas M...

Ex-NY gov's group targets NH Dems on health care
(Dallas WFAA (ABC) 8 © 10/06/2010)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — An advocacy group led by former New York Gov. George Pataki has begun running television ads in New Hampshire and New York attacking Democratic supporters of the new health care reform law. Pataki, a Republican who left office in 2006, said last month that Revere America would target about a dozen Democrats around the country. The first three are Rep. Car...

Health care law puts bureaucrats in charge of preventative care decisions
(Deer Park Progress © 10/06/2010)
Americans know best what kind of health care coverage is right for them and their families. They should be able to work with their own trusted physicians to determine the treatments and services that will meet their needs. Unfortunately, the health reform law, which was rushed through Congress and forced on the American public, empowers the government to make decisions that should be left to docto...

High blood sugar levels increase infection risk from general surgery
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 10/06/2010)
By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- High blood sugar levels can increase the risk of surgical site infections in patients having general surgery, researchers report. Doctors have long been aware that people with diabetes are more prone to surgical infections, and the relationship between high blood sugar and increased risk of infection after surgery is wel...

Tylenol use linked to asthma, other allergies in teens
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 10/06/2010)
By Jenifer Goodwin HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Teens from around the world who regularly take acetaminophen, best known as Tylenol, were more than twice as likely to have asthma as teens who never take the over-the-counter pain and fever reducer, new research finds. Taking acetaminophen was also linked to an increased chance of eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis, or allerg...

Budget cuts imperil Texas HIV drug program
(Denton Record-Chronicle © 10/06/2010)
AUSTIN – Unless lawmakers dig deep, Texas may pull back a lifeline that keeps about 15,000 people alive. For Ben Martinez, the drugs he takes each month mount up. He saves the containers to use in talks to students, but they also represent a large financial outlay. He has used two state programs and the federal Medicare program to cover drugs. ">REX C. CURRY/Special ContributorFor Ben Ma...

Media awash in nasty ads from governor candidates
(Denton Record-Chronicle © 10/06/2010)
AUSTIN – From newspapers to radio, from TV to online, the political ad blitz is reaching a feverish pitch in Texas. And, unlike earlier spots filled with smiling faces and courtly comments, the new ones are awash in nasty, finger-pointing charges. PUNCH The latest exchanges began late last week when Rick Perry, the Republican governor running for another term, launched a radio ad and Inte...

Depression, burnout strongly impact medical students
(Drug Topics © 10/06/2010)
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Two studies related to medical student depression and burnout suggest, respectively, that depressed students are more likely to endorse depression stigma attitudes than are nondepressed students, and that students with burnout are more likely than students without burnout to engage in unprofessional conduct, HealthDay News reports. Both studies appear in the Sept. 15 issu...

Survey: Risk acquisition, MLR mandate top health plan pain points
(Healthcare Finance News © 10/06/2010)
TAMPA, FL – Acquiring and retaining the best risk, meeting the 80 percent medical loss ratio and establishing cost-effective distribution channels and working with exchanges are top priorities of executives of health insurance companies, according to a recent survey. Conducted by the Gantry Group for outsourcing company HealthPlan Services, the survey's top three priorities were not surpr...

Many at restaurants say they've worked while sick
(Houston Chronicle © 10/06/2010)
  Two-thirds of 4,323 food servers and preparers in a national survey said they had worked while sick in the past year. The Serving While Sick report was released by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a labor coalition. Nearly nine in 10 workers said they lacked paid sick days. More than six in 10 said they had no health insurance. The National Restaurant Association took issue with the...

Doctors seek to promote concern and equality for gays
(Indianapolis Star © 10/06/2010)
Asher Brown, 13, Texas; Seth Walsh, 13, California; Billy Lucas, 15, Indiana; Tyler Clementi, 19, Rutgers University: Four more recent teen suicides and victims of bullying: victims of a heterosexist society that creates and condones institutionalized stigma; victims of federal and state statutes that serve to demean and devalue members of the LGBT community creating a climate of second-class citi...

Bernanke: Aging, Health Costs Challenge U.S. Future
(Kaiser Health News © 10/06/2010)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke issued a new warning Monday about aging and health care costs. "'An improving economy should reduce near-term deficits, but our public finances are, nevertheless, on an unsustainable path in the longer term, reflecting in large part our aging population and the continual rise in health-care costs,' Bernanke said in a half-hour speech" at a meeting of ...

Health Reform Facing Early Legal Tests
(Kaiser Health News © 10/06/2010)
Matt Sissel of Iowa City, Iowa, proudly served in Iraq as a combat medic. But he says he objects to being "conscripted" into an overhauled federal health care system. The uninsured artist is riled about a provision in the new health law that would require him to purchase insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014. Last July, he filed a lawsuit to have the landmark act declared unconstituti...

Democrats Gain In Polling, But Health Care Helps GOP Hold 'Enthusiasm' Edge
(Kaiser Health News © 10/06/2010)
Democrats are gaining ground in campaign polling, but Republicans still hold a lead, buoyed in part by their stance on health care as the November midterm elections near. The Washington Post: "Less than a month before the midterm elections, the political landscape remains strongly tilted toward Republicans, although Democrats have made modest improvements with voters since their late-summer low po...

Ohio Study Finds 13% Of Parents With Insurance Skip Treatment For Kids Because Of Cost
(Kaiser Health News © 10/06/2010)
HealthDay/Bloomberg Businessweek: "About 13 percent of parents with health insurance say they haven't gotten pediatrician-recommended care for their children due to costs, a new survey in Ohio finds. Parents of kids covered by private health insurance were more likely than those with public health insurance such as Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program to report forgoing care s...

AHIP Statement on Meaningful Use Regulations
(AHIP Wire © 10/07/2010)
Ignagni: "Broad adoption and meaningful use of health information technology by providers is essential to creating an efficient, high-performing 21st-century health care system." America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) President and CEO Karen Ignagni today released the following statement on the new meaning use regulations released by the Department of Health and Human Services: ...

Patrick ad slams Baker record at insurer; rival hits taxes
(Boston Globe © 10/07/2010)
Two familiar bogeymen of the governor’s race — health insurance premiums and taxes — reared their heads again yesterday, as Governor Deval Patrick launched a new television ad attacking his Republican rival, Charles D. Baker, for raising premiums at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and as Baker accused Patrick of plotting new tax increases in a second term. In the 30-second commerci...

RI Grand jury indicts former Beacon Mutual CEO
(Boston Globe © 10/07/2010)
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The former chief executive of Rhode Island's dominant workers' compensation insurer says his indictment on larceny charges is unjustified. Joseph Solomon said in a statement late Wednesday that his indictement on charges that he stole from Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. is "politically motivated." He said the indictment is "a desperate attempt to cover up Gov. (Don) Carcieri'...

ACOs are here: Cardiology practices must act, not react
(Cardiovascular Business © 10/07/2010)
ACOs are here: Cardiology practices must act, not react FURTHER READING Company * MedAxiom ...

NCPA to CMS: Medicaid reimbursements should adhere to healthcare-reform law provisions
(Drug Store News © 10/07/2010)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Oct. 6) The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to follow guidance that Congress included in the healthcare-reform law in its implementation of a new Medicaid generic drug reimbursement formula based on average manufacturer price, the organization said Tuesday. CMS recently withdrew provisions that would have dra...

Neighborhoods can have depressing effect on health, according to Iowa State study
(E-Science News © 10/07/2010)
The nation's poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent -- the highest level since 1994 -- according to the Census Bureau's annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. That means one in seven Americans now live in poverty, and that may have an especially depressing effect on people living in bad neighborhoods, according to two Iowa State University researchers. Daniel Russell, an Iowa S...

Americans life expectancy continues to fall behind other countries
(E-Science News © 10/07/2010)
The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance—obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide—are not to blame, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published today as a Health Affairs Web First. The study, by Peter Muennig and Sherry Glied at Columbia University, looked at healt...

University of Utah Health Care Ranks No. 1 in Prestigious National Quality and Accountability Assessment
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/07/2010)
Focused Effort on Key Patient Safety and Quality Measures Helps Catapult the Intermountain West’s Only Academic Medical System to the Top Spot in National Ranking SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- University of Utah Health Care has achieved the No. 1 ranking in University HealthSystem Consortium’s 2010 Quality and Accountability Study. The annual study compares 98 of the nation’s top academic me...

WellPoint tools to help business owners understand health reform
(Healthcare Finance News © 10/07/2010)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – In an effort to increase understanding of the tax and grandfathering provisions of healthcare reform, WellPoint has launched two new online tools to help business owners understand the implications of these provisions with their current health plan. The interactive grandfathering tool is designed to help businesses better understand what grandfathering means, if they qua...

Dave Jones for insurance commissioner
(Los Angeles Times © 10/07/2010)
The race for the office of insurance commissioner pits Assemblyman Dave Jones (D- Sacramento), a prolific legislator who has clashed often with insurers, against Assemblyman Mike Villines (R-Clovis), a former GOP leader who positions himself as a more conciliatory force. Just as important as the contrast in styles, though, is the difference in their expertise. Jones, who's been chairman of the Ass...

Build stronger bones: It's never too early to fight osteoporosis
(Louisville Courier-Journal © 10/07/2010)
The next time you're assembling a things-to-do list, don't forget to include this: maintaining your bone health. Experts say you shouldn't wait until you're a senior citizen to start caring about protecting your skeleton. ?The whole idea of bone density is something we assume is only for older people to worry about,? said Michelle Miller, an exercise physiologist with the Indiana Univ...

Former Weslaco mayor joins suit of CVS
(McAllen Monitor © 10/07/2010)
WESLACO — Former Weslaco Mayor Buddy de la Rosa’s drugstore is among six Texas pharmacies that are suing CVS Caremark for racketeering and misusing trade secrets. The complaint filed Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court in Victoria alleges that CVS Caremark violates a “firewall” required by the Federal Trade Commission that was created when the drugstore chain merged with th...

Abbott Receives FDA Market Clearance For Next-Generation Contact Lens Disinfecting Solution
(Medcompare © 10/07/2010)
9/29/2010 8:01:00 AM Source: Abbott ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abbott has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) market clearance for RevitaLens Ocutec, a unique next-generation multi-purpose disinfecting solution for silicone hydrogel and conventional soft contact lenses. RevitaLens Ocutec Multi-purpose Disinfecting Solution delivers high-quality disinfect...

Scott & White Breast Cancer Program Receives Accreditation
(Medical News Today © 10/07/2010)
The Scott & White Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Clinic program has earned a three-year Full Accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. "At Scott & White breast cancer is managed by a team, and the combined skills of the members result in excellent care," said Christopher O. Ruud, M.D., dire...

Reducing Deaths Due To Prescription Opioid Overdose
(Medical News Today © 10/07/2010)
A $250,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will support a Rhode Island Hospital research study aimed at reducing the state's leading cause of accidental death among adults. Researchers will explore the use and effectiveness of statewide prescription monitoring programs (PMP) in reducing the number of accidental overdose deaths involving prescription opioids like Oxy...

Misrepresentation of government-run health care
(Chicago Tribune © 10/08/2010)
As we head into the November elections, I note that, once again and as usual, the GOP has trotted out their hatred for "government run health care." Would someone please inform them of one simple, indisputable fact: The only "government run health care" in our nation is that which is provided to our veterans at VA hospitals and facilities, or active duty personnel on military bases and aboard...

Pfizer recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor for odor
(CNN.com © 10/08/2010)
Pfizer has announced it recalled seven lots of its blockbuster cholesterol fighting drug Lipitor in August.  The recall,  in the U.S. and Canada, was due to reports of an "uncharacteristic odor related to the bottles in which the product is packaged," the company said in a statement. A total of 191,000 bottles of Lipitor were recalled, according to Rick Chambers, a Pfizer spokesman, wh...

NY officials: Take soda out of food stamp program
(CNN.com © 10/08/2010)
Take sugary drinks and soda out of items eligible for purchase through food stamps, New York officials said Thursday. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to exclude sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas and sports drinks from food stamp eligibility, because of their effects on obesity.  Under the New York proposal, city food ...

Health-care workers again urged to get flu shots
(Columbus Dispatch © 10/08/2010)
In years past, about six in 10 health-care workers nationwide would skip the annual flu shot, even as public-health experts preached its importance. Last year, because of the H1N1 flu scare, those numbers were reversed - 60 percent of health-care workers nationwide were vaccinated, according to preliminary data. National health leaders want to build on that interest by telling health-care work...

GOP lawmaker finds lack of consumer complaints about federal health law 'very surprising'
(Dallas Morning News © 10/08/2010)
During a Texas House committee hearing today, Rep. Susan King found herself stopped by the last page in the state insurance commissioner's written testimony. Commissioner Mike Geeslin, who'd been talking about the federal health care overhaul, concluded with a bullet point saying there'd been no complaints to his department's consumer services unit about the federal law. "There's not been a sing...

Parkland Memorial Hospital and its clinics could treat more patients, but lose existing funds
(Dallas Morning News © 10/08/2010)
Parkland Memorial Hospital and its clinics could treat more patients, but lose existing funds 10:50 PM CDT on Thursday, October 7, 2010 By ROBERT T. GARRETT / Austin Bureau rgarrett@dallasnews.com AUSTIN – Parkland Memorial Hospital and its 11 neighborhood clinics could treat more patients but lose existing funds under the federal health care overhaul and seve...

Foes of health care law lose key court ruling
(Denison KTEN (NBC) 10 © 10/08/2010)
DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday upheld the authority of the federal government to require everyone to have health insurance, dealing a setback to groups seeking to block the new national health care plan. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed in Michigan by a Christian legal group and four people who claimed lawmakers exceeded their power under the Constitution's co...

Walgreens collaborates with two groups to drive flu prevention, boost awareness
(Drug Store News © 10/08/2010)
DEERFIELD, Ill. (Oct. 7) Underscoring its determination to be the nation’s premier source of flu immunization services, Walgreens on Thursday revealed it is working with the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to educate the public and health professionals about flu prevention resources. In addition, Walgreens has joined with Families Fighting Flu, a nonprofit organization of families...

CMS to Get Tough on Drugmakers Who Fail to Submit Pricing Data
(Drug Topics © 10/08/2010)
Drugmakers who submit incomplete quarterly and monthly pricing data could face monetary penalties or be terminated from the drug rebate program by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), the agency says in response to a report chastising it for failing to take action against noncompliant drugmakers. The report, by the HHS Office of Inspector General, says that of the 592 manufacturers ...

Grants to help people in NM with health options
(El Paso Inc © 10/08/2010)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- Two federal grants will help New Mexico senior citizens and people with disabilities navigate through their options for health care and long-term care. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced the grants for more than $871,000 to New Mexico's Aging and Long-Term Services Department. State Aging and Long-Term Services Secretary Michael Spanier says the grants w...

UnitedHealthcare and The DAISY Foundation Presented the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to Three Nurses at UC San Die
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/08/2010)
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UnitedHealthcare and The DAISY Foundation presented the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to three nurses at UC San Diego Health System in San Diego. Jennifer Ballard, RN, UC San Diego Health System, receives DAISY award from Dave Anderson, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of Southern California. DAISY award winners Mary Ozaki and Anne Powers, and DAISY Foundation co-foun...

Sifting through the mountains of health insurance plans
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/08/2010)
When my husband started his own company about eight years ago, my first thought was about losing our family's group health insurance.At the time, few resources were available to find individual health policies, much less price them, and I turned to our home and auto insurance agent for advice. I applied to just one company, having no idea whether its pricing and coverage was good compared with oth...

Federal Judge Upholds Key Provisions of Health Care Law
(Fox News © 10/08/2010)
Sept. 22: President Obama, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, arrives in the backyard of a private residence in Falls Church, Va. DETROIT -- A federal judge on Thursday upheld the authority of the federal government to require everyone to have health insurance, dealing a setback to groups seeking to block the new national health care plan. ...

Most Doctors Plan to Get Flu Shots, Survey Finds
(Fox News © 10/08/2010)
Almost all U.S. doctors in a survey released on Thursday said they plan to get vaccinated against flu this season, a finding that heartened disease experts frustrated by low vaccination rates. "Now we need to get other health care professionals to move in this same direction," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and president of the National Foundation for Infectious ...

Johnson & Johnson Asks Judge to Toss Kickback Case
(Fox News © 10/08/2010)
BOSTON –  Johnson & Johnson on Thursday asked a federal judge to dismiss a complaint accusing the health care giant of paying millions in kickbacks so nursing homes would put more patients on its popular schizophrenia medication and other drugs. The government and two whistleblowers allege J&J paid kickbacks for five years to long-term care pharmacy Omnicare Inc., whose pharmac...

Study Says Poverty Finding Its Way To The Suburbs
(Ft. Worth KTVT (CBS) 11 © 10/08/2010)
Reporting Marianne Martinez LEWISVILLE (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ? Click to enlarge1 of 1 A single-family home in the suburbs. AP ...

Former Weslaco mayor joins suit of CVS
(Harlingen Valley Morning Star © 10/08/2010)
WESLACO — Former Weslaco Mayor Buddy de la Rosa’s drugstore is among six Texas pharmacies that are suing CVS Caremark for racketeering and misusing trade secrets. The complaint filed Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court in Victoria alleges that CVS Caremark violates a “firewall” required by the Federal Trade Commission that was created when the drugstore chain merged with the ...

Health insurers adopt programs to cut hospitalizations, costs
(Health Leaders © 10/08/2010)
Health insurer Aetna Inc. (AET) is developing plans to pay a major San Diego medical group enhanced fees for providing extra services to keep patients healthier, and to share any resulting cost savings. With a similar cost-saving goal, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) has started to base payments to its network providers partly on cost and quality measures, and Cigna Corp. (CI) guarantees corporate c...

IHA names Californias top P4P physician groups
(Healthcare Finance News © 10/08/2010)
OAKLAND – The Integrated Healthcare Association, a statewide-based leadership group that promotes quality improvement, accountability and affordability of healthcare in California, has named its top 45 performing physician organizations for 2009, based on the IHA statewide Pay for Performance program measures. The IHA also presented awards to the physician organization within each P4P regi...

Mother whose son died from swine flu wants you to get a shot in memoriam
(Houston KHOU (CBS) 11 © 10/08/2010)
HOUSTON -- A Houston mother is on a mission to make sure people get a flu shot after her son died last year from the H1N1 virus, which is also known as Swine Flu.   “It was a terrible tragedy. It could have been prevented had there been vaccine,” said Elaine Plotkin.   Her son, Raymon Plotkin, was a freshman at the University of New Mexico. He was studying to beco...

AHIP Submits Comments on Health Insurance Exchanges and Medical Device Clearance Processes
(AHIP Wire © 10/11/2010)
AHIP Submits Comments to HHS on Health Insurance Exchanges AHIP submitted comments this week to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), addressing the Department’s request for comments on issues surrounding the development of Health Insurance Exchanges. AHIP’s submission to HHS on Health Insurance Exchanges consists of a cover letter that highlights our key recommendations and an at...

Many physicians see Medicaid pay cut as enrollment rises
(American Medical News © 10/11/2010)
Washington -- Twenty states cut Medicaid physician pay in fiscal year 2010 -- the most since 21 states did so in fiscal 2004 -- as states struggled to cope with strong Medicaid enrollment growth, according to an annual survey of state Medicaid programs. Meanwhile, 11 states, six of which also cut pay in 2010, and the District of Columbia have enacted physician pay cuts for fiscal 2011, which in...

Organized medicine stands up against Medicare pay cuts
(American Medical News © 10/11/2010)
Washington -- Preventing a 23% Medicare physician payment cut is one of several major tasks Congress faces when members return Nov. 15. The American Medical Association and dozens of other medical societies are reminding lawmakers that stopping the reduction before it takes effect on Dec. 1 is crucial to keeping Medicare sustainable. The AMA, 65 national medical societies and 24 state societies...

Physician shortage projected to soar to more than 91,000 in a decade
(American Medical News © 10/11/2010)
Nationwide physician shortages are expected to balloon to 62,900 doctors in five years and 91,500 by 2020, according to new Assn. of American Medical Colleges work force projections. That's up more than 50% from previous estimates. AAMC officials attribute the widening gap to increased demands from the aging baby boomer generation and expansion of coverage by 2019 to 32 million uninsured Ameri...

What editorial writers are saying about GOP's pledge on health care
(American Medical News © 10/11/2010)
The document, unveiled on Sept. 23, when several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act took effect, is a template for what Republicans promise to do if they win control of Congress in November's midterm elections. Even before the "Pledge," the GOP spoke of wanting to overturn health reform if they gained control. Repeal reform? Then what? The pledge to repeal the Patient Pro...

E-prescribing growing in popularity across the country
(American Medical News © 10/11/2010)
The latest audit of electronic prescribing activity in all 50 states reports that one of every three physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the United State is e-prescribing. At the fifth annual Safe-Rx Awards in September, held for the first time at the U.S. Capitol, Surescripts, the nation's largest e-prescribing network, announced that Massachusetts ranked first for e-pre...

Feds deny Texas money for Hermine disaster relief
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/11/2010)
Published: 10:24 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010 Officials from Gov. Rick Perry's office said Sunday that they are disappointed by the denial of federal aid to help the state recover from the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Hermine, adding that they might appeal the decision or seek other federal loans. The Obama administration on Friday denied Perry's request for a major di...

Social Security benefit boost not likely in 2011
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/11/2010)
It would be only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. The first was this year. "If you're the ruling party, this is not the sort of thing you want to have happening two weeks before an election," said Andrew Biggs, a former deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration and now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise ...

Health Affairs: HHS needs to overhaul comparative-effectiveness approach
(Cardiovascular Business © 10/11/2010)
Health Affairs: HHS needs to overhaul comparative-effectiveness approach FURTHER READING Organization * Department of Health and Human Services ...

Omnicare undergoing top-down makeover
(Cincinnati Enquirer © 10/11/2010)
This story first appeared in The Sunday Enquirer, Oct. 10, 2010. COVINGTON - Omnicare Inc. may be the nation's largest provider of pharmaceutical care for the elderly, but it's operated for nearly three decades with few of the internal administrative and financial controls typical of nearly every other Fortune 500 firm. Correcting those lapses is the first challenge confronting n...

Under Obama, FDA spurred into regulatory 'activism'
(Cleveland Plain Dealer © 10/11/2010)
  Andrew Zajac  Tweet 0 Comments Washington -- Within a recent two-week span, the Food and Drug Administration weighed in on the controversial issue of genetically engineered salmon, announced tighter controls on a popular anti-diabetes drug, and rebuked the makers of popular mouthwash products over misleadi...

High-risk insurance pool accepts patients with pre-existing conditions
(Detroit Free Press © 10/11/2010)
Deri Mick is left to wonder whether the health insurance he just got through Michigan's new program for the hard-to-insure came in time to help. Mick, 46, of Swartz Creek was set to have kidney cancer surgery last week at the University of Michigan. But tests found more cancer than expected. He awaits further tests and possibly chemotherapy. Through Michigan's new high-risk insurance pool, Mick,...

Barton faces two opponents in House re-election bid
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/11/2010)
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton wants to be part of the revolution: trying to lower taxes, spending and invigorate the economy.That's why Barton, R-Arlington, said he wants to serve a 14th term in office -- that and to try to regain his post as head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee if his party returns to power."Now, more than ever, we need strong conservatives to cut spending and keep taxes low an...

The Insurance Straw Man
(Kaiser Health News © 10/11/2010)
Oct 11, 2010View all previous columns » Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has taken exception to a Wall Street Journal editorial that attacked her recent actions as secretary. According to Secretary Sebelius, the Journal's criticism of her was really just one move in a larger effort orchestrated by the insurance industry to slow down her efforts to implement the ...

Health Insurance: Coverage Expands For Children, Young Adults; Not Necessarily For Retirees
(Kaiser Health News © 10/11/2010)
News outlets covered a number of health insurance issues this weekend. The Wall Street Journal: "Glenn Franco, a retired community-college instructor in Michigan, tried to get his 24-year-old daughter on his health plan—and was turned away.  ... Many large employers are telling retirees the same thing. They include Alcatel-Lucent and Verizon Communications Inc., as well as state and fe...

Minn. medical groups resist as Pawlenty shuts out Obama health plan
(News-Medical.Net © 10/11/2010)
Minnesota medical groups have asked federal officials to review their comments and those of state officials about the health overhaul's implementation directly after Gov. Tim Pawlenty refused to send the suggestions on behalf of the state, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The groups include associations representing the state's health plans, hospitals and doctors. In their letter to Washingto...

Aetna, other insurers develop plans to help cut costs
(News-Medical.Net © 10/11/2010)
: "Health insurer Aetna Inc. (AET) is developing plans to pay a major San Diego medical group enhanced fees for providing extra services to keep patients healthier, and to share any resulting cost savings. With a similar cost-saving goal, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) has started to base payments to its network providers partly on cost and quality measures, and Cigna Corp. (CI) guarantees corporat...

Feingold Takes Risk on Health Care
(The Wall Street Journal © 10/11/2010)
FORT ATKINSON, Wis.—Trailing in the polls and facing an irate electorate, Sen. Russ Feingold has begun to campaign on an issue that has swamped fellow Democratic incumbents nationwide: his vote for President Barack Obama's health overhaul. View Full ImageAssociated Press Sen. Feingold, right, with challenger Ron Johnson before Friday's debate. Despite polls showing that voters remain skeptic...

Gillibrand Not Sweet On Sugary Drinks Plan
(The Wall Street Journal © 10/11/2010)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a longtime advocate for policies that encourage better eating habits, is not jumping on board the effort by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson to bar low-income people in New York City from using food stamps to purchase soda and other sugary drinks. Asked in an interview whether she thought the proposal was a good one, the senator said: "I think giving parent...

The health-insurance mandate is found to be legally sound
(Washington Post © 10/11/2010)
THURSDAY'S RULING by a federal judge in Michigan upholding the constitutionality of the individual mandate to buy health insurance was just the first word on a subject almost certain to end up at the Supreme Court. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative public interest group that claimed that Congress overstepped its authority by requiring individuals, beg...

Perry, White take on Texas economy
(Abilene Reporter-News © 10/10/2010)
Boosted by oil prices and stabilized by its diversity of industries, the Texas economy hummed along in 2008 while the country slipped into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Even when the recession finally reached into Texas, the state’s economy continued to weather the economic turmoil, performing better than most of the country. The unemployment rate for the past year, for ...

Tech Beat: Surgeons, patients may soon benefit from 3D technology
(Austin News 8 © 10/10/2010)
If you were having surgery, would you rather have the doctor in the operating room do the whole procedure with one eye closed or both eyes open? Developers of medical technology at Viking Systems Inc. insist that surgeons who do procedures via tiny cameras inserted into patients' bodies are only using 2D vision because of the lack of depth perception. Officials with Viking Systems Inc. said the...

Study: Americans down on government but support its programs
(Cleveland Plain Dealer © 10/10/2010)
Tweet 1 Comments By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz WASHINGTON -- If there is an overarching theme of election 2010, it is the question of how big the government should be and how far it should reach into people's lives. Americans have a more negative view of government today than they did a decade ago, or even a few years ago. Most say it focuses...

Agencies to send back H1N1 money
(Columbus Dispatch © 10/10/2010)
Millions of federal dollars earmarked to fight the H1N1 flu pandemic are heading back to the Ohio Department of Health because many local health departments weren't able to use all they received. Departments have until the end of the month to send back unused money, which in some cases amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The money then will be redistributed to help prepare for another p...

Guidelines on insurance premiums take shape
(Columbus Dispatch © 10/10/2010)
WASHINGTON — At first blush, the mandate in the new health-care law sounds simple: Starting next year, health insurers must use at least 80?percent of the premium dollars they collect to pay medical bills or otherwise improve their customers’ health. But deciding which expenses insurers can include has been proving a monumental and controversial task for the National Association ...

How much will home-based care cost?
(Detroit Free Press © 10/10/2010)
If you need home-based care, chances are you will have to pay for it yourself, but many find it cheaper than nursing homes: • Medicare covers services only if a person is home-bound and a doctor has recommended skilled nursing care or physical, speech-language or occupational therapy at home. • Medicaid and some veterans benefits will cover home care, but like Medicare only in certain ...

2 Arlington-area Democratic incumbents are facing serious challenges from Republicans
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/10/2010)
Texas Republicans have the Arlington area in their crosshairs this election season.Former state Rep. Bill Zedler is trying to get his old job back representing District 96, which includes south Arlington, west Mansfield and part of south Fort Worth. Democrat Chris Turner beat Zedler in 2008.In District 93, Arlington Democrat Paula Pierson is defending her seat against former Arlington Councilwoman...

New breast cancer treatment takes 5 days
(Galveston Daily News © 10/10/2010)
After Heather Linhart, of League City, discovered she was battling a third bout of early stage breast cancer, she began a blitzkrieg of Internet research and phone calls. She knew she faced a lumpectomy but was looking for the next step ? radiation therapy ? that might keep the cancer from recurring. The Web water cooler talked of a new, five-day treatment. Linhart called MD Anderson Regional Ca...

Midterm campaign's biggest spenders
(Houston Chronicle © 10/10/2010)
WASHINGTON — In California, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has been a one-woman economic stimulus package, reportedly pumping more than $140 million of her own personal fortune into a campaign to win a governor's job that pays $212,179 a year. In Florida, health care executive Rick Scotthas goosed his state's struggling economy with a $50 million infusion from his own run for governo...

For David Dewhurst
(Houston Chronicle © 10/10/2010)
Facde with an eye-popping state budget deficit, the 82nd Texas Legislature convening next January figures to be no picnic. Much of the heavy lifting in the 140-day regular session will be done in the office often described as the most powerful in Texas government — that of the lieutenant governor. We believe the Republican incumbent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, is the candidate best equipped ...

Reid-Angle race gets even uglier
(Los Angeles Times © 10/10/2010)
The increasingly contentious Nevada Senate race between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his ultra-conservative Republican opponent, Sharron Angle, took an ugly turn last week when the candidates accused each other of going easy on child molesters — and campaigning isn't expected to get any more pleasant between now and election day. "It's not much fun to live through," said political ...

7 statewide offices are in play in addition to the governor's race
(Los Angeles Times © 10/10/2010)
Voter attention invariably gravitates toward the top of the ticket and the glamorous job of governor — the heated battle between Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown in which the winner will be charged with steering California's ship of the state for the next four years. But who will be the crew at the captain's side? The winners of the other seven statewide offices will also hol...

Mentally ill often face long delays in jail awaiting treatment
(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 10/10/2010)
Woman controls mental illness to sit on trial nearly a decade after arrest AVALANCHE-JOURNAL AVALANCHE-JOURNAL   The Avalanche-Journal used pseudonyms for the case studies in this series. The woman in this story will be referred to as “Grace.”   Grace was arrested in 2002. She was released on bond two weeks ago. Her case has yet to go to trial. Grace suffers from multiple mental...

Genetic testing for breast cancer
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution © 10/12/2010)
When Carolyn Stearns was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer, she and her health care team wanted to know why. As her surgical oncologist, I encouraged her to take a genetic test, which showed us that she had a genetic predisposition for cancer. Based on this test, we set a specific and personalized course of treatment for her, and she is doing well. Her daughter, Ashley, also took the test...

Watson, Ogden, Hegar earn re-election
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/12/2010)
The American-Statesman is endorsing for re-election two state senators who have amassed long records of distinguished public service and a young senator who seems en route to doing so. In Senate races with Central Texas ties, we are backing Sens. Kirk Watson, D-Austin; Steve Ogden, R-Bryan; and Glenn Hegar, R-Katy. Watson, a past Austin mayor and possible future candidate for higher office, was ...

Conn. governor candidates spar over health policy
(Boston Globe © 10/12/2010)
HARTFORD, Conn.—Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Malloy has launched new salvos against Republican rival Tom Foley, saying Foley's health care plan would allow insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions and avoid mandated coverage for cancer screenings. Foley strongly denied the claims Monday, saying Malloy was "completely making ... stuff up." He also issued ...

Fort Worth man put on list for face transplant
(Dallas Morning News © 10/12/2010)
Fort Worth man put on list for face transplant 12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News sjacobson@dallasnews.com Dallas Wiens needed a new face, but the odds weren't in his favor. Dallas Wiens, with his daughter Scarlette, 3, was blinded and his facial features were burned off in a high-voltage electrical accident in 2008. ">MONA REEDER/D...

End-of-life care patterns shift for patients with heart failure in both US and Canada
(E-Science News © 10/12/2010)
Health care in the last six months of life has become progressively more expensive for patients with heart failure both among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States and older adults in Canada, with a high rate of hospitalizations in the final six months of life in both countries, according to two reports posted online today that will be published in the February 14 print issue of Archives of ...

WellCare Announces Leadership Team Appointments
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/12/2010)
Jesse Thomas Appointed President, South Division; Lawrence D. Anderson Appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) today announced that effective October 18, 2010, Jesse Thomas will join WellCare as president, South Division. In addition, Lawrence D. Anderson has been named senior vice president and chie...

Medicaid Plans Accelerate Decline in Core Administrative Costs
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/12/2010)
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Core administrative expenses of Medicaid plans fell by 5.2% per member per month (PMPM) in 2009 versus a decline of 1.4% in 2008. After eliminating the effects of changes in product mix, PMPM costs declined by 5.8% in 2009 versus 2.7% in 2008. Declines in Account and Membership Administration costs were chiefly responsible for the overall declines. For the univers...

Highmark Inc. honored for innovative program that helps consumers live healthier lives
(Fierce HealthIT © 10/12/2010)
Oct. 7, 2010 | Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), in collaboration with the Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy, has recognized Highmark for its innovative and successful approach to improving access to high quality, safe and affordable health care for consumers. Highmark was awarded a Best of Blue Clinical Distinction Award for QualityBLU...

Long-term care scarce for uninsured patients
(Houston KHOU (CBS) 11 © 10/12/2010)
HOUSTON – At just 4 years old, Tamia Gordon doesn’t really understand what her dad and other family members are going through. On the last day of July, Tamia’s dad, Derrick, was riding his motorcycle in north Harris County when a car struck him and drove off. Kenneth Furch was riding in the next lane at the time. "Actually, to be quite honest with you, I thought he was de...

Arizona Struggles With Severe Medicaid Cuts; Medicaid Fraud Task Force Targets Abuse In Iowa
(Kaiser Health News © 10/12/2010)
Phoenix Business Journal: "Doctors and health advocates are up in arms over significant cuts to Arizona's Medicaid program to save $27 million, but the worst is yet to come: A $1 billion budget shortfall is expected next year. A federal matching program that would give the state Medicaid program about $1 billion expires in July 2011, which means Arizona will need to make up that loss, said Jennife...

Physician Shortage Expected To Balloon To 91,500 in 2020
(Kaiser Health News © 10/12/2010)
News outlets report on workforce issues, including the doctor shortage, Medicaid pay cuts and the effects of long work hours on medical residents. "Nationwide physician shortages are expected to balloon to 62,900 doctors in five years and 91,500 by 2020, according to new Assn. of American Medical Colleges work force projections," American Medical News reports. "That's up more than 50% from previ...

Health Premiums Climb
(Kaiser Health News © 10/12/2010)
Buffalo (N.Y.) News: "Two of the region's three dominant health insurers intend to raise premiums on average by double digits for next year, and the third wants a double-digit increase for plans not structured as health maintenance organizations. The premium for one insurance plan could rise almost 36 percent. The insurers cite rising costs of medical care and federal health care reforms." The inc...

Microsoft To Shift Part Of Health Care Costs To Workers
(Kaiser Health News © 10/12/2010)
Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal: "Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world's largest software company, said on Friday it will trim its generous healthcare benefits for employees starting in 2013 because of rising coverage costs. In a staff meeting, the Redmond, Wash. company told employees they will be required to contribute some portion of their annual healthcare insurance premiums, although...

Briefing on Improving Care and Reducing Costs for Medicare Beneficiaries in Nursing Homes
(Kaiser Health News © 10/12/2010)
October 12, 2010 Barbara Jordan Conference Center, 1330 G Street, NW - Washington, DC Sponsoring Organization: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Event starts: 9:00am October 12, 2010 Event ends: 11:15am October 12, 2010 The briefing will examine how Medicare serves beneficiaries living in nu...

Missouri’s low vaccination rate leaves children vulnerable, experts say
(Kansas City Star © 10/12/2010)
Missouri has fallen woefully behind the rest of the nation in vaccinating preschool children, which health experts say leaves the state’s children vulnerable to a resurgence of infectious diseases. Just 56.2 percent of Missouri children 19 to 35 months old received all their recommended shots last year, according to new survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tha...

U.S., California probe Prime Healthcare
(Los Angeles Times © 10/12/2010)
A Southern California hospital chain known for aggressive billing practices and cost-cutting is being investigated by state and federal authorities for an unusually high rate of life-threatening infections among its older patients. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the state Department of Justice are looking into whether a reported surge in septicemia infections at hospitals op...

Bariatric Surgery Gains Popularity Among Adolescents
(American Academy of Pediatrics © 10/13/2010)
Below are releases on studies appearing in the October issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Study Finds Possible Link Between Adenovirus 36 and Child Obesity A new study found a possible link between adenovirus 36 and obesity in children. In a??Adenovirus 36 and Obesity in Children and Adolescents,a?? published in the October 2010 ...

Texas to consider new post-concussion play rule
(Beaumont Enterprise © 10/13/2010)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The governing body for Texas public high school sports is considering new rules for evaluating concussions that would not let athletes return to competition the same day they were injured. The changes proposed by a medical panel for the University Interscholastic League would end current rules that allow athletes ...

Pfizer To Acquire King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Biocompare © 10/13/2010)
NEW YORK and BRISTOL, Tenn., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pfizer Inc. and King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire King, a diversified specialty pharmaceutical discovery and clinical development company, for $3.6 billion in cash, or $14.25 per share, which represents a premium ...

One step to trim health costs
(Boston Globe © 10/13/2010)
THE LEGISLATURE has just punted on a chance to hold down one factor in the health cost spiral — the exorbitant fees charged by ambulance companies. Now it is Governor Patrick’s turn to prove his mettle on the issue by vetoing an amendment to the $420 million spending bill on Beacon Hill. The amendment deprives insurance companies of the ability to drive hard bargains with ambulance co...

UMass hospitals will cut 350 jobs
(Boston Globe © 10/13/2010)
Strained by flat patient volume and pressure from health insurers, UMass Memorial Health Care, which runs five hospitals, said yesterday it will eliminate about 350 jobs or nearly 2.6 percent of its workforce — the largest hospital cutback in Massachusetts this year. The health care system, which operates the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and four community hospitals in Central...

Suit alleges tracking chip caused cancer in cat
(Boston Globe © 10/13/2010)
A woman in Cambridge is suing two companies that make implantable radio tracking chips for pets, claiming that her cat developed cancer after receiving one of the implants. Andrea Rutherford filed her lawsuit in Cambridge District Court earlier this month, naming Merck & Co. of New Jersey, distributor of the HomeAgain pet-tracking product, and Digital Angel Inc., the Minnesota company that ma...

Actavis gets FDA approval for generic Cozaar
(Drug Store News © 10/13/2010)
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Oct. 12) Actavis has received regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its high blood pressure drug. The drug maker said its losartan potassium tablets, USP, will be available in 25-mg, 50-mg and 100-mg strengths. The drug is a generic version of Merck's Cozaar. Losartan potassium tablets, USP, had sales of approximately $940 million for t...

A Hole In The Safety Net: Texas Medicaid Cuts Threaten Services For Disabled
(Kaiser Health News © 10/13/2010)
Barbara Cullison waited eight years and eight months to get community-based care for her profoundly autistic daughter Audrey through a popular Medicaid waiver program designed to keep people with disabilities out of institutions. Now, Audrey and thousands of other Texans with disabilities fear losing their services because of budget cuts demanded of state agencies. Advocates say the Texas D...

Hospitals Lure Doctors Away From Private Practice
(Kaiser Health News © 10/13/2010)
Dr. Alden Parsons, a thoracic surgeon, listens to Julia Neal's breathing at her office in Raleigh, N.C. After she completed her 15 years of medical training, Parsons decided to skip private practice and instead accepted a position at Rex Healthcare, a local hospital system. (Jenny Gold) Raleigh, N.C. -- Dr. Alden Parsons, a thoracic surgeon, had just finished fifteen years of medical train...

Study: Overtesting in late-stage cancer patients
(Las Vegas Review Journal © 10/13/2010)
CHICAGO (AP) -- If you knew you had one year to live, would you have medical tests you didn't need? Turns out a surprising number of patients with late-stage cancer get useless screening tests for new cancers that couldn't possibly kill them. A new study of Medicare patients with cancers so advanced they had limited life expectancies and little hope of cure reveals "a culture of screening on autop...

Not-too-impressive results on the effect of menu labeling
(Los Angeles Times © 10/13/2010)
Laws requiring fast-food restaurant chains to include nutritional information, especially calories, on menus or menu boards have garnered a lot of support. California was one of the first states to adopt the policy. And, under the healthcare reform bill, the provision will be required nationally. But do these regulations really change what people purchase? A few studies on the affect of the l...

Quit smoking, gain weight: Is it inevitable?
(MayoClinic.com © 10/13/2010)
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D. Dr. Edward Rosenow III sees a natural link between the Information Age and health care as a way to promote better health. Dr. Rosenow, a Columbus, Ohio, native, is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease and worked in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He retired from clinical practice in 1996 after 30 ...

Medicare Meltdown A Reality In Texas
(Medical News Today © 10/13/2010)
A new report from the American Medical Association (AMA) backs what Texas physicians have been saying: Texas seniors and other Medicare patients have a tougher time finding a physician to care for them. Because of what the Texas Medical Association (TMA) calls the "Medicare Meltdown," senior citizens and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare and military families insured by Tricare have fe...

ACU to start own school of nursing
(Abilene Reporter-News © 10/14/2010)
Abilene Christian University will withdraw from the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing to start its own nursing school, beginning in the fall of 2013. On Wednesday the Reporter-News obtained a copy of a memo sent to faculty and staff explaining the shift. “The ACU School of Nursing will provide our nursing students with closer connection to ACU faculty, advisers and fellow classmates, as thes...

Indiana public health data first to be sent through national health network
(American Medical News © 10/14/2010)
For the first time, public health information has been transmitted using the National Health Information Network. The Regenstrief Institute, a health care research organization affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine that has been a major contributor to the design of the NHIN, sent the public health data on behalf of the Indiana State Dept. of Health. The data were collected el...

Flu shots now recommended for everyone over 6 months old
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution © 10/14/2010)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution As the flu season approaches, public health officials are recommending that everyone over six months of age get a flu shot this year. This is the first time that the flu vaccine has been recommended for all adults, said Diane Watson, director of Georgia's office of immunization. Children and the elderly have long been urged to get a flu vaccine, since getting...

Texas to receive $1 million for health insurance exchanges
(Beeville Bee-Picayune © 10/14/2010)
Congressman Ruben Hinojosa announced that Texas is one of 48 states which will receive $1 million to establish health insurance exchanges. This is part of the controversial Affordable Health Care Act, which Hinojosa fully supported. Recent polls have shown that more Americans favor repealing the health care act than approve of its passage. The act will provide new, competitive, consumer-centered...

Bone drugs may cause fractures, FDA says
(Boston Globe © 10/14/2010)
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials are warning that patients taking widely used drugs designed to prevent broken bones may, paradoxically, be at increased risk for certain unusual fractures of the thigh bone. The Food and Drug Administration issued the warning yesterday about drugs known as bisphosphonates, which are commonly used to treat the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The FD...

Baylor preparing to package, sell its wellness program to other firms
(Dallas Business Journal © 10/14/2010)
The Baylor Health Care System is packaging its wellness program to sell to smaller and midsize companies in a move designed to help other employers cut insurance costs. Baylor is seeking two companies of 500 to 2,000 employees to pilot the program beginning in January, said Keith Holtz, senior vice president of human resources for the Dallas-based system. If the initial year goes well, the progr...

Doctor answers questions about face-transplant surgery
(Dallas Morning News © 10/14/2010)
Doctor answers questions about face-transplant surgery 12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, October 14, 2010 Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a plastic surgeon and director of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Burn Center in Boston, recently answered questions about face-transplant surgery and Dallas Wiens' acceptance as a transplant candidate. Why has Wiens been selected for a transplant at Brigham and Women's? W...

Texas Health Resources to expand Fort Worth, Arlington campuses
(Dallas Morning News © 10/14/2010)
Texas Health Resources to expand Fort Worth, Arlington campuses 12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, October 14, 2010 By JASON ROBERSON / The Dallas Morning News jroberson@dallasnews.com Arlington-based Texas Health Resources said Wednesday it plans expansions at two of its campuses. Cambridge Healthcare Properties Inc. is developing a total of 125,000 square feet at Texas Health Arlington Memori...

New tax could target sugary drinks
(Dallas WFAA (ABC) 8 © 10/14/2010)
With health care costs in Texas and the nation going up — and waistlines expanding right along with them — the menu is being revised regarding food and politics. Politicians, public interest groups and the food and beverage industries are trying to control how much you pay for what you eat and drink, and if certain foods — like sugary drinks — should be subject to additio...

The importance of getting kids flu shots
(Denver Post © 10/14/2010)
Please immunize your children (and yourself) against influenza. Influenza is not a mild disease - 36,000 Americans die annually from influenza, including children in Colorado. Children under two are at the highest risk to suffer severe disease. Children are also most likely to spread influenza to others, and they do this for longer periods of time than adults do. I am a pediatrician, and I a...

Trapped Chilean miners all arrive at surface, looking fit
(Denver Post © 10/14/2010)
Defying grim predictions about how they would fare after two months trapped underground, many of the Chilean miners came bounding out of their rescue capsule Wednesday as pictures of energy and health, able not only to walk but, in one case, to leap around, hug everyone in sight and lead cheers. The miners' apparent robustness was testimony to the rescue diet threaded down to them through the ...

Nearly 1 in 5 W.Va. 5th Graders May Have High Blood Pressure
(Drugs.com © 10/14/2010)
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 13 -- Almost 20 percent of fifth graders in West Virginia may have elevated blood pressure, according to new research from an ongoing study identifying heart disease risk factors. "The real thrust of this research is trying to get some attention on the fact that we need to screen for hypertension [high blood pressure] in children. And, while one reading done at school isn't diagnos...

Life expectancy higher in Israel than in US, according to Ben-Gurion U. researcher
(E-Science News © 10/14/2010)
A new study conducted by a researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) for Jerusalem's Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel reports that Israeli's have a higher life expectancy on average than Americans and residents of other OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. According to the most recent data, from 2005, the average American life expectan...

More than 40 charged in $100 million Medicare scam
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/14/2010)
NEW YORK -- A vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million, the largest fraud by one criminal enterprise in the program's history, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.Federal prosecutors in New York and elsewhere charged 73 people. Most of the defendants were captured during raids Wednesday morning...

AARP: 6 in 10 women unsure how they will pay for long-term care
(Healthcare Finance News © 10/14/2010)
WASHINGTON – Nearly six in 10 women don't know how they will pay for future long-term care needs, according to a recent survey by the AARP. The survey comes with this month's launch of the AARP's "Decide, Create, Share" campaign, designed to raise awareness and planning among women nationwide for their long-term care needs. "Studies consistently show women are the biggest ...

HHS pumps up fraud prevention efforts
(Healthcare Finance News © 10/14/2010)
WASHINGTON – The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new rules to fight waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The HHS has also launched new resources to assist in busting fraud. "These important provisions of the Affordable Care Act will not only help us crack down on criminals who are seeking to scam the system, b...

Report: Health insurers' coverage denials rose 49%
(Indianapolis Star © 10/14/2010)
Washington -- WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Humana Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. denied health coverage to 49 percent more people over the past two years, citing pregnancy or plans for adoption among their reasons, a U.S. report found. The insurers rejected 651,000 applicants from 2007 to 2009 for illnesses or conditions they had before applying for coverage, according to the report by the House...

Massachusetts pressing for shift to global payment system
(American Medical News © 10/15/2010)
More than a year after a special commission recommended that all Massachusetts insurers leave behind the fee-for-service health care payment model, state officials are pressing for legislative action as soon as January 2011. Physicians with the state medical society are again warning against ushering in change too quickly. At a Sept. 21 meeting on national health reform, the state's secretary fo...

Florida judge permits healthcare challenge to go to trial
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution © 10/15/2010)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Two parts of the legal challenge brought by 20 states -- including Georgia -- against President Barack Obama’s health care law can go to trial, a Florida federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson of Pensacola said he would hear the most significant arguments to the overhaul to determine if they were constitutional. He dismissed ...

Reid, Angle trade barbs in Nevada Senate race
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/15/2010)
"My opponent favors big banks, she's against Wall Street reform," Reid said, adding that her views are sympathetic to big health insurance companies. Angle played the aggressor from the opening moments of the hour-long debate, at one point taunting the Democratic leader to "man up, Harry Reid" as she urged him to concede that Social Security faces financial difficulty. Across a stage at a local ...

Challenge to health care overhaul will go to trial
(Austin American-Statesman © 10/15/2010)
"At this stage in the litigation, this is not even a close call," wrote Judge Roger Vinson of U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Fla., before asserting that the insurance mandate was an unprecedented exercise of congressional authority. "Of course, to say that something is ‘novel' and ‘unprecedented' does not necessarily mean that it is ‘unconstitutional' and ‘improper,'?" ...

Fla. judge advances health care law challenge
(Boston Globe © 10/15/2010)
PENSACOLA, Fla. — In a foreboding ruling for the Obama administration, a federal judge in Florida ruled yesterday that a legal challenge to the new health care law by officials from 20 states could move forward and warned that he would have to be persuaded that its keystone provision — a requirement that most Americans obtain insurance — is constitutional. “At this stage i...

Judge allows healthcare challenge to proceed
(Chicago Tribune © 10/15/2010)
Reporting from Washington Advertisement A federal judge in Florida hand...

Boehner signs health care repeal pledge
(Cincinnati Enquirer © 10/15/2010)
Rep. John Boehner, the Man Who Would be Speaker, has become the highest-ranking Republican to sign a pledge to repeal the new health care law championed by President Obama. The group RevereAmerica.org, chaired by former New York Gov. George Pataki, announced that Boehner, a West Chester Republican, signed the group’s pledge to ”repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable...

Many may get health tax break
(Detroit Free Press © 10/15/2010)
More than 860,000 people in Michigan are expected to qualify for tax breaks under new federal health care legislation -- although not until 2014. Kathleen D. Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA, a national nonprofit, said Thursday in a conference call that the new tax credit, intended to cut the net cost of health insurance, would amount to an estimated $3.3 billion for qualifying Mi...

Area ambulance company owner sentenced to 15 years for healthcare fraud scheme
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 10/15/2010)
DALLAS -- The 50-year-old Arlington owner and operator of Royal Ambulance Service and First Choice EMS was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for running a healthcare fraud scheme, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.Muhammed Nasiru Usman was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 180 months in prison, according to the release. Also, he was ordered to pay ...

Study finds a high rate of restless legs syndrome in adults with fibromyalgia
(Genetic Engineering News © 10/15/2010)
Source:EurekAlert Contact: Emilee McStay emcstay@aasmnet.org 630-737-9700 American Academy of Sleep Medicine Participants with fibromyalgia were 11 times more likely to have RLS than healthy controls DARIEN, IL ? A study in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that adults with fibromyalgia had a much higher prevalence a...

UnitedHealth proposes managed-care plan for Medicare, Medicaid
(Health Leaders © 10/15/2010)
document.write('\/SCRIPT'); if ((!document.images && navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Mozilla/2.") = 0) || navigator.userAgent.indexOf("WebTV")= 0) } UnitedHealth Group Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer by sales, said enrolling dual recipients of Medicare and Medicaid into managed-care plans would save as much as $1.62 trillion in the U.S. over 25 years. Almost 9 million Americans receive coverage...

No reason for taxpayers to subsidize poor choices
(Houston Chronicle © 10/15/2010)
When government tells restaurant owners that they can't let customers smoke on their premises, that's the nanny state. When it fines motorcyclists for not wearing helmets, again, the nanny. But is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg playing Mary Poppins when he tries to stop low-income people from using their food stamps for Coca-Cola and other sugary, fattening drinks? He is not.Bloomberg wou...

Democrats Mostly Silent On Health Law In Their Ads As Election Approaches
(Kaiser Health News © 10/15/2010)
Democrats are mostly remaining silent on the new health law as they release advertisements in bids to retain their seats in Congress, NPR reports. "Ads touting the new law are mostly being run by opponents of the measure as they try to feed on its more unpopular aspects, particularly the requirement that nearly all Americans have insurance starting in 2014. … [But,] at least some Democrats are tak...

HHS Limits, But Can't Eliminate, Child-Only Policy Double-Standards
(Kaiser Health News © 10/15/2010)
The New York Times: "The Obama administration, aiming to encourage health insurance companies to offer child-only policies, said Wednesday that they could charge higher premiums for coverage of children with serious medical problems, if state law allowed it. ... Earlier this year, major insurers, faced with an unprofitable business, stopped issuing new child-only policies. They said that the Obama...

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