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Today's opinions and editorials

You would be hard pressed to find any health policy expert who isn't disappointed that cost containment has fallen off the health care "reform" express (Robert Laszewski, 11/25).

25 Nov 2009

Lobbyists – including some surprise players – keep the heat on health legislation

Washington groups have lobbied Congress and the public in nearly every imaginable direction on health reform. But those groups include a few that you may not have guessed would have an interest.

25 Nov 2009

Experts call for greater crackdown on Medicare fraud

Efforts to crack down on Medicare fraud heat up while some experts say more should be done.

25 Nov 2009

Data miners can inform drug companies of doctors' prescribing habits

The Baltimore Sun reports: "[P]harmaceutical companies that make … prescription drugs are also looking over the doctor's shoulder, keeping track of how many prescriptions for whose drugs the individual physician is writing."

25 Nov 2009

Health reform financing ideas watered down, questions remain on premiums, taxes

The New York Times reports that while the Senate health bill "includes nearly every big idea that health economists and medical researchers have for slowing cost growth — as well as for improving the patchwork quality of American health care, ... many of the ideas, like the rule on Medicare reimbursement, have been at least partly neutered. A provision to punish hospitals for infecting their patients, for example, would cut payments for the related treatments by a mere 1 percent.

25 Nov 2009

Health companies' momentum may cut right through reform savings

Health companies have done better than the rest of corporate America during the past decade, MarketWatch/Seattle Times reports. While profits at the S&P 500 companies declined slightly over 10 years, "[d]ata compiled by MarketWatch show that the 52 health-care companies in the index are about to close out the decade with average profits that nearly tripled."

25 Nov 2009

7 tips on cutting medical bills

Research into medical billing has revealed that it is possible to drastically and immediately cut medical expenses not covered by medical insurance plans. www.BestHealthcareRates.com, a knowledgeable leader in the online medical insurance field, has collected the 7 best tips to help individuals pay off medical bills quicker by first reducing them to more manageable levels.

25 Nov 2009

Fact checks examine various health care reform claims

The Christian Science Monitor reports on four key issues - a public option, raising taxes and cutting costs, individual mandates and abortion - that may become points of major differences when expected debate begins Nov. 30 on the Senate bill. The Monitor examines how each issue is covered in both the House and the Senate bills (Chaddock, 11/24).

25 Nov 2009

Senate Health Committee likely to hold hearing on new mammogram guidelines

Roll Call reports that 22 senators have written the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee asking its leaders to hold hearings on controversial new mammogram guidelines. "The letter came less than a week after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended looser guidelines for breast cancer screenings. The task force suggested that women wait until they turn 50 to begin screening and then undergo one mammogram every two years instead of every year."

25 Nov 2009

Merge Healthcare, Insite One expand their contract to provide a universal viewing solution for archiving services

Merge Healthcare, announced today that InSite One, a leading service provider of medical data archiving, storage, and disaster-recovery solutions, has expanded its contract with Merge to provide a universal viewing solution for their InDex® archiving services.

25 Nov 2009

Medical fees surprise patients, bankruptcy plagues others

High medical fees often catch patients off-guard while many plagued by medical debt file for bankruptcy.

25 Nov 2009

A two-door clinic segregates patients based on how they pay

A radiology clinic in Manhattan's Upper East Side has two doors, an example of a new, two-tiered medical practice model favored by some doctors, MSNBC reports. One door opens to a crowded waiting room while the other opens into a small private room with four chairs and little or no waiting line.

25 Nov 2009

KHN column: Don't rationalize busting the budget -- start over

In this Kaiser Health News column, Robert Laszewski writes about concerns that the reform measures being considered on Capitol Health do not slow the growth of health care costs.

25 Nov 2009

Senators push for COBRA benefit extension

CongressDaily: "Democratic senators are aiming to pass legislation to extend subsidies to help the unemployed and underemployed afford healthcare coverage before federal funding expires at the end of this year, Sen. Robert Casey Jr., D-Pa., said today. Casey said he expects the Senate to move to the bill following the healthcare bill, which could be difficult depending on how rancorous the debate becomes" (11/24).

25 Nov 2009

AARP calls for Idaho's members of Congress to support real health care reform

As the debate over health care reform is expected to pick up in the Senate after Thanksgiving, notices of health care premium increases are hitting mailboxes across Idaho -- leaving many families wondering how they'll be able to afford the hikes. While high health care costs have left nearly 15% of Idaho without insurance, as benefits run out for the state's 67,300 jobless residents that number will jump in the coming months.

25 Nov 2009

Healthways and Physicians Health Choice agree to provide SilverSneakers Fitness Program

Healthways, Inc. and Physicians Health Choice today announced an agreement to provide the Healthways SilverSneakers® Fitness Program, the nation’s leading exercise program for older adults, to eligible Physicians Health Choice plan members in Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Arkansas beginning in January 2010.

25 Nov 2009

Smoothie Factory supports Chronic Disease Fund’s mission with holiday fundraising program

More than 14-million Americans, with chronic or life altering diseases and cancer, can’t afford the medication they need because of the high out-of-pocket costs associated with their insurance coverage. That’s why the Chronic Disease Fund, a nonprofit organization, provides financial help to seriously ill Americans so they can get the medications they need to live without the fear of debt.

25 Nov 2009

Study: On-call radiology residents accurately interpret most emergency neuroradiology CT scans

On-call radiology residents generally provide accurate preliminary interpretation of emergency neuroradiology CT scans after hours when attending neuroradiologist unavailable, according to results of a large study performed at a level I trauma center published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR).

25 Nov 2009

Journal policies call for authors to disclose COIs for improved transparency

Nearly 90 percent of medical journals with relatively high impact factors have policies addressing author conflict of interest (COI) available for public review, according to a report in the November 25 issue of JAMA. But many journals do not require authors to sign disclosure statements, and there is variability in how COI is defined.

25 Nov 2009

Results of impact of 2010 CMS Physician Fee Schedule survey released

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) has released the initial results of a survey about the impact of the 2010 CMS Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on patients and practices.

25 Nov 2009