Minnesota gets $42.5M to help develop health insurance exchange
Calloway Laboratories, a leading national clinical toxicology lab, announced that Ampersand Capital Partners has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Calloway.
Retail Benefits Announces Acquisition of MY HSA Rewards
Many states are designing their insurance exchanges, where people will be able to shop for coverage. But just the word “exchange” sounds to many like off-putting government-speak, and some states are eager to come up with a more appealing name for these new marketplaces.
Doctors are working less, seeing fewer patients, and many would quit if they could, a sweeping survey of 13,575 physicians from across the nation shows.
Seniors getting knee replacements went from 31.2 procedures per 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries in 1991 to 62.1 procedures per 10,000 in 2010. There are now about 600,000 knee replacement operations costing $9 billion a year at the nation’s hospitals.
Hospitals Warned by U.S. on Medicare Electronic Billing
The number of uninsured Americans declined by about 3 percent, or 1.34 million, to 48.6 million in 2011. The search for policy fingerprints on these findings points directly to Medicaid.
Though there is a great deal of discussion about the $750 billion that the U.S. spends annually on ordering unnecessary medical procedures, the financial waste resulting from patient non-compliance gets less press.
Accountable care organizations rely on software tools to deliver cost-effective care. But ACOs may be built on a shaky foundation.
Medical prices accelerated faster than some projections last year and the number of uninsured is rising, according to data that show the U.S. goal of expanding health care is veering onto a more difficult road.
Quintiles Transnational Corp., the biggest provider of testing and drug-trial services to pharmaceutical companies, is studying an initial public offering, said two people familiar with the situation.
The Obama administration on Monday began requiring health insurers to provide user-friendly guides to patients that explain their benefits
Health plans are likely to increase premiums and raise charges for dependents
Life-sciences and health investing, long shunned by venture-capital investors, is making a comeback.
Obama Medicare plan: No voucher but maybe a bill
A bill that would amend two important medical loss ratio provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by a House committee Thursday.
Provider groups that claim to be accountable care organizations now have a way to prove it through an accreditation program offered by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
A report that warns against “stop-gap” substitutions of nurse practitioners for primary care physicians may have rekindled the long-smoldering border skirmish between the clinician associations.
New System for Patients to Report Medical Mistakes
Insurance Coverage Improves In 20 States, Census Shows
Nearly six million Americans, most of them middle-income workers, will face a tax penalty under President Obama’s health overhaul for not getting insurance, Congressional analysts said Wednesday.
The Riverside Company has acquired Future Medical, a provider of rental respiratory equipment, liquid oxygen and related services to skilled nursing facilities in 13 Midwestern and Southeast states.
Medicare Bills Rise as Records Turn Electronic
MD On-Line, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Intivia, Inc., a Piscataway, NJ-based premier supplier of integrated healthcare technology services and software products to hundreds of healthcare facilities throughout the United States.
No matter what the outcome of the U.S. election, healthcare looks to be a focal point in the economy for years to come.
A key waiver provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would be amended under a medical loss ratio (MLR) bill scheduled for mark-up Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
HHS Rule Limits Access To Exchanges, Insurance Subsidies For Young Immigrants Who Are Exempt From Deportation Proceedings
House panel readies bill to alter health law’s medical loss ratio
Medicare Advantage Enrollment to Rise 11 Percent, U.S. Says
CBO Says 6 Million in U.S. to Face Penalty for Lacking Insurance
Urgent care centers are booming, which worries some doctors
The healthcare industry’s opposition to federally required sequestration cuts will likely grow stronger this week following Friday’s report from the Office of Management and Budget that shows $11 billion in annual cuts to Medicare over the next decade.
How Mobile Technologies Fuel TeleHealth Advances
Obese people who have weight-loss surgery gain at least six years of health benefits that include fewer diabetes cases and lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Even so, their medical costs didn’t drop.
Health Information Exchanges Struggle To Prove ROI – To survive, HIEs need to implement performance metrics to show they can improve quality of care and reduce costs.
Center investigation suggests costs from upcoding and other abuses likely top $11 billion
People with chronic lung disease who have trouble grasping health information more often end up in the emergency room than their savvier peers, a new study shows.
WHY IT MATTERS: You’ll feel it whether that health care law stays or goes
Nearly 500,000 jobs will be lost next year alone if a 2% automatic cut in Medicare spending mandated following last year’s debt ceiling crisis takes effect, three major healthcare organizations charged.
As hospitals take over doctors’ practices, fees rise
States have until Oct. 1 to submit an “Essential Health Benefits” plan to the federal government. The plans will set the floor for the amount and types of coverage that must be available in new insurance exchanges serving the individual and small group markets when the individual mandate kicks in in 2014.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.announced a project with the American Heart Association for research on the effectiveness of corporate wellness programs. The project calls for participation by some 140,000 employees at four large KKR portfolio companies including First Data Corp, HCA Holdings Inc, Sealy Corp and Visant Corp
Medical Staffing Network Announces Completion Of The Acquisition Of Pathway Medical Staffing
Mapping The Next Three Decades of Health Technology
The nation’s four largest hospital associations and their allies at medical schools urged Congress in a letter this week to oppose a cap on payments for outpatient services in hospitals.
Using survey data from more than 30,700 Americans, researchers found that 36 percent said their doctor offered weekend and evening hours. And over two years, those patients spent 10 percent less on medical care than people whose doctors stuck with traditional weekday hours – a difference of more than $1,000.
Perrigo Company To Acquire Assets Of Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., For $285 Million
Workers should brace for more out-of-pocket costs next year. Most employers are planning to shift health-care costs to their employees in 2013
Nearly half of Tennesseans living in rural areas who seek healthcare drive past the hospitals closest to their homes to look for care in more urban settings, even when their local hospitals offer the same services, a study shows.
Finding a doctor can be challenging if you’re on Medicaid, but the state and federal government are trying to change that with increased reimbursements to physicians.
Mediware sells to private equity firm in $195M deal
With EHR installation a done deal, many health providers look to consulting firms for smaller Meaningful Use projects
Millions more eligible under Medicaid, but state rates vary.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would strip Medicaid of $1.26 trillion over nine years as part of a plan to do away with the open-ended approach to funding the U.S. health-insurance plan for the poor, a Bloomberg Government study found.
Merge Healthcare Inc., a medical- software provider that put itself up for sale, is betting U.S. government incentives to digitize health records will draw buyers to the industry’s biggest bargain.
The health-care industry continues to move toward tighter integration of information technology that is promised to improve care and capture lost revenue. The private equity industry is right behind the effort, placing bets that information technology companies will achieve that promise and provide big returns.
Health Premium Growth Slows to 4.5% in U.S., Kaiser Says
IT Critical To New Health Learning System – U.S. healthcare system needs to transform itself into a “continuous learning machine” that uses technology to provide doctors with timely information, says Institute of Medicine report.
ACOs, promoted by the federal health care law, holds promise for slowing the cost of treating the sickest, most expensive patients, according to a new study.
Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the acquisition of ExitCare, LLC , an enterprise-wide solution for patient education and discharge instructions.
Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, said he would keep health insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions even as he vows to replace President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law on the first day of his presidency.
A proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to set the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2013 drew more than 2,900 comments from a variety of stakeholders.
A new report from a panel of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine estimated that roughly 30 percent of health care spending in 2009 — around $750 billion — was wasted on unnecessary or poorly delivered services and other needless costs.
Out-of-Pocket Medical Costs Threaten Seniors
How Broken Is The U.S. Health Care System? Let’s Count The Ways
After the monthly jobs report on Friday, the next big federal report with implications for the presidential race comes Wednesday morning when the Census Bureau releases its annual study on the number of people without health insurance.
A $6.4 billion accord for U.S. drug and medical-device reviews is set to unravel just three months after taking effect as lawmakers squabble over budget cutbacks.
About 10 to 15 percent of adults age 65 and older are believed to have mild cognitive impairment — a condition that can signal serious problems ahead: About half of people with this condition go on to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia within five years.
More Young Adults Have Insurance After Health Care Law, Study Says
The U.S. health-care system is plagued by about $765 billion in annual waste and needs stronger government leadership to coordinate practices as the Affordable Care Act increases burdens on caregivers
With Medicaid, Long-Term Care of Elderly Looms as a Rising Cost
OPPS Comments Focus on Observation Status
Congress Still Waiting for Obama’s Report on Automatic Cuts
After two years of deliberation, the experiment is about to begin. The concept is simple enough: Give hospitals financial incentives to improve the quality of care.
The U.S. health care system squanders $750 billion a year — roughly 30 cents of every medical dollar — through unneeded care, byzantine paperwork, fraud and other waste, the influential Institute of Medicine said Thursday in a report that ties directly into the presidential campaign.
Merge Healthcare has hired Allen & Co. to run the process.
Patheon Inc., a leading provider of contract development and manufacturing services to the global pharmaceutical industry, announced today that it has sold its global secondary clinical packaging and clinical distribution services business to Bellwyck Packaging Solutions
Pamlico Capital has acquired HEALTHCAREfirst from The Riverside Company. HEALTHCAREfirst is the leading technology and services company dedicated exclusively to serving Home Health Care and Hospice Care agencies.
A Georgian county has installed videoconferencing equipment at all 10 of its schools to give its 5,782 students one-on-one access to physicians. Telemedicine sites for adults have also sprung in the area. Instead of taking a full day off from work or school, residents can now regularly see their specialist online.
Are Medicare’s New Quality Incentives Large Enough To Change Hospital Behavior?
U.S. Court Halts Some Cuts for Medicaid Home Care
When doctors suggest that their hip and knee replacement candidate patients view decision tools before they undergo surgery, 38% fewer people went ahead with the knee procedure and 26% fewer agreed to undergo hip replacement.
Kindred Healthcare Inc. said Tuesday that it completed its purchase of home health care provider and hospice company IntegraCare Holdings.
Vita Advisors, LLC is a research-based strategic advisory firm serving the health care industry.
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