ANNOUNCEMENT

MedCity CONVERGE July 9-10 in Philly gathers payers, providers, medtech, pharma, digital health, policymakers & more.

Topic: US healthcare

Neither side will get specific in ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations

Neither side will get specific in ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations

December 18, 2012 4:26 pm by | 0 Comments

KHN's Mary Agnes Carey speaks with Jackie Judd about negotiations on Capitol Hill to avoid the "fiscal cliff" and just how close --or far apart --Democrats, Republicans and the White ... Read more
‘If I’d Had To Wait Until 67 For Medicare, I’d Be Dead’

‘If I’d Had To Wait Until 67 For Medicare, I’d Be Dead’

December 18, 2012 3:26 pm by | 0 Comments

Sam Lewis turned 65 in the nick of time. For a year, he'd been broke. His Brentwood, Calif., general contracting business had gone bust. He couldn't make payments on his ... Read more
Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate facing more than 40 lawsuits from religious groups

Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate facing more than 40 lawsuits from religious groups

December 15, 2012 5:16 pm by | 1 Comments

The Supreme Court famously upheld most of the Affordable Care Act in June. But in a year or two we may see another riveting Supreme Court drama growing out of ... Read more
EHR transition means fewer patients per day for some docs

EHR transition means fewer patients per day for some docs

December 14, 2012 11:15 am by | 0 Comments

Two years and $8.4 billion into the government's effort to get doctors to take their practices digital, some unintended consequences are starting to emerge. One is a lot of unhappy ... Read more
Sebelius to states: It’s all or nothing with Medicaid expansion

Sebelius to states: It’s all or nothing with Medicaid expansion

December 10, 2012 4:20 pm by | 0 Comments

The Obama administration answered a key question from governors on Monday with a clear "no": States may not expand Medicaid only part of the way and still get the full ... Read more
Many docs apply for ‘Meaningful Use’ payments, but few will pass muster

Many docs apply for ‘Meaningful Use’ payments, but few will pass muster

December 10, 2012 9:47 am by | 0 Comments

Two-thirds of office-based physicians plan to apply or have already applied for meaningful use incentives for using electronic health records (EHRs), a government survey found. However, only about a quarter ... Read more
Feds and California will pay for online insurance exchanges with 2 – 4% fee per premium

Feds and California will pay for online insurance exchanges with 2 – 4% fee per premium

December 3, 2012 8:30 am by | 0 Comments

The federally-run health insurance exchanges will be financed with a surcharge -- capped at 3.5 percent of monthly premiums in 2014, according to proposed regulation released Friday. ... Read more
New psychiatric manual won’t include Asperger’s, could affect treatment payments

New psychiatric manual won’t include Asperger’s, could affect treatment payments

December 2, 2012 12:46 pm by | 0 Comments

News outlets covered the Saturday meeting of the American Psychiatric Association aschanges were approved to its manual of mental disorders.USA Today: Psychiatrists Approve Vast Changes To Diagnosis ManualAsperger's is out, ... Read more
Supreme Court may decide gay health benefits issues

Supreme Court may decide gay health benefits issues

November 30, 2012 9:38 am by | 0 Comments

The justices could consider same-sex marriage, which would affect health benefits for federal employees and possibly Medicaid.The Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle: Gay Marriage Before Supreme Court? Cases WeighedThree weeks after ... Read more
Traveling med tech indicted on new charges related to Hepatitis C outbreak

Traveling med tech indicted on new charges related to Hepatitis C outbreak

November 30, 2012 9:37 am by | 0 Comments

The technician was indicated Wednesday in New Hampshire on 14 new charges. The outbreak involved more than 30 patients in New Hampshire while people in a number of other states ... Read more
GAO: Medicaid payment info late, inconsistent

GAO: Medicaid payment info late, inconsistent

November 30, 2012 9:37 am by | 0 Comments

Two methods federal officials use to report Medicaid expenditures don't match up, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday. ... Read more
Obamacare enemies hope weakening insurance exchanges could tear down the law

Obamacare enemies hope weakening insurance exchanges could tear down the law

November 29, 2012 8:10 pm by | 0 Comments

If you think that the Affordable Care Act has surmounted all of the major legal attacks its opponents could come up with, think again. Critics of the federal health law ... Read more
Collaborative project among 7 hospitals shows simple steps reduce infections

Collaborative project among 7 hospitals shows simple steps reduce infections

November 29, 2012 9:29 am by | 0 Comments

Seven health care institutions participated in a quality-improvement project advanced by the Joint Commission and the American College of Surgeonsto reduce colorectal surgical-site infection rates. During a two and a ... Read more
‘Rapid response transition teams’ visit patients at home to reduce readmissions

‘Rapid response transition teams’ visit patients at home to reduce readmissions

November 28, 2012 1:20 pm by | 3 Comments

In the past, the only thing a patient was sure to get after a hospital stay was a bill. But as Medicare cracks down on high readmission rates, hospitals are ... Read more
HHS Office Of The Inspector General recovers record-setting $5.2B in fiscal 2012

HHS Office Of The Inspector General recovers record-setting $5.2B in fiscal 2012

November 28, 2012 9:28 am by | 0 Comments

HHS' office of the inspector general this year continued its steady march upward in the number of new criminal cases it helped file and the amount of misspent federal healthcare ... Read more