» I Know What You Did Last Summer
09/02/10 10:10 from The Treatment
So how would Republicans respond to President Obama's invitation to a bipartisan meeting on health care? Consider the first paragraph of this new letter from House Republican leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor : We welcome President..
» Vitamins in a Nutshell
09/02/10 09:00 from ACP Internist
This post by Davis Liu, MD, originally appeared at Better Health. Some patients love their vitamins, spending hundreds to thousands of dollars annually. At times, they will even forgo proven medical therapy. As more Americans go without he..
» Health reform meetings need closer look, House panel says
09/02/10 08:01 from American Medical News - GOVERNMENT
Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, wants information about pledges from health industry to the Obama administration to reduce spending growth by $2 trillion over a decade.
» High-Speed Rail\'s Job and Energy Benefits to the U.S.
09/02/10 06:05 from TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories
The Obama initiative to create a high-speed rail system as a way to generate green jobs, enhance economic productivity and reduce carbon emissions is likable. Is it feasible?
» CMS\' New Drug Spending Projections
09/02/10 02:00 from Drug Channels
“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it\'s about the future.” Niels Bohr The economists at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) just released their 2010 projections for U.S. National Health Expenditures (NHE). Here are ..
» Pay for Performance Program Does Not Guarantee Quality Improvement: Study
08/02/10 21:07 from HFMA News
Although healthcare policymakers and private insurers champion pay for performance (P4P) as a tool for improving the quality of health care, a large P4P initiative failed to produce either a major improvement in quality or notable disrupti..
» Almost Half of Rural Hospital Patients Are on Medicare: AHRQ
08/02/10 21:04 from HFMA News
Medicare paid for 45 percent of all stays in rural hospitals in 2007, while private health insurance paid for 25 percent of such stays, according to a statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In urban hospital..
» Car Crashes Impact Hospital Payment and Throughput
08/02/10 21:03 from HFMA News
Patients involved in car crashes are more likely to have private insurance than other types of emergency department (ED) patients, according to recent research from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Fifty-five percent ..
» Patient-Friendly Tool: CMS Clarifies Observation Status
08/02/10 21:02 from HFMA News
A new publication from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may help patients understand how hospital status—or whether a patient is an inpatient or outpatient—affects Medicare payment to hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. T..
» Study: Health Costs Higher Where Hospital Competition Is Lower
08/02/10 17:17 from WSJ.com: Health Blog
Spending by private insurers tends to be higher when the hospital market is less competitive, a new study finds. The study, published in the American Journal of Managed Care , compared geographic patterns of Medicare spending, using the Da..
» Skepticism Toward Obama’s Health Care ‘Summit’
08/02/10 15:52 from Kaiser Health News - Blog Watch
Bloggers take in–sometimes skeptically–President Barack Obama\'s call for a televised summit with Republicans to discuss health care reform. Time\'s Kate Pickert says the event will be “interesting political theater” ..
» FUS Mutations in Familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in the Netherlands [Original Contribution]
08/02/10 15:51 from Archives of Neurology current issue
Objectives To assess the frequency of FUS mutations in 52 probands with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) and to provide careful documentation of clinical characteristics. Design FUS mutation analysis was performed ..
» Effects of Intensive Medical Therapy on Microemboli and Cardiovascular Risk in Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis [Original Contribution]
08/02/10 15:51 from Archives of Neurology current issue
Objective To assess the effect of more intensive medical therapy on the rate of transcranial Doppler (TCD) microemboli and cardiovascular events in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS). Design A prospective study. ..
» The Course of Nonspecific Chest Pain in Primary Care: Symptom Persistence and Health Care Usage [Original Investigation]
08/02/10 15:50 from Archives of Internal Medicine current issue
Background Nonspecific chest pain is common in primary care, yet knowledge is sparse about its course and outcome and how they relate to optimum health care usage. We investigated the following observations: (1) many patients who pre..
» The Health Care Summit—Who’s Gonna Win the Photo-Op?
08/02/10 14:50 from Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review
Getting Democrats and Republicans to constructively engage on health care is the best way to make progress.To date, the Democrats have blown health care reform once again by being too arrogant in thinking they could just ram their version t..
» Obama Invites Republicans To Share Ideas At Televised Health Reform Summit
08/02/10 11:58 from Kaiser Health News Daily Health Policy Report
During a live televised interview with CBS News\' Katie Couric Sunday, President Obama invited Republicans to a half-day health care reform summit to hear their ideas on overhauling the nation\'s health care system.
» Dems May Add Health Provisions - Including COBRA Subsidies and Medicare Fixes - To Jobs Bill
08/02/10 11:56 from Kaiser Health News Daily Health Policy Report
Fixes could include restoring Medicare provisions that expired on Jan. 1, such as prohibiting caps on physical, speech and occupational therapy. Doctors are also looking for Congress to stop a 21 percent cut in reimbursements.
» Study: Medicare Bladder Cancer Treatment Policy Raises Health Costs
08/02/10 11:31 from Kaiser Health News Daily Health Policy Report
\"Medicare\'s move in 2005 to pay doctors to do bladder cancer surgery in their offices rather than in hospitals dramatically raised the number of procedures and overall health costs, U.S. researchers said on Monday,\" according to Reuters.
» KHN Column: Yes, Let\'s Talk About Those Republican Ideas
08/02/10 11:06 from Kaiser Health News Daily Health Policy Report
For most of last year, Republicans spent their time attacking Democratic plans for reform, rather than describing their own. But now they’ve put a plan on the table. Showcasing that plan--and comparing it to what the Democrats have proposed..
» Pfizer Pushes Discount Cards in Emerging Markets
08/02/10 11:04 from WSJ.com: Health Blog
To expand its business in emerging markets, Pfizer is taking a page out of the supermarket playbook: Offer a card that patients can present at the pharmacy to get a discount on their drugs. The card also allows the company to study patient..
» Clinton Health Reform Veterans Helping With Obama Overhaul Effort
08/02/10 11:04 from Kaiser Health News Daily Health Policy Report
The Associated Press reports that aides who helped with the Clinton health care reform effort are pushing to help President Barack Obama pass his health system overhaul this year.
» Analysts: If Health Reform Fails, Expect More Industry Mergers
08/02/10 10:48 from Kaiser Health News Daily Health Policy Report
News outlets report on how the fate of the health care overhaul might affect health industry mergers and biotech firms.
» QD: News Every Day--Obama calls for a health reform summit
08/02/10 10:11 from ACP Internist
Health care reform In a bid of showmanship, President Barack Obama invited Republicans to the White House for a televised half-day summit to lay out ideas for health care reform. During the president\'s State of the Union address, he asked ..
» Obama’s Call for Bipartisan Discussion Passes for Health News
08/02/10 09:25 from WSJ.com: Health Blog
Hard to believe, but it was just weeks ago that everybody was busy hashing out the last-minute nitty gritty of what the Dems\' final health-care bill would look like. Now, in a 59-41 world , President Obama\'s call for a televised bipartisan..
» A Hole in the Safety Net
08/02/10 08:13 from Disruptive Women in Health Care
The following guest post is written by Candace Littell , Health Policy Advisor at Candace Littell, LLC. Candace Littell is a consultant with 30 years experience in healthcare policy and reimbursement. She serves as an advisor to corporate ..
» Another Medicare pay patch on the horizon?
08/02/10 07:00 from American Medical News - GOVERNMENT
Enactment of a debt limit bill would allow for a five-year Medicare rate freeze without a requirement to find offsets.
» Obama targets federal deficit
08/02/10 07:00 from American Medical News - GOVERNMENT
The president wants a commission to address the national debt, projected to double by 2020, with Medicare and Medicaid consuming about a quarter of spending.
» Obama budget freezes physicians\' Medicare pay for 10 years
08/02/10 07:00 from American Medical News - GOVERNMENT
If Congress follows the White House proposal, $371 billion would go toward reversing planned annual cuts but would not increase Medicare rates.
» First Edition: February 8, 2010
08/02/10 06:50 from Kaiser Health News - Medicare
Today\'s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the White House\'s upcoming health summit.
» Anti-Insurance Mandate Movement In States Could Kill Reform
08/02/10 04:22 from BNET Healthcare
Efforts in two-thirds of the states to block the individual insurance requirement in national legislation could doom healthcare reform.
» Study shows how Medicare rewards MDs for overuse
08/02/10 00:17 from Reuters: Health News
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Medicare\'s move in 2005 to pay doctors to do bladder cancer surgery in their offices rather than in hospitals dramatically raised the number of procedures and overall health costs, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
» Five Ideas for Getting Health Care Reform Back on Track
08/02/10 00:00 from RWJF News Digest - Health Reform 2009
None of the problems that made an overhaul of the health care system necessary has gone away.
» Republicans may opt out of Obama's health-care summit
08/02/10 00:00 from RWJF News Digest - Health Reform 2009
Leading House Republicans raised the prospect Monday night that they may decline to participate in President Obama\'s proposed health-care summit if the White House chooses not to scrap the existing reform bills and start over.
» Health Reform Week Ahead: Insurance Antitrust Exemption, COBRA, Obama\'s Bipartisan Ideas
07/02/10 18:25 from Kaiser Health News - Politics
News outlets report President Obama is trying another strategy to move a health overhaul forward. And, when the Senate reconvenes (after Washington digs out from the snowstorm), it\'ll take up a jobs bill that deals with some health issues. ..
» Obama to GOP: Fine, Let's Talk (Updated)
07/02/10 15:02 from The Treatment
President Obama is making good on his pledge, first put forth in the State of the Union, to reach out to Republicans on health care reform. In a CBS News interview with Katie Couric that just aired, Obama announced that he's invi..
» A Way Out of the Health Care Wilderness?
07/02/10 14:39 from Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review
I just came across an interview that I will suggest we all may have missed and perhaps charts the way out of this health care reform wilderness we now seem to be in.It was on February 2nd and was between the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein and..
» How to Get Enough Votes in the Senate
07/02/10 09:36 from The Health Care Blog
By PAUL LEVY When Hillary Clinton was running for President, she set forth a more modest agenda for health care reform than her competitor, Barack Obama. Maybe she understood better, based on her experience, how difficult it is to get...
» Obama Calls the Next Play for Health-Care Reform
07/02/10 00:00 from RWJF News Digest - Health Reform 2009
By setting this summit, he\'s bought them a few weeks to figure out how to hold a vote themselves.
» Democrats Debate Next Steps On Health Reform, Obama: \'America Can\'t Afford To Wait\'
06/02/10 15:43 from Kaiser Health News - Politics
At the Democratic National Committee\'s annual winter meeting, President Obama got a standing ovation when he said \"I won\'t walk away\" from pushing for a health overhaul.
» Weekend Links
06/02/10 13:13 from Healthcare Economist
Antidepressants no more effective than placebos . If you are readying this, you may be depressed . Health expenditures in 2018: 20.3% of GDP . Worker\'s Comp and Medicare . Understanding the employer-based health insurance tax subsidy . V..
» A Wintry Mix Of Policy
05/02/10 17:05 from Kaiser Health News - Blog Watch
Bloggers put in their two cents before a mammoth snowstorm hits the nation’s capital. First up is the most recent edition of Health Wonk Review , a biweekly compendium of the best health policy blogging. Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters ..
» CHCF\'s Mark Smith on Converging Market and Public Health Interests
05/02/10 15:48 from Health Affairs Blog
In an interview in the February issue of Health Affairs , California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) President and CEO Mark Smith reflects on successes and failures in areas where market interest and public interest converge in health care. S..
» Podcast interview with Quantros CEO Dr. Sanjaya Kumar (transcript)
05/02/10 14:43 from Health Business Blog
This is the transcript of my recent podcast intervie w with Quantros co-founder and CEO Dr. Sanjaya Kumar. David Williams : This is David E. Williams, co-Founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog. I\'m speaking t..
» Airplane Medicine: What Happens When You Answer The Flight Attendant\'s Call For A Doctor
05/02/10 14:20 from ACP Internist
This post by Liam Yore, MD, originally appeared at Better Health. Rounding at 37,000 Feet Anyone who has flown long-distance flights has heard the call: \"If there is a doctor on board, please identify yourself to a flight attendant.\" But i..
» Health-Care Hiring Continues
05/02/10 12:41 from WSJ.com: Health Blog
The latest unemployment rate reported by the government today was unexpectedly good — 9.7% in January, down from 10% the previous two months — and health-care hiring was again on the plus side, with the sector adding 14,500 job..
» Capitalism vs. Socialism
05/02/10 12:16 from Healthcare Economist
John Kay offers a European perspective on the debate of between the superiority of a market economy against a centrally planned economy . Is there empirical evidence that a market economy is superior? John Kay says yes: “ The fall of the..
» Stalled Health Care Bill Leaves Drug Makers in Regulatory Limbo
05/02/10 12:07 from NYT > Health
Without the regulatory certainty stemming from the health care bill, drug companies face unpleasant surprises like a heavier tax on foreign income.
» QD: News Every Day--The government\'s rising stake in health care costs
05/02/10 11:51 from ACP Internist
The federal government may be stalled on health care reform legislation, but the executive branch has been expanding its stake in paying for care. Yesterday, QD reported that federal and state governments will pay for more than half of the ..
» America Held Hostage, Day One
05/02/10 11:12 from The Treatment
As my colleague Jonathan Chait notes on his blog , Senator Richard Shelby's decision to put a hold on all Obama nominees, until his state gets several billion dollars in pork barrel spending, really does seem to be a seminal moment in..
» In Jobs Bill, Democrats Push To Include Extension Of COBRA Benefits, Medicare \'Doc Fix\'
05/02/10 10:24 from Kaiser Health News - Medicare
Democrats are including some health considerations into a jobs bill and regrouping on their legislative agenda.