Chiropractic Students Eligible for IHS Loan Repayment Program

No Author — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:25:00 EST

The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued a public notice Monday in the Federal Register that details the requirements for qualified health professionals who may apply for funds available under the student loan repayment program of IHS.

DCs are now eligible to apply through this program.

New USDA Rules Spell Out Healthier School Lunches

No Author — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:01:00 EST

School cafeteria workers will be serving up more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and keeping an eye on portion control as well, according to new rules set down by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The plan will be phased in over three years.

US Obesity Stats

No Author — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:42:00 EST

Obesity -- in both kids and adults -- may be hitting a plateau, according to CDC researchers. Over the past seven years, the prevalence of obesity has hovered at around 36% for adults and at about 17% among children and adolescents.

CMS Moves Closer to Forced Disclosure Provision

No Author — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:18:00 EST

Drug and device companies have just a month remaining to comment on a proposed rule that would require them to report all financial relationships with doctors.  The government will post the financial relationship information on a public website where patients and anyone else can check what ties to the medical industry a given doctor has.

HHS Publishes New Medicaid Quality Measures

No Author — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:39:00 EST

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a set of 26 quality measures that will eventually be used to determine the quality of care that adult Medicaid patients are receiving in each state.

Binge Drinking Common Among Adults, CDC Finds

No Author — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:12:00 EST

About one in every six U.S. adults binges on alcohol, according to the CDC, and among those who do, the binges occur roughly once a week on average and include an average of eight drinks each time, agency researchers reported.  More stats in this report.

Ear Candles Under Attack of FDA

No Author — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:03:00 EST

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the FDA by advocates of medical uses for ear candles.

The companies suing the FDA deny that the candles are 'medical devices.'  The appeals court dismissed the ear candle supporters' charge because the letters don't amount to 'final agency action.' The FDA said only that the companies 'appear' to be intending their ear candles to be used to treat medical conditions, the court stated.

HHS Issues Rule on Electronic Payments from Insurers

No Author — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:36:00 EST

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a final rule on the electronic transfer of funds between insurers and healthcare providers that the agency says will save billions of dollars and millions of pounds of paper.

The move sets the stage for insurers to eventually eliminate paper checks and instead transfer payments to healthcare providers electronically.

The rule will save physicians and hospitals between $3 billion and $4.5 billion over the next decade, by saving paper, printing, and postage costs, as well as savings in staff time to manually process and deposit paper checks, according to HHS.

Medicare Participation Enrollment Extended to Valentine's Day

No Author — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:04:00 EST

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a six-week extension to the annual Medicare participation enrollment period, which was scheduled to conclude Dec. 31.

Physicians� Medicare participation elections or withdrawals must be postmarked on or before Feb. 14.

CMS Reports on Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

No Author — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:24:00 EST

CMS reports that on December 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (TPTCCA). This new law prevents a scheduled payment cut for physicians and other practitioners who treat Medicare patients from taking effect immediately.

CMS reports that 'the new rates will be posted on the Fee Schedules Web page as soon as all testing is completed. A TrailBlazer notice will be posted to notify providers when the updated fees are available.

FDA Panel Gives Okay to Risky Birth Control Pill

No Author — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:39:00 EST

An FDA advisory panel voted 15-11 that the benefits of controversial drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives outweigh the risk of venous thromboembolism.

The vote 'came after a day-long hearing in which patients and relatives of patients made emotional calls for the drugs � sold under the brand names Yasmin and Yaz, among others -- to be pulled from the market.'

Prescription Drug Fraud Part of HHS Plan to Cut Costs

No Author — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:09:00 EST

Prescription drug fraud plagues the entire healthcare system.  170,000 Medicare beneficiaries received prescriptions from five or more doctors, and Medicare moves over $1 billion a day.

The Department of Health and Human Services is now encouraging health insurers to hold up payments for 'suspicious' Part D drug claims.

HGC OTC Sales Halted by FDA and FTC

No Author — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:44:00 EST

The FDA and the Federal Trade Commission said over-the-counter weight loss products containing human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) are fraudulent and illegal, and the agencies have told seven manufacturers to stop selling them.

CDC to Track Use of Antibiotics in Hospitals

No Author — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:02:00 EST

The CDC has launched a new electronic tool to monitor antibiotic use in hospitals to help facilities curb overuse of the drugs.

Cigarette Warnings Up in Smoke

No Author — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:39:00 EST

A federal judge has blocked the rule that will require cigarette packs to be emblazoned with graphic images warning of the dangers of smoking and ruled that the tobacco companies suing the federal government are likely to win with their free speech argument.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued an injunction Monday and said that the five cigarette companies that are suing the federal government over being required to carry the warning images will, 'suffer irreparable harm,' without an injunction barring the images from appearing on packs until a full, 'judicial review of the constitutionality of the FDA's rule,' is carried out.

Medicaid Payments Cut in Many States

No Author — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:34:00 EST

The 11th annual survey of state Medicaid programs concluded that continued Medicaid budget pressure on many states led them to expand cost-saving measures in 2011 and 2012.

These moves included increasing enrollment in Medicaid managed care, reducing or ending optional benefits such as dental care, tightening prescription drug formularies, and enacting or hiking co-payments.

However, reducing Medicaid fees to doctors and other health professionals was the most common cost-saving option enacted by states.

HHS Launches Healthy People 2020

No Author — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:25:00 EST

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated its Healthy People program to reduce health risk factors and disparities, providing new topics and objectives for 2020.  The Healthy People initiative began in 1979 with a Surgeon General's report, which set public health targets to be reached by 1990. It has been revised in 10 year increments ever since.

The 2020 version identifies nearly 600 objectives ... in 42 topic areas.

In announcing the new update, the department claimed that 'the country has either progressed toward or met' 71% of the Healthy People 2010 targets.'  However, most of this progress was minimal and few of the objectives were met completely.

Last Week's "Capitol Ideas"

No Author — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:13:00 EST

Monthly premiums for Medicare Part B will be about $100 in 2012 -- a 3% increase over 2011, but lower than what was projected, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

Part B deductibles, which is the amount beneficiaries must pay for healthcare services before Medicare pays, will be $140 in 2012, $22 less than it was this year. Once that deductible is reached, beneficiaries are then responsible for a 20% co-pay for each service performed by a participating provider, with no annual limit on out-of-pocket costs.

State of Disease Tracking

No Author — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:50:00 EST

State health departments have made steady progress in implementing electronic systems to track and share data on the prevalence of diseases, but states use varying tracking systems that may not work together as well as they should, according to a report from the CDC.

Proposed Standards for Food Marketing Aimed at Children

No Author — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:48:00 EST

An Obama administration proposal that calls on the food industry to voluntarily improve the nutritional value of food marketed to children.

The proposal would set limits on the amounts of sodium, added sugars and other nutrients 'that do not provide a meaningful contribution to a healthful diet.'

They also would set minimum amounts of healthier ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, lean meat and low-fat milk products, and would call on the food industry to adopt the standards by 2016.

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