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Private insurance companies are subject to federal jurisdiction, affirms Tenth Circuit

On December 9, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, affirmed the federal government's position that private insurance companies are "plans" and therefore subject to federal jurisdiction.

15 Dec 2009

Department of Health regulates home care agencies and registries in Pennsylvania

For the first time, home care agencies and registries must be licensed to operate in Pennsylvania and the home care industry will be regulated by the Department of Health.

15 Dec 2009

Lee Enterprises cancels health coverage for retirees

In an act of corporate greed, Lee Enterprises, owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, is canceling company-paid health insurance for scores of retirees, the Newspaper Guild of St. Louis announced today. Retirees will protest outside the Post-Dispatch building, 900 North Tucker Boulevard, in downtown St. Louis, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

15 Dec 2009

SNFs in Ohio make major changes in operations and services to deal with Medicaid bed tax

Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in Ohio are making major changes in operations and services in order to deal with a 92 percent increase in the state-imposed Medicaid bed tax (franchise permit fee) from $6.25 to $12.01 per bed per day, scheduled for December 15.

15 Dec 2009

Beneficiaries may need to pay coinsurance for orally delivered oncology drugs, says new report

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that over the next five years, a greater percentage of health plans will transition orally delivered oncology drugs from a copayment structure to a reimbursement model that incorporates a coinsurance payment, thereby shifting more costs onto patients. Copayments represent a set dollar amount associated with a pharmacy benefit while coinsurance represents a percentage of cost that must be paid by the beneficiary.

15 Dec 2009

Opinions: Future of PEPFAR; family planning

A Washington Post editorial examines the future of PEPFAR under the Obama administration, as outlined in a five-year strategy released earlier this month. Though "[m]any organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, continue to worry that Mr. Obama is 'flat-lining' funding for the vital program," this "ignores Mr. Obama's move to make PEPFAR the center of a larger $63 billion global health initiative to develop more comprehensive and integrated approaches to care," the editorial writes.

15 Dec 2009

Study compares status of health care systems in U.S. and UK

The well-worn notion that patients in the United States have unfettered access to the most expensive cancer drugs while the United Kingdom's nationalized health care system regularly denies access to some high-cost treatments needs rethinking, a team of bioethicists and health policy experts says in a report out today.

15 Dec 2009

Hospitals to find acceptable alternatives to STERIS System 1 sterile processing system

In response to an FDA notice issued on December 3, 2009, in which the Agency recommended that healthcare facilities discontinue use of the STERIS System 1® (SS1) sterile processing system, hospitals throughout the U.S. are faced with the task of finding acceptable alternatives to that product.

15 Dec 2009

Anthem Blue Cross to receive Tri-County Commercial contract renewal award

Anthem Blue Cross announced today that the California Department of Health Care Services intends to award Anthem the Tri-County Commercial contract renewal to provide Medi-Cal benefits to residents in the Fresno, Kings and Madera Counties.

15 Dec 2009

The United States Senate passes funding for teen pregnancy prevention program

The United States Senate yesterday passed a package of spending bills for FY 2010, which included a historic new investment in efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.

15 Dec 2009

Utah may be forced to raise Medicaid payments for dentists; mandatory student insurance would benefit Florida

News outlets report on Medicaid dental payments in Utah, student insurance in Florida, Illinois budget woes and emergency rooms in Massachusetts.

15 Dec 2009

Spending on health care eventually leads to economic growth increase

As the national discussion of health care focuses on costs, a new study from North Carolina State University shows that it might be more accurate to think of health care spending as an investment that can spur economic growth.

15 Dec 2009

White House asks Reid to cut deal with Lieberman, Politico reports

"The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and eliminate the proposed Medicare expansion in the health reform bill, according to an official close to the negotiations," Politico reports.

15 Dec 2009

States in money pinch turn low-income women away from free cancer screenings

The Associated Press reports that women with low incomes are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings in at least 20 states.

15 Dec 2009

Senate holdouts threatening '09 health care reform bill passage

The Washington Post: "The next 48 hours will be critical to the fate of health-care reform in the Senate, as Democratic leaders struggle to settle disputes that stand in the way of holding a final vote this year on the massive package reports on the distance among senators that has to be bridged before a bill can pass."

15 Dec 2009

HealthEast Mental Health and Addiction Services receives $800,000 charitable gift by V.K. Arrigoni Foundation

HealthEast Mental Health and Addiction Services premier program is the beneficiary of an $800,000 charitable gift by V.K. Arrigoni Foundation. This generous gift gives chemically dependent patients, without insurance or who are underinsured, access to the HealthEast inpatient services at St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul and outpatient services at both St. Joseph's Hospital and St. John's Hospital in Maplewood.

15 Dec 2009

Majority of dialysis patients face readmission to acute care facilities, says study

A new study by University of Cincinnati (UC) nephrologists shows that most dialysis patients admitted to long-term care hospitals face readmission to acute care facilities, and those with acute kidney failure don't often recover full kidney function.

15 Dec 2009

The San Francisco Foundation awards $30,000 grant to Conard House

Conard House, a pioneering nonprofit organization developing resources to help people self-manage mental illness since 1960, today announced the award of a $30,000, one-year grant from The San Francisco Foundation to continue implementation of a five-year strategic mental health education initiative -- Community-Supported Self-Management (CSSM), a treatment methodology based on developing clients' confidence and motivation to use their own skills, information and professional services to take effective control over their life.

15 Dec 2009

Medicare actuary: Health costs would rise after overhaul

The Senate's health overhaul plan would cover 33 million more people but fail to curb rising health costs, could threaten some Medicare patients' access to care, and may sink profits for one-fifth of hospitals and nursing homes, according to news accounts of an HHS report released Friday afternoon.

15 Dec 2009

Long-term care proposal raises cost, sustainability concerns

"Embedded in sweeping health legislation passed by the House and being debated on the Senate floor is a major new federal insurance program," called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or Class Act, The New York Times reports.

15 Dec 2009

Healthcare News

Private insurance companies are subject to federal jurisdiction, affirms Tenth Circuit

Department of Health regulates home care agencies and registries in Pennsylvania

Lee Enterprises cancels health coverage for retirees

SNFs in Ohio make major changes in operations and services to deal with Medicaid bed tax

Beneficiaries may need to pay coinsurance for orally delivered oncology drugs, says new report

Opinions: Future of PEPFAR; family planning

Study compares status of health care systems in U.S. and UK

Hospitals to find acceptable alternatives to STERIS System 1 sterile processing system

Anthem Blue Cross to receive Tri-County Commercial contract renewal award

The United States Senate passes funding for teen pregnancy prevention program

Utah may be forced to raise Medicaid payments for dentists; mandatory student insurance would benefit Florida

Spending on health care eventually leads to economic growth increase

White House asks Reid to cut deal with Lieberman, Politico reports

States in money pinch turn low-income women away from free cancer screenings

Senate holdouts threatening '09 health care reform bill passage

HealthEast Mental Health and Addiction Services receives $800,000 charitable gift by V.K. Arrigoni Foundation

Majority of dialysis patients face readmission to acute care facilities, says study

The San Francisco Foundation awards $30,000 grant to Conard House

Medicare actuary: Health costs would rise after overhaul

Long-term care proposal raises cost, sustainability concerns

PhD researcher at LifeArc

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