Catholic bishops reject birth control compromise
NBC
February 8, 2013
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50745074/ns/health-health_care/#.URV9JqVlUrk
Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected the Obama Administration's latest bid for compromise over a hotly disputed health policy that requires employees at religiously affiliated institutions to have access to insurance coverage for contraceptives. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said his group would redouble efforts to reach an agreement on the contraceptives issue after more than a year of protest and scores of federal lawsuits from Catholics groups and other social conservatives.
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Florida hospitals say Medicaid expansion is popular
Herald Tribune
February 8, 2013
http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2013/02/08/florida-hospitals-say-medicaid-expansion-is-popular/
The Florida Hospital Association, which has something of a vested interested in the issue, released a poll today showing more than six out of every 10 Florida voters supports the expansion of Medicaid programs in the state under the federal Affordable Care Act. Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders have not made a decision on whether to expand the program to all Floridians who earn less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Florida leaders appear to be leaning against the expansion, citing the uncertainty of future federal funding for the initiative.
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Mississippi: State Health Exchange Is Disallowed
The New York Times
February 8, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/us/mississippi-state-health-exchange-is-disallowed.html?_r=0
The Obama administration will not allow Mississippi to run its own health insurance exchange because of a disagreement between Gov. Phil Bryant and Mike Chaney, the state’s insurance commissioner. Mr. Chaney had been planning a state-based exchange over the objections of Mr. Bryant, a fellow Republican. But federal officials decided it was not feasible without Mr. Bryant’s cooperation. The alternatives are for the federal government to run an exchange for Mississippi or to run one jointly with the state. President Obama’s health care law requires all states to have exchanges — online markets where people can shop for private health insurance and seek federal subsidies to help pay for it — by January 2014.
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Miss. health insurance exchange plan rejected
NBC
February 8, 2013
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50747405/ns/health/#.URV9GqVlUrk
Mississippi on Friday became the first state to have its proposal for a health insurance exchange rejected by the government, and federal officials said Republican Governor Phil Bryant's opposition to the plan was to blame. "With a lack of support from your governor and no formal commitment to coordinate from other state agencies, we do not see a feasible pathway to conditionally approving a state-based exchange in Mississippi for 2014," the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a letter to the state. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, a Republican, had waged a bitter battle with Bryant and other fellow party leaders in his state over implementing a state-run health insurance exchange.
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Health Care CIOs List EHRs, Meaningful Use Among Top Priorities
iHealthBeat
February 7, 2013
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2013/2/7/health-care-cios-list-ehrs-meaningful-use-among-top-priorities.aspx
Health care CIOs list electronic health record implementation, meaningful use and compliance as their top three health IT priorities for 2013, according to a recent report by Level 3, an international communications company, Healthcare IT News reports (Broomfield, Healthcare IT News, 2/5).
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CMS: Obama health law yielded billions in Rx savings
The Hill
February 7, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/281687-cms-obama-health-law-yielded-billions-in-rx-savings
The Obama administration said Tuesday that 6 million Medicare beneficiaries have saved more than $5.7 billion on prescription drugs since 2010 thanks to healthcare reform. Health officials noted that drug savings are on the rise, increasing from $2.3 billion in 2011 to $2.5 billion in 2012 as the law works to close the so-called "doughnut hole."
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AHRQ, CMS unveil children's EHR format
Modern healthcare
February 7, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130207/NEWS/302079955/ahrq-cms-unveil-childrens-ehr-format
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the CMS have unveiled a new electronic health-record format for children's healthcare, which the agencies say will help EHR vendors to create customized modules for pediatric patients. The new EHR format includes specific functionality and data elements for children, such as immunizations and growth data, AHRQ said in a news release. Built on interoperable standards such as HL7, the newly developed format also allows for data exchange and performance measurement.
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Pence Says Medicaid Hurt by Federal Healthcare
Tristate Homepage
February 7, 2013
http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=584332
Indiana Governor Mike Pence says the federal health care law is preventing a Medicaid expansion. Pence says the only way he would approve the expansion would be if the state is given the choice of using its "Healthy Indiana" plan to cover new members. Pence also says the Hoosier state does not plan to build a hybrid health exchange with the federal government. The state's Medicaid rolls could increase by 427-thousand people under a full expansion.
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Health Care in the New CBO Forecast
Forbes
February 7, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2013/02/07/health-care-in-the-new-cbo-forecast/
Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an updated federal budget outlook for the next 10 year “budget window.” Included in this report were some telling revisions to the previous baseline projection for the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The first thing to note is that they have increased the number of people projected to be uninsured, and at the same time reduced the projected federal revenue from the penalty for not having insurance.
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Republican governors embrace part of health-care law
The Washington Post
February 7, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/07/republican-governors-embrace-part-of-health-care-law/
Several Republican governors have embraced a key pillar of President Obama’s health-care law: Extending Medicaid to 17 million Americans. Many Republicans balked at the expansion when the Supreme Court made the Medicaid expansion optional in its ruling last in the summer. Supporters of the law worried that the opposition could undermine the entire health-care overhaul by shrinking the pool of Americans who would gain coverage.
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Why Health Care Challenges Conservatives
Bloomberg
February 7, 2013
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-07/why-health-care-challenges-conservatives.html
While I don’t find Ramesh Ponnuru's overall case for a conservative middle-class agenda convincing, he does highlight one middle-class problem that both parties have given short shrift. He has correctly argued that health-care inflation is not just a source of fiscal woes, but also has deprived middle-class families of real wage increases as more of their compensation has gotten eaten up by health benefits. The big challenge for conservatives is to take Ponnuru’s point and come up with an agenda that does better than liberals at controlling health-care costs, so families can spend more money on other things. The problem -- and a key reason I think the pro-middle class conservative project is doomed -- is that conservatives’ approach to health care makes this impossible.
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Mental Health Care Reform Starts Thursday on Capitol Hill
Atlantic Wire
February 6, 2013
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/02/mental-health-care-reform-starts-thursday-capitol-hill/61883/
As the issue of gun control has flooded Washington since the Sandy Hook shooting, a lot of people have been wondering if lawmakers were actually serious about addressing mental health as well. The answer is yes. On Thursday, a group of seven senators led by Democrat Debbie Stabenow and Republican Roy Blunt will reportedly introduce a new bill meant to upgrade our nation's mental health care system. More specifically, BuzzFeed's Rebecca Berg says that the legislation will "expand access to mental health facilities and raise standards for mental health services." This means opening more clinics, updating existing clinics and, in Berg's words, an effort "to expand access to mental health facilities and raise standards for mental health services."
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Insurance brokers to fight for state health exchange
Biz Journals
February 6, 2013
http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2013/02/06/insurance-brokers-to-fight-for-state.html
Health insurance agents and brokers plan to lobby against legislation that would keep the state from establishing a health insurance exchange. The exchange, a product of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is to serve as a marketplace for those seeking insurance policies. The legislation prohibiting the state from operating an exchange unless authorized by the General Assembly was introduced by Kentucky Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville, in January. It undermines an executive order issued in July by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear to move forward with establishing the exchange.
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Senate Subcommittee Report Underscores Need for More Primary Care Physicians
AAFP
February 6, 2013
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20130206helpreport.html
The growing shortage of primary care physicians has forced millions of Americans to seek care from emergency rooms and to delay or forgo needed care in some instances, which has resulted in higher rates of preventable illnesses and even deaths, according to a new report (14-page PDF; About PDFs) issued by the chair of a Senate subcommittee on primary health and aging.
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Beyond Reform: Health Care Industry Efforts Hold Key To Access
Health Affairs
February 6, 2013
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2013/02/06/beyond-reform-health-care-industry-efforts-hold-key-to-access/
Now that the Obama Administration has secured a second term, health reform is a “go”. Yet, gaps and questions remain, some of them potentially far more substantial than originally anticipated. While the mandate on individuals to purchase health insurance has survived as a “tax,” states will have much more flexibility to opt in or out of expanded Medicaid coverage without losing all of their federal Medicaid funding. And there is always the possibility of further cuts.
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Kansas' Great Hope: Managed Care Will Tame Medicaid Costs
Kaiser Health news
February 6, 2013
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/February/06/kansas-medicaid-managed-care.aspx
When Kansans think about their Medicaid system, they might have someone like Jessica Corado of Pittsburg, Kansas, in mind. She was working as a waitress, without health insurance, when she found out she was pregnant. "I was 17, and you know Medicaid really helped me, because I felt like I had no other way of paying for my care, and paying for all these hospital bills." Her daughter, Kimberly, is four years old now. Aside from a dental surgery, check-ups and preventive care, she doesn’t have many medical needs. And she’s staying healthy.
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Rep. Kind to Chair Rural Health Care Coalition
Wisconsin Ag Connection
February 6, 2013
http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=150&yr=2013
Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind has been selected to lead a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers who will focus on improving access to health care in rural communities. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee health subcommittee, the La Crosse Democrat will chair the Rural Health Care Coalition in the House of Representatives for the coming two years.
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Lawmakers offer dueling approaches on fixing doc pay
Modern Healthcare
February 6, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130206/NEWS/302069949/lawmakers-offer-dueling-approaches-on-fixing-doc-pay
Dueling legislative approaches to overhaul the Medicare physician payment formula emerged this week. The new movement on the stubborn problem comes as the Congressional Budget Office revised the 10-year cost of fixing it down by more than 40%, to $138 billion from $245 billion, based on lower spending on physician services in recent years. There are some general similarities but also critical differences between an approach contained in bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday and a Republican bill expected in the coming months.
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Lawmakers call again for device tax repeal, touting bipartisan support
Modern Healthcare
February 6, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130206/NEWS/302069964/lawmakers-calls-again-for-device-tax-repeal-touting-bipartisan
Two lawmakers reintroduced a bill Wednesday to repeal the medical-device excise tax, this time with bipartisan support, according to its author, Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.). The Protect Medical Innovation Act (PDF) targets a provision of the healthcare reform law that requires manufacturers to pay a 2.3% excise tax on the sales of certain medical devices. Paulsen was joined by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) as a co-sponsor in resurrecting the legislation.
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Health Care Costs Slowdown Is Good News For Medicare, Medicaid, And Obamacare: CBO Report Shows
The Huffington Post
February 5, 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-young/health-care-costs-slowdow_b_2625439.html
The big headline from the Congressional Budget Office's latest projections on the economy and the federal budget is that the deficit dropped below $1 trillion for the first time during Barack Obama's presidency. But the CBO report also includes some interesting nuggets about federal health care spending, including new numbers on Medicare, Medicaid and health care reform.
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CMS plans shared-savings program for renal care
Modern Healthcare
February 5, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130205/NEWS/302059966/cms-plans-shared-savings-program-for-renal-care
The CMS is bringing its care-coordination and shared-savings model to end-stage renal disease in a program that aims to extract cost savings and improve quality. The initiative comes one month after the New Year's Day fiscal cliff compromise, which called for $4.9 billion in cuts to dialysis providers.
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CMS Proposes Medicare Reforms to Save Hospitals $676M Per Year
Becker’s Hospital Review
February 5, 2013
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/racs-/-icd-9-/-icd-10/cms-proposes-medicare-reforms-to-save-hospitals-676m-per-year.html
HHS and CMS have issued a proposed rule (pdf) that would modify or eliminate Medicare regulations deemed to be unnecessary or obsolete — reforms the government expects will save hospitals and healthcare providers up to $676 million per year and $3.4 billion over five years. "We are committed to cutting the red tape for healthcare facilities, including rural providers," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a news release. "By eliminating outdated or overly burdensome requirements, hospitals and healthcare professionals can focus on treating patients."
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CMS outlines the PPACA exchange record system
Life Health Pro
February 5, 2013
http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2013/02/05/cms-outlines-the-ppaca-exchange-record-system
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will have to create a big new system of records to support the new health insurance exchanges (HIX). CMS is giving a little bit of information about how the new record system -- the HIX program -- will work in a notice to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register.
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CMS: Cutting red tape would save providers millions
Fierce Healthcare
February 5, 2013
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cms-relaxes-supervision-governance-rules/2013-02-05
In an effort to cut red tape, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday proposed a series of provisions, aimed at saving providers an annual $676 million, or $3.4 billion over five years. The proposed changes include relaxing supervision rules for nonphysicians and dropping a burdensome mandate for hospital governing boards. Although hospital associations generally applauded the move toward efficiency, providers were disappointed that CMS is still tied to individual medical staffs at multihospital systems.
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Telehealth reduced readmissions, hospital days: report
Modern Healthcare
February 5, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130205/NEWS/302059954/people-key-to-making-telehealth-work-report
When done right, telehealth programs work. That's the bottom line from a 10-page report, “Scaling Telehealth Programs: Lessons from Early Adopters,” by the Commonwealth Fund. It focuses on three pioneers of home health monitoring technologies and programs: the Veterans Affairs Department, Boston-based Partners HealthCare and Centura Health, Englewood, Colo.
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UPS expanding healthcare facilities
Atlanta Journal Constitution
February 5, 2013
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/ups-adding-expanding-healthcare-facilities/nWGfb/
UPS announced it is expanding healthcare facilities in five key markets, including Atlanta.
The Sandy Springs-based logistics giant is expanding healthcare locations in Louisville, Ky.; Mira Loma, Calif.; Reno, Nev.; Burlington, Ontario; and Atlanta. In Atlanta, UPS said it is adding more than 90,000 square-feet in two existing facilities for a total of more than 200,000 square feet of healthcare space.
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Health Care and the Debt Deal
Real Clear Politics
February 5, 2013
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/02/05/health_care_and_the_debt_deal_116927.html
In agreeing to a temporary increase in the debt ceiling, the House attached several conditions. One was a commitment to pass a budget that will balance within 10 years. Meeting that goal is important not only for the country’s fiscal future but also for the future of the country’s health care. Health care entitlements are a major driver of federal spending. In 2011, Medicare and Medicaid alone accounted for nearly a quarter (more than 23 percent) of all federal spending.
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Analyst issues sequester warning for FDA
The Hill
February 5, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medical-devices-and-prescription-drug-policy-/281131-analyst-issues-sequester-warning-for-fda
Budget sequestration will severely curtail operations at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if cuts hit the agency March 1, analysts said Tuesday. Consulting firm Avalere Health warned the FDA on Tuesday to prepare for the 8.2 percent automatic cut in case lawmakers do not act to stop it. The reduction would amount to $318 million in 2013, according to the White House.
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Cantor: Repeal 'ObamaCare' taxes
The Hill
February 5, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/politics-elections/281215-cantor-repeal-obamacare-taxes
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) emphasized repealing the taxes in President Obama's healthcare law during a speech outlining the House GOP's priorities.
Although Cantor criticized the entire law, he focused his specific calls for repeal on the law's new taxes — specifically a 2 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers.
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Obama health law will cost $1.3T, CBO says
The Hill
February 5, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/281213-cbo-says-obama-health-law-will-cost-13t
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Tuesday that President Obama's signature healthcare law will cost about $1.3 trillion over the next 10 years. The figure represents a slight increase since August, when the nonpartisan budget office estimated that the law would cost about $1.17 trillion before 2022.
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Insurers press doctors to file more claims electronically
The Hill
February 5, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-insurance/281151-insurers-press-doctors-to-file-more-claims-electronically
The number of claims submitted and processed electronically has almost doubled over about the past decade, according to data released Tuesday by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
AHIP said electronic claims rose from 44 percent in 2002 to 94 percent in 2011. But AHIP pressed doctors to file claims more quickly, saying 54 percent of paper claims were filed more than 30 days after the service was provided. Only 16 percent of electronic claims were filed after 30 days, AHIP said.
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Pa. governor rejects Medicaid expansion
The Hill
February 5, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/281181-corbett-wont-back-obama-health-laws-medicaid-expansion
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) said Tuesday that he "cannot recommend" expanding Medicaid under President Obama's healthcare law. In a letter to Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the Republican governor said participating in the federal Medicaid expansion would require tax increases in the state.
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Healthcare: SC people who would be left out of healthcare act
The State
February 5, 2013
http://www.thestate.com/2013/02/05/2619331/healthcare-sc-people-who-would.html#.URF84aVlUrk
Luis Guess works two part-time jobs in the food service business, and he’s not eligible for company health insurance at either. The 31-year-old Columbia resident faces a hospital bill he can’t pay after an emergency appendectomy, and he also has spent time in hospital emergency rooms dealing with his diabetes.
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House bill could create new 'national nurse' public health position
The Hill
February 5, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/281095-house-members-propose-creation-of-national-nurse
Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Pete King (R-N.Y.) and more than two dozen Democrats have introduced legislation that would create a national nurse to work alongside the surgeon general. The National Nurse Act, H.R. 485, would designate the chief nurse officer of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) as the "National Nurse for Public Health."
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State may opt out of health care exchange
Daily Tarheel
February 5, 2013
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/02/state-may-opt-out-of-health-care-exchange\
North Carolina could soon join more than 20 states in opting out of creating a health care exchange — a potential move that has generated vigorous debate among state legislators. N.C. Senate Bill 4, introduced when the N.C. legislature reconvened last week, would exempt the state from running a health care exchange and grant control of the program to the federal government. The bill would not seek an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program.
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For states, hiring health-care ‘navigators’ a huge task; Maine imposes restrictions
Bangor Daily News
February 5, 2013
http://bangordailynews.com/2013/02/05/politics/for-states-hiring-health-care-navigators-a-huge-task-maine-imposes-restrictions/?ref=latest
Signing up an estimated 30 million uninsured Americans for coverage under the health-care law is shaping up to be, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, at the very least a daunting task. While some people will find registering for health insurance as easy as booking a flight online, vast numbers who are confused by the myriad choices will need to sit down with someone who can walk them through the process.
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Snyder to enter brewing Medicaid battle
The Detroit News
February 4, 2013
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130204/POLITICS02/302040338/1022/POLITICS/Snyder-enter-brewing-Medicaid-battle
Gov. Rick Snyder will fire the first shot in the next health care skirmish Thursday when he recommends in his budget presentation to the Legislature whether Michigan should open Medicaid to as many as half a million more residents. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the federal government has promised to pay all costs for three years for residents added to the federal health insurance program for low-income people in states that raise income eligibility. Federal payments would decline to 90 percent from 2017 to 2020 and would never go lower, according to the law.
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House sends two children's health bills to the Senate
The Hill
February 4, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/281017-house-sends-two-childrens-health-bills-to-the-senate
The House on Monday approved two non-controversial children's healthcare bills that they had approved in the last Congress, and sent them on to the Senate. In a 375-27 vote, members approved H.R. 225, the National Pediatric Research Network Act. This bill would create a national pediatric research network consisting of research consortia that can receive grants from the National Institutes of Health.
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Part-Time Employee Health Care Rare Ahead Of Obamacare: Study
The Huffington Post
February 4, 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/part-time-employee-health-care_n_2601047.html
Just 8 percent of part-time workers are enrolled in their company health insurance plans, according to a report released Monday that underscores the reasons for and the challenges created by President Barack Obama's health care reform law. Low-income workers are the primary target of Obamacare's expansion of health insurance to as many as 30 million people through Medicaid, subsidized private plans and new job-based health coverage. But the law's requirements for employers are leading some to consider cutting part-time workers' hours, raising questions about whether these workers will be better or worse off.
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So This Is 30: How Health Care Rules Are Changing for Part-Timers
Workforce
February 4, 2013
http://www.workforce.com/article/20130204/NEWS02/130209991/so-this-is-30-how-health-care-rules-are-changing-for-part-timers
Part-time employees are much less likely to take advantage of employer-sponsored health care benefits than full-time employees, according to new data from ADP Research Institute. The new information could have a significant effect on how companies respond to reforms in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, says Chris Ryan, vice president of Automatic Data Processing Inc.'s strategic advisory service in Louisville, Kentucky, and co-author of the report.
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Sebelius: ‘Help us speed up’ health care rollout
The Washington Times
February 4, 2013
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/4/sebelius-obamacare-here-stay-needs-states-help/
President Obama’s health care law is “here to stay,” but cannot fulfill its promise if states do not expand Medicaid and the uninsured do not take advantage of the benefits designed to put coverage within reach of millions more Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday. Addressing the National Health Policy Conference in downtown Washington, Mrs. Sebelius said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 remains the “law of the land” after the Supreme Court upheld its key provisions in June and Mr. Obama won re-election in November, but several moving parts must sync up before the reforms can be fully effective.
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Obama Urged to Mandate Medical Error Reporting
InformationWeek Healthcare
February 4, 2013
http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/policy/obama-urged-to-mandate-medical-error-rep/240147774
President Obama made a brief mention of healthcare outcomes -- in the context of healthcare spending -- during his Super Bowl pregame interview with CBS News anchor Scott Pelley on Sunday, but some are looking ahead to what he might say during his annual State of the Union address on Feb. 12. One high-profile healthcare safety advocate, Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury secretary and chairman and CEO of Alcoa, wants the president to seize the prime-time, national platform to make a bold statement about the problem of medical errors.
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Everybody’s working for the…health care benefits
The Washington Post
February 4, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/04/everybodys-working-for-the-health-care-benefits/
The Employee Benefits Research Institute recently surveyed workers and retirees on how health-care benefits factored into the timing of their retirement. The short answer is: a lot. Three-quarters of retirees said they worked longer than they would have otherwise to maintain access to their health plan. A majority of current workers agreed with a statement that said they “planned to work longer than you would like in order to continue receiving health insurance through your employer.”
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CMS Unveils 4 Bundled Payment Models
Health Leaders Media
February 4, 2013
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/HEP-288920/CMS-Unveils-4-Bundled-Payment-Models##
From Edison, NJ to San Bernardino, CA, some hospitals and doctors will soon embrace big financial risks with four federal bundled payment models that allow them to reap some avoided Medicare costs, even though it may mean absorbing excess patients' expenses up to 90 days after they leave acute care settings.
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Alaska looks to get a handle on health care costs
San Francisco Chronicle
February 4, 2013
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Alaska-looks-to-get-a-handle-on-health-care-costs-4250460.php
State officials are looking at ways to lower the growth of Alaska's health care costs, including an alternate retiree plan and developing an employee wellness program.
The path the state is on isn't sustainable, Administration Commissioner Becky Hultberg and Health Commissioner Bill Streur told the House Finance Committee on Monday. Streur said he believes something can and must be done to address the issue.
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Legislative committee debates provision of health care act
Union Leader
February 4, 2013
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130205/NEWS06/130209610
Republican members of an oversight committee sparred with the state Insurance Department on Monday over who gets the final say on committing the state to a key element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. States face a Feb. 15 deadline to notify the federal government if they will participate with the federal government in a partnership exchange to help consumers and businesses find health insurance.
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HHS begins purge of 'excessively burdensome' healthcare rules
The Hill
February 4, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/healthcare/280901-hhs-begins-purge-of-excessively-burdensome-healthcare-rules
The Obama administration is proposing to reform existing healthcare regulations and purge unnecessary ones, a move that it says would save $3.4 billion over five years. The Department of Health and Human Services has rolled out suggestions for changes at healthcare facilities that would eliminate red tape in the workplace. Specifically, the proposals would make it so that hospital workers and technicians can perform "tasks they are trained to do, without requiring the supervision or approval of a physician or other practitioner," according to the department.
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CMS Announces Bundled Payment Initiative Participants
Becker’s ASC Review
February 4, 2013
http://www.beckersasc.com/news-analysis/cms-announces-bundled-payment-initiative-participants.html
CMS has announced that more than 500 healthcare organizations will start participating in its Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. The initiative, for which organizations applied for in 2011, will test how different forms of bundled payments can result in more coordinated care and lower costs for Medicare. The initiative includes four models of bundling payments, varied both by the types of healthcare providers involved and the services in the bundle. A description of the models can be found here.
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Week ahead: House returns to healthcare-stuffed agenda
The Hill
February 4, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/280669-week-ahead-house-returns-to-healthcare-stuffed-agenda
This week will offer a full healthcare agenda as House lawmakers return to Capitol Hill. First out of the gate is likely to be criticism of the Obama administration’s announcement Friday that it will not provide broad exceptions to its birth-control coverage mandate.
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Health Information Exchange Debate Gets Fiery
Information Week Healthcare
February 4, 2013
http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/interoperability/health-information-exchange-debate-gets/240147803
Even as the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) continues to promote health information exchanges, the debate over the viability and usefulness of the current generation of HIES is heating up. "It's time to face the facts: Our nationwide network of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) is an unmitigated disaster," declared William Yasnoff, MD, PhD, president of the Health Record Banking Alliance, in a recent article in NHINWatch. John Loonsk, MD, chief medical officer of CGI Federal and a former high-ranking ONC official, also raised questions about the feasibility of HIEs in a recent Healthcare IT News piece.
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Company asks Supreme Court to block NLRB order after lower court rules Obama lacked recess-appointment authority
Daily Caller
February 4, 2013
http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/04/company-asks-supreme-court-to-block-nlrb-order-after-lower-court-rules-obama-lacked-recess-appointment-authority/
Now that the D.C. Circuit Court has ruled the Obama administration lacked authority to make so-called recess appointments of new National Labor Relations Board members, a Connecticut nursing home provider is hoping the Supreme Court will block that board’s order returning striking workers to their jobs. HealthBridge Management Health Care Centers alleged last summer that a collapse in union negotiations led to three of its five affected nursing homes being “sabotaged” by disgruntled workers.
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Ohio Gov. Kasich backs Obama healthcare law's Medicaid expansion
The Hill
February 4, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/280905-kasich-backs-obama-laws-medicaid-expansion
Ohio's Republican governor said Monday that he supports expanding Medicaid under President Obama's healthcare law. John Kasich, who has long criticized the Affordable Care Act, is the fifth Republican governor to accept one of the law's most substantial changes.
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Editorial: DeParle has made her mark with health care reform
KnoxNews
February 4, 2013
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/feb/04/editorial-deparle-has-made-her-mark-with-health/
Four years ago, this newspaper wished Nancy-Ann DeParle the best of luck when she began her tenure as director of the newly created White House Office of Health Care Reform under President Barack Obama. The one-year position turned into four, and last month DeParle left the White House for a new career as a guest scholar in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank. She also plans to lecture at Harvard University Law School, from which she also holds a degree.
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HHS proposed rule further modifies contraceptive coverage provision
Healthcare Finance News
February 4, 2013
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/hhs-proposed-rule-further-modifies-contraceptive-coverage-provision
For the third time since it first introduced its plans to require women’s preventive health services including coverage for contraception under employer-sponsored health plans, the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday announced a modified set of proposed rules aimed at allaying the objections of religious organizations to the mandate. Under the most recent proposed ruled issued last week, nonprofit religious organizations objecting to the mandate can inform their insurer they will not pay for the contraceptive services. Under these circumstances, the insurer would then pick up the cost of providing coverage for that organization’s employees.
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Health Care Spending In America, In Two Graphs
NPR
February 4, 2013
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/02/04/170883349/health-care-spending-in-america-in-two-graphs
Spending on health care has, of course, been rising in the U.S. for decades. Health care now accounts for 18 cents of every dollar Americans spend, up from 7 cents in 1970. But where, exactly, is all that money going? And, for that matter, where is the money coming from to pay for all that health care? We found answers to both of these questions in this data set. First, here's where the money is going.
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Seventh Circuit stays contraception insurance mandate
Daily Report
February 4, 2013
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1202586709414&Seventh_Circuit_stays_contraception_insurance_mandate_&slreturn=20130104155738
A federal appeals court has issued a second ruling staying the health care reform law's requirement that health insurance plans cover contraception and related services. The contraception mandate has been a particularly controversial part of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On Friday, the Obama administration proposed a new compromise in an effort to address the concerns of religious nonprofit organizations to the law, which requires employers to provide health insurance that includes artificial contraception, including sterilization, as a free preventive service.
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John Kasich’s Obamacare flip burns conservatives
Politico
February 4, 2013
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/john-kasich-obamacares-biggest-red-state-catch-87143.html?hp=l1
Conservative groups wanted to stop the march of Obamacare expansion at ground zero: the states. But one of their best hopes just caved.
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CMS Announces Sunshine Act Final Rule
Medical News Today
February 4, 2013
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/255815.php
The CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) announced the long-awaited Sunshine Act final rule which will raise public awareness of the financial relationships between medical device and pharmaceutical companies and doctors and teaching hospitals.
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Regional Insights: Improved health care can help solve the federal deficit
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
February 3, 2013
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/opinion/regional-insights-improved-health-care-can-help-solve-the-federal-deficit-673220/
The single biggest challenge facing the president and Congress this year is solving the federal deficit. How do you reduce the deficit? Although most of the rhetoric in Washington, D.C., focuses on whether to raise taxes or cut spending programs, the reality is that the deficit problem will never be solved unless we control health care spending.
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Religious groups mull Obama's latest birth-control compromise
Chicago Tribune
February 3, 2013
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/religion/ct-met-health-mandate-religion-0203-20130203,0,2029128.story
Wheaton College and Roman Catholic dioceses across Illinois, which sued the Obama administration to avoid paying for birth control, might not have to pay after all, under a health care compromise offered by the Obama administration. Seeking to appease religious organizations, including the dozens that have filed lawsuits, the Obama administration said Friday that it had opened the door for religious nonprofits to rely on a third-party company to cover the cost of federally approved contraception and sterilization procedures.
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Ohio governor nears decision on Medicaid expansion
Modern Healthcare
February 3, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130203/INFO/302039995/ohio-governor-nears-decision-on-medicaid-expansion
Ohio Gov. John Kasich will announce Monday whether he wants to expand Medicaid coverage to more low-income people under President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul. It's one of the most important decisions facing the governor and Ohio's legislature this year. Medicaid is the largest state program in Ohio. And more federal and state dollars are spent on Ohio's Medicaid program than on anything else in the state — more than public schools and universities combined.
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Home Care Aides Await Decision On New Labor Rules
NPR
February 3, 2013
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/03/171000803/health-care-aides-await-labor-decision-on-minimum-wage
Home health care aides are waiting to find out if they will be entitled to receive minimum wage. A decades-old amendment in labor law means that the workers, approximately 2.5 million people, do not always receive minimum wage or overtime. The Obama administration has yet to formally approve revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would change that classification.
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Medical Pay Model: Hospitals and Doctors Weigh In
The New York Times
February 3, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/opinion/medical-pay-model-hospitals-and-doctors-weigh-in.html?_r=0
The ambitious plan by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation to link physician pay to performance (“Carrots for Doctors,” by Bill Keller, column, Jan. 28) reflects a view broadly held by health care policy makers and providers: to make the transformative changes needed to meet swelling demand with dwindling resources, we must explore new care delivery and payment models.
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Hatch: Iowa has chance to expand health care coverage
Des Moines Register
February 3, 2013
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130203/COMM/302030087/Hatch-Iowa-has-chance-to-expand-health-care-coverage?Frontpage&nclick_check=1
I’ve introduced SF 71 to cut the number of uninsured Iowans in half and make affordable health care a reality for an additional 150,000 Iowans. Dozens of Iowa health care providers, patient advocates and faith groups have visited the Capitol to encourage the Legislature and governor to take this step by expanding Medicaid coverage. These groups included the Iowa Hospital Association, Iowa Medical Society, AARP, American Cancer Society, Iowa Catholic Conference, Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church and many others. They tell us we would be wise to accept federal money set aside for our state that would allow us to expand affordable health care coverage.
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No easy cure for doctor deficit in Nevada
Las Vegas Review-Journal
February 3, 2013
http://www.lvrj.com/business/no-easy-cure-for-doctor-deficit-in-nevada-189554381.html
here's just one problem with this success story: Nevada has too few Jessica Zarndts. The Silver State has some of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios in the nation. Physician shortages are so bad the state could double its doctor population in some specialties and still sit at or near the bottom, said Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association.
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Obamacare to drive health-care cost through the roof
Digital Journal
February 2, 2013
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/342632
In the near future American families will be required to purchase health insurance under the Patient protection and Affordable care act. The IRS has recently announced that the cheapest health-care plan under obamacare, for a family of 5 (two adults and three children) will cost approximately $20,000 a year. If families or individuals fail to purchase health insurance, they will be faced with a tax penalty. Many have already argued that health insurance costs will go up under obamacare; it seems that the IRS announcement confirms said argument.
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Healthcare experts see bumpy road ahead: 'Shift happens'
Miami Herald
February 2, 2013
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/02/3213526/healthcare-experts-see-bumpy-road.html
The healthcare industry in South Florida, like the rest of the country, faces huge challenges in the year ahead as major federal reforms kick in, experts told about 700 people at a University of Miami conference on Friday. “We are at a critical time in health policy,” said Mark McClellan, former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “There are going to be some bumps along the way,” especially starting in 11 months, when the biggest changes in the Affordable Care Act kick in.
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Proposal modifies healthcare law's mandate on birth control
Star Telegram
February 1, 2013
http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/01/4594226/proposal-modifies-healthcare-laws.html
After months of criticism and legal challenges, President Barack Obama's administration proposed Friday that religious institutions no longer be required to provide their employees with health insurance coverage for birth control. Nonprofit organizations that had objected to the mandate on moral grounds, including hospitals and universities, would be able to offer plans that don't cover contraceptives, while their employees could enroll in separate insurance policies that would cover birth control.
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One Reason to Keep Working: Cheap Healthcare
The Wall Street Journal
February 1, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/02/01/one-reason-to-stay-on-the-job-health-costs/
The majority of U.S. workers say they would delay retirement just to keep their employer-provided health insurance, according to new research. The study, released Thursday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, found that 53% of workers aged 21 and over planned to retire later than they originally hoped in order to continue receiving health insurance at work.
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FTC stands by informed consent
Modern Healthcare
February 1, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130201/NEWS/302019898/ftc-stands-by-informed-consent
The FTC has been much more supportive of the long U.S. legal tradition of consent as the sine quo non of privacy than has HHS in recent years, despite HHS' seminal role in healthcare privacy policy making in the 1970s. In its just-released report, for example, the FTC said mobile application platform providers should afford consumers with just-in-time disclosures and obtain “express consent from consumers” before allowing apps to access sensitive content, such as geographical locations constantly being obtained by routine operations of the devices, or consent before the platform allows the app to be used for behavioral tracking. Both functions could betray sensitive health-related information, for example, by disclosing that a mobile phone user is making frequent visits to the location of a drug or alcohol treatment abuse clinic, or the mobile app user browses for information about a sexually transmitted disease.
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CMS Reviewing Medicare Payments for Dialysis Drugs
California Healthline
February 1, 2013
http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2013/2/1/cms-reviewing-medicare-payments-for-dialysis-drugs.aspx
CMS is reviewing its Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and clinics that use certain drugs for dialysis treatment, after a recent Government Accountability Office report found that the program could be overpaying for the drugs by as much as $880 million annually. CMS is expected to propose a new pricing scheme in June and finalize it in November, before it takes effect in 2014.
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IRS Releases Final Rules on Health Care Reform Costs
Workforce
February 1, 2013
http://www.workforce.com/article/20130201/NEWS01/130209999/irs-releases-final-rules-on-health-care-reform-costs
The affordability test applies to employer-sponsored health plans. An employee is eligible to receive a federal subsidy to purchase insurance through an exchange if his or her employer's plan premium contribution exceeds 9.5 percent of his or her household income, according to IRS guidelines.
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Obama's health care lies
The Washington Times
February 1, 2013
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/forbidden-table-talk/2013/feb/1/obamas-health-care-lies/
Say what you want about Nancy Pelosi, she got one thing right about Obama’s Affordable Care Act: We had to pass the law to find out what’s in it. Now that some have actually bitten into this Tootsie Roll Pop, they are discovering that its crunchy outside was more palatable than the chewy center. Even labor unions, still euphoric from their love affair with Obama, are starting to see some very disturbing writing on the wall.
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IRS Releases Proposed Regs for Health Care Law: Who's Covered, Who's Exempt and What Happens If You Don't Pay?
Forbes
February 1, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/02/01/irs-releases-proposed-regs-for-health-care-law-whos-covered-whos-exempt-and-what-happens-if-you-dont-want-to-pay/
The IRS has finally released proposed Regulations relating to the requirement to maintain minimum health care insurance coverage under the terms of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, as amended (“ACA”).
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CMS releases long-overdue 'Sunshine Act' rule
The Hill
February 1, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/280651-cms-releases-long-overdue-sunshine-act-rule-
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule Friday that will expose financial relationships between doctors and industry in compliance with President Obama's healthcare law. Pressure had been mounting for the Obama administration to release the final "Sunshine Act" regulations, which are more than one year overdue. Critics blamed the wait on election-year politics.
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Health Care’s Trick Coin
The New York Times
February 1, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/opinion/health-cares-trick-coin.html?_r=0
This month, Johnson & Johnson is facing more than 10,000 lawsuits over an artificial hip that has been recalled because of a 40 percent failure rate within five years. Mistakes happen in medicine, but internal documents showed that executives had known of flaws with the device for some time, but had failed to make them public. It would be nice to imagine that this kind of behavior is exceptional, but in reality, the entire evidence base for medicine has been undermined by a casual lack of transparency. Sometimes this is through a failure to report concerns raised by doctors and internal analyses, as was the case with Johnson & Johnson. More commonly, it involves the suppression of clinical trial results, especially when they show a drug is no good. These problems would be bad enough on their own, but they are compounded by a generation of “fake fixes” that have delivered false reassurance, and so prevent realistic public discussion.
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CMS announces 500 organizations will participate in bundled payment initiative
Healthcare Finance News
February 1, 2013
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-announces-500-organizations-will-participate-bundled-payment-initiative
On Thursday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it had selected more than 500 healthcare organizations to participate in its Bundled Payment for Care Improvement initiative, a program to test how bundling payments for episodes of care can improve care coordination and lower overall Medicare expenditures. The program includes four models of payment bundling differentiated by the type of care provided and the setting where it is provided. The goal is to encourage groups of providers, including physicians, hospitals, post-acute facilities and others, to work in concert in order to improve care for specific episodes.
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U.S. proposes health care rule to ease religious groups’ concern on birth control coverage
The Palm Beach Post
February 1, 2013
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/us-proposes-health-care-rule-to-ease-religious-gro/nWDF6/
The Obama administration on Friday proposed another compromise that would exempt religious groups and universities from having to include contraception coverage while allowing workers and students to get birth control for free. The administration announced the proposed rule in an attempt to quell a backlash against the requirement included in the Affordable Care Act that employers provide contraception coverage with no co-pays or shared costs. The provision had spurred dozens of lawsuits.
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