Professor: Lower Cost-Sharing for Chronic Conditions
May 27th 2014Chronically ill patients, who are more likely to require necessary care, should pay less for health insurance, Aaron E. Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, argued in an op-ed for the New York Times.
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EHR Adoption Increases 133% at Community Health Centers
May 23rd 2014Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) have increased their EHR adoption by 133% over the past four years, says a report from The Commonwealth Fund, with 93% of FQHCs in possession of an EHR and 85% of these community provider organizations reporting advanced HIT capabilities.
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Roche's Gazyvaro Receives Backing of EU's CHMP for CLL
May 23rd 2014EU's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)supported the use of Gazyvaro based on the phase III CLL11 study, wherein treatment with Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab) plus chlorambucil significantly reduced the risk of disease worsening or death by 86% and increased survival time for previously untreated CLL patients compared to those who received treatment with chlorambucil alone.
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CMS Proposes Extension of Stage 1 Meaningful Use in EHR program
May 22nd 2014A CMS proposal could extend the deadline for providers to transition to Stage 2 meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). Agency officials said they have received extensive feedback from health providers who felt they did not have enough time to efficiently transition their EHR systems.
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Encouraging Results With Vaccine Against Pancreatic Cancer Developed at CINJ
May 21st 2014'Encouraging' Period of Stable Disease Suggested in Direct Injection Vaccine Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer. Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey to be presented at the Pancreatic Cancer-focused meeting held by AACR in New Orleans.
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CMS Issues Final Ruling For Medicare Part D
May 21st 2014A CMS ruling would force healthcare providers to enroll in Medicare by June 1, 2015, if they plan to prescribe medications that are paid for by the program. The agency said in a report that changes to Medicare Part D were necessary in order to cut down on inappropriate prescription practices and to improve patient safety.
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Bundled Payments Could Cut Medicare Fraud, Experts Say
May 20th 2014Health and policy experts are pushing for a system that pays doctors a lump sum for medical care or allows them to share in savings, saying it will save millions of dollars over current fee-for-service payments that can lead to fraud and over-use of medications.
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Higher Health Insurance Cost-Sharing Impacts Asthma Care for Low-Iincome Kids
May 20th 2014Parents in low-income families were less likely to delay asthma care for their children or avoid taking their children to see a doctor is they had lower vs. higher levels of health insurance cost-sharing.
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Encouraging Results With Radioimmunotherapy and Gemcitabine Treatment in Metastatic PDAC
May 20th 2014Combining a novel radioimmunotherapy treatment with gemcitabine presented encouraging results in PDAC patients who had undergone metastasis. The data was presented at a AACR special conference currently being held in New Orleans.
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States Stick to Insurance Exchange Models
May 20th 2014Few states could claim Obamacare's first enrollment period was smooth-whatever the final numbers-but most will approach their insurance exchanges the same way for the 2015 window. None has asked the Obama administration to take over its marketplace or elected to abandon HealthCare.gov in favor of running its own.
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CMS Issues Final Rule on Navigators, Risk Corridors for 2015
May 19th 2014The CMS on Friday issued its final rule for exchange and insurance market standards for 2015 and beyond, a potpourri of policies that address consumer notices, quality reporting and enrollee satisfaction surveys, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), standards for navigators and other consumer assisters, and policies regarding the premium stabilization programs, among others.
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