First Edition: June 9, 2014 -
Today the titles include a status report on the discussions of the GOP and the debate on plans to replace the law health and coverage of the emerging legislation to replace Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision
Kaiser health News :. Lawsuit accuses Anthem Blue Cross Of Practices' Fraudulent registration
Kaiser Health writer Staff News Julie Appleby reports: "giant California Insurance Anthem Blue Cross misled" millions of registered "about whether their doctors and hospitals participating in its new plans, and failed to disclose that many policies would not cover care outside its approved network, according to a class action filed Tuesday "(Appleby, 7/9). Read the story, which also appeared San Jose Mercury-News and the Los Angeles Daily News
:. Kaiser Health News Study: Hospitals Not bilking Medicare Use of electronic medical records
reports for Kaiser Health News, in partnership with NPR, Eric Whitney wrote: ". a new study indicates that there is no need to worry about hospitals using their new EMR to generate larger bills and increase their income that has been a concern since at least 2012, when the departments of Justice and health and social services sent a very firm letter hospitals their warning against the inappropriate use of electronic documents "(Whitney, 7/8). Read the article
:. Politico GOP House Stuck on Obamacare replacement
the abrogation of their "repeal and replace" the promise was easy; the House voted dozens of times to repeal or defund all or part of the law since its adoption in 2010. It is the part that is a challenge to replace. Republicans are divided as to whether they should commit to a specific plan before November -; and precisely what the policies of a bill on the GOP health should include (Winfield Cunningham, 7/8)
The New York Times :. Democrats Push Bill to reverse Supreme Court contraceptives
Democrats in Congress said Tuesday that legislation developed to replace the decision of the Supreme Court on contraceptives. The bill would ensure that women have access to insurance coverage for birth control, even if they have worked for companies that have religious objections (Pear, 7/8)
The Wall Street Journal :. Democrats Line Up Challenge To contraception Supreme Court decision
Senate Democrats plan to push against the decision Hobby Lobby Supreme Court last week with legislation to restore the responsibility of employers to provide contraceptive coverage under the health Act. Meaning. Patty Murray of Washington and Mark Udall of Colorado should pass legislation Wednesday aimed at preventing companies from relying on a law of religious freedom to avoid complying with the requirement of the Affordable Care Act to cover all forms of contraception approved by the government without load. workers a share (Petersen and Crittenden, 7/8)
The Wall Street Journal report raises red flags on Medicare billing Lab
Medicare has $ 1.7 billion in payments to clinical laboratories 2010 for applications that raised red flags, according to a report to be released Wednesday, the latest example of how the federal insurance program for the elderly and disabled is likely to waste and abuse . The report, by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, found that more than 1,000 laboratories showed five or more questionable billing measures during this year, the latest available when the office started compiling the data. This includes various measures mean higher billing than average, using the identification numbers of ineligible physicians and administering duplicate tests, among other things (ADAMY, 7/9)
The Washington Post:. Federal employees give their savings, health -Insurance Plans Top Notes
federal employees rank their retirement savings and health insurance programs as the most important of their benefits, and large majorities say these programs meet their needs and provide value for money. These are among the main conclusions 2013 Federal Employee Survey, the results of the Office of Personnel Management recently published (Yoder, 7/8) Benefits
The Wall Street Journal :. Agency reviews 67 complaints of retaliation against VA Whistleblowers
an independent federal investigative agency continues 67 active complaints about VA employee health facilities, according to testimony given to a House committee Tuesday. Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner said the complaints come from 28 states and 45 separate facilities, including 25 complaints since 1 June (Schwartz, 7/8)
The Associated Press. VA is accused of Reprisal complaints in 67 cases
A federal investigative agency has examined 67 applications retaliation by supervisors of the Department of Veterans Affairs against employees who filed whistleblower complaints -; including 25 complaints since 1 June, after a scandal growing healthcare involving long waits for patients and falsified records in hospitals and clinics department became public (7/8)
USA Today. VA Whistle-Blowers Take Turn Ripping Agency
Veterans Affairs whistleblowers took turns tearing their own agency in a hearing in Congress on Tuesday not only not to Veterans of America and falsification of records appointment, but to retaliate against employees who attempt to report the safety and ethics violations. Among those testifying before the Committee on Veterans Affairs was Dr. Katherine Mitchell, a doctor at the health care system VA Phoenix, who told the committee some patients died because of medical failure. Trying to stand up for veterans, Mitchell added, it became the target fictitious investigation, smear campaigns, job transfers and other reprisals (Wagner, 7/9)
politico :. Lawmakers Laud VA Whistleblowers
lawmakers charged House on Tuesday that a culture of corruption in the Department of Veterans Affairs has allowed the organization to retaliate against whistleblowers freely. At a hearing of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, the peppery legislators four federal whistleblowers on how to fix the reputation of the VA to take action against employees who raise concerns about the quality of health care or fraud and said the VA needed a larger cultural change (French, /8).[19450037]
NPR: Does this help tool Tech Manage the health of older people? Ask Dad
2.0 The aging may not seem like the hippest startup in San Francisco, but it is part of a $ 2 billion industry and growing fast -; technology to help the elderly. Katy Fike, 35, is co-founder of the company. It is dedicated to ensuring that older people who are supposed to use the products involved in their development. This is particularly important because the start-up creators of high technology tend to be much younger than the recipients of their products (Jaffe, 7/8)
The Wall Street Journal :. Study of cancer care gives mixed results
a closely watched study to remove the financial incentive for doctors to prescribe expensive cancer drugs delivered a mixed result, with expenditures of lower overall treatment, but rising costs of chemotherapy drugs. The results of the study, which focused on UnitedHealth Group Inc. insurance arm and five oncology practices, raise questions about the most effective way to cut rapidly growing tab for the treatment of cancer. The US spent more on drugs against cancer last year -; $ 37 billion, up 19% in five years-than any other category, according to the Institute IMS Healthcare Informatics, a unit of IMS Health. The overall costs for cancer treatment are well over $ 100 billion per year and installation, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute (Wilde Mathews, 7/8)
The New York Times: . rapid price increases for certain users Catch Generic Drugs Surprise
for patients, this meant prices in pharmacies often tripled from last October to this June, according to Doug Hirsch, general manager of GoodRx.com, website following drug prices to help consumers find bargains. And while the average price at the pharmacy for a month of digoxin this year is still relatively cheap, about $ 50, he said, some patients are now facing costs over $ 1,000. This may result in co-pays hundreds of dollars (Rosenthal, 7/8)
The Wall Street Journal :. Charlie Crist is trying a new embrace of Obama
On the campaign trail, Mr. Crist, who has taken heat from Republicans to embrace Obama in 09 before its split the GOP, vigorously defended the health care law health of the president, called for expanding Medicaid coverage under it, that Florida has not done-and supported by the administration plan high-speed rail (Camp-Flores, 7/8)
The Associated Press :. NY lawmakers back cover for Ostomy Supplies
The New York legislature voted to require that health insurers provide coverage for equipment and supplies stoma treatment, to help ease the financial burden for sufferers of the disease chronic (7/9)
The Wall Street Journal :. insurer, New York to settle claims
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman Wednesday is expected to announce an agreement with EmblemHealth Inc. that requires the health insurance company to change the way it handles claims behavioral health and addictions, his office said. The attorney general's office said its investigation found that since at least 2011 EmblemHealth by a subcontractor, has issued 64% more denials of coverage from health behavior coverage in medical cases (Vilensky, 7/8).
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