News
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rule updating the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) for 2012. In a press release, CMS noted that the final changes are a result of the agency seeking to "improve payment accuracy" while still supporting patient access.
CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield and Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions have announced a joint effort to create a clinical pathways program for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory disease that affects more than 2.1 million people annually.
With U.S. drug shortages reaching record numbers, President Obama issued an executive order on Monday, directing the FDA to take steps to reduce current shortages and prevent future disruptions.
Regenerative medicine company Stratatech Corp. has been awarded $4.6 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The grant will fund the first human clinical trial of Stratatech's ExpressGraft antimicrobial skin substitute, a potential treatment for chronic diabetic foot ulcers.
Humana Inc. this morning released financial results for its third quarter that showed net profits up more than 13 percent compared to its third quarter 2010 results.
Grants totaling $4.5 million have been awarded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to support three research centers that focus on clinical preventive services.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that HP Enterprise Services will be a prime contractor for the VA Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology (T4) program, which aims at transforming the VA's IT programs in order to improve quality of healthcare and benefits services to veterans, their families and survivors.
Washington governor Chris Gregoire last week proposed cutting at least $664 million from healthcare programs in order to help balance the state's budget.
U.S. healthcare prices increased in September 2011, rising 0.2 percent over August prices, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Medicare Part B premiums in 2012 will be more than 6 percent less than was projected earlier this year by the Medicare Trustees.