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Health care fraud: Massachusetts hospital to pay $2.79M for settling False Claims Act allegations

Mercy Hospital Inc. (d/b/a Mercy Medical Center) of Springfield, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $2,799,462 to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act between 2005 and 2006 by failing to provide, or failing to document that it provided, the minimum number of hours of rehabilitation therapy required under Medicare guidelines, the Justice Department announced today.

20 Feb 2010

Researchers show how extracts from seeds of Moringa oleifera tree can be used for water purification

Pure water is a key requirement for good health and alternative cheap, safe methods are required in many countries. In a paper that has just been published in the leading American Chemical Society journal on interfaces, Langmuir, researchers from Uppsala University in co-operation with The University of Botswana describe how extracts from seeds of the Moringa oleifera tree can be used for water purification.

20 Feb 2010

Obama plans to offer own health bill before summit as parties stake claims

President Obama will offer "comprehensive" health reform legislation in advance of next week's planned summit with Republicans, The New York Times reports. "Democratic officials said the president's proposal was being written so that it could be attached to a budget bill as a way of averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate. The procedure, known as budget reconciliation, would let Democrats advance the bill with a simple majority rather than a 60-vote supermajority."

20 Feb 2010

Stalled health bills could lead to increase in hospital mergers

Some analysts expect an increase in hospital mergers if health care overhaul remains stalled and the head of the Cleveland Clinic discusses why he thinks an overhaul won't lower health costs.

20 Feb 2010

State lawmakers address 'troubling trends' in insurance market

Des Moines (Iowa) Register: "State lawmakers want to press Iowa health insurers to release more details to help lawmakers decide whether rate increases are justified. This week, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurer, said it would raise rates an average of 18 percent for about 80,000 Iowans who buy their own health insurance" (Jacobs, 2/19).

20 Feb 2010

P4P programs may be effective in incentivizing low performing physicians: Study

Pay-for-performance (P4P) programs are payment models that reward workers for meeting certain performance measures for quality and efficiency. In the healthcare setting, P4P programs use a variety of methods to reward physicians financially for achieving targets, including fee differentials and bonuses.

20 Feb 2010

Obama Administration releases details of over $400M Healthy Food Financing Initiative

The Obama Administration today released details of an over $400 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which will bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved urban and rural communities across America. The initiative was announced today in Philadelphia by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

20 Feb 2010

Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

News outlets paid close attention to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' release of a new report detailing double-digit insurance premium hikes for individual plans in six states across the country.

20 Feb 2010

Florida faces fight over Medicaid reform expansion; In Kansas, cuts hurt a mental health clinic

Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration may broaden that state's Medicaid-reform pilot program to include 19 more counties to save more than $58 million by requiring Medicaid beneficiaries enroll in managed-care plans, Health News Florida reports.

19 Feb 2010

HIT Roundup: The push for electronic records continues

The Patriot-News: "A statewide partnership has been awarded a $100 million grant in federal economic stimulus funds to expand access to broadband Internet in 39 counties across south and central Pennsylvania, U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Robert P. Casey said Thursday." One purpose of the network is to link medical facilities (Miller, 2/18).

19 Feb 2010

MHCC receives $500,000 grant to operate research project on mental health and homelessness

The Mental Health Commission of Canada has received a $500,000 grant from the City of Vancouver. The funds will help operate part of a research demonstration project on mental health and homelessness at a downtown hotel.

19 Feb 2010

ALEC congratulates Idaho State Representatives for sponsoring Idaho Health Freedom Act

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—the nation's largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators—congratulates Idaho State Representatives Jim Clark, Lynn Luker, and Raul Labrador for their successful sponsorship of HB 391, the Idaho Health Freedom Act, which was passed by the Idaho House of Representatives by a vote of 52 to 18 last week.

19 Feb 2010

Recession swells Medicaid rolls, shrivels treasuries

Nearly every state is considering or already making cuts to its Medicaid program as the recession swells rolls for the state-run health insurance program for the poor, The New York Times reports. Because of requirements for getting stimulus money to support programs, the states are not allowed to curb enrollment, and are instead cutting optional benefits and reimbursement rates. Lower rates could drive more physicians and other providers away from the program, which already pays very low fees.

19 Feb 2010

New VA undersecretary for health sworn in

Modern Healthcare: "Robert Petzel has been sworn in as undersecretary for health at the Veterans Affairs Department, the agency announced.

19 Feb 2010

Dolphus Dawson receives 2010 AADR Neal W. Chilton Fellowship

The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) has announced Dolphus Dawson, III, as the 2010 AADR Neal W. Chilton Fellowship in Clinical Research recipient. He will be recognized at the AADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Washington, DC, March 3, 2010.

19 Feb 2010

Express Scripts turning prescription discount business into nonprofit

Anticipating "more people will need access to discount prescriptions no matter what ultimately happens in Washington" with health reform, Express Scripts' Rx Outreach program will become a nonprofit, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

19 Feb 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

All of us who have been at this task before understand three important realities: One, no president who has launched such an effort unsuccessfully has ever been able to relaunch; two, the Senate legislation, at least, has been the product of much bipartisan effort over the last several years, even though no Republican senators voted for it, and three, the status quo costs and quality of this country's health care system are totally unacceptable -- to the health care industry and to those who depend on it (Dave Durenberger, 2/18).

19 Feb 2010

Loxogon's new healthcare software application integrates multiple hospital information systems in real-time

Loxogon, Inc. today announced the release of a new healthcare software application specializing in operational intelligence solutions.

19 Feb 2010

Passage of DSSA will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements, says Hotze Enterprises

On Feb. 4, Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan introduced the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 (DSSA), that if passed, will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements. Hotze Enterprises, a world leader in the alternative health care industry, is strongly opposed to this legislation being passed, and encourages consumers to take action.

19 Feb 2010

Medicare Advantage premiums jump 14 percent

The Associated Press: "Millions of seniors who signed up for popular private health plans through Medicare are facing sharp premium increases this year — another sign that spiraling costs are a problem even for those with solid insurance. A study to be released Friday ... found that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans offering medical and prescription drug coverage jumped 14.2 percent on average in 2010, after an increase of only 5.2 percent the previous year. Some 8.5 million elderly and disabled Americans are in the plans, which provide more comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare."

19 Feb 2010

Healthcare News

Health care fraud: Massachusetts hospital to pay $2.79M for settling False Claims Act allegations

Researchers show how extracts from seeds of Moringa oleifera tree can be used for water purification

Obama plans to offer own health bill before summit as parties stake claims

Stalled health bills could lead to increase in hospital mergers

State lawmakers address 'troubling trends' in insurance market

P4P programs may be effective in incentivizing low performing physicians: Study

Obama Administration releases details of over $400M Healthy Food Financing Initiative

Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

Florida faces fight over Medicaid reform expansion; In Kansas, cuts hurt a mental health clinic

HIT Roundup: The push for electronic records continues

MHCC receives $500,000 grant to operate research project on mental health and homelessness

ALEC congratulates Idaho State Representatives for sponsoring Idaho Health Freedom Act

Recession swells Medicaid rolls, shrivels treasuries

New VA undersecretary for health sworn in

Dolphus Dawson receives 2010 AADR Neal W. Chilton Fellowship

Express Scripts turning prescription discount business into nonprofit

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Loxogon's new healthcare software application integrates multiple hospital information systems in real-time

Passage of DSSA will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements, says Hotze Enterprises

Medicare Advantage premiums jump 14 percent

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

How GLP‑1 Agonists Are Shaping the Future of Obesity Treatment With Dr Bryony Henderson

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