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Happy 4th of July to all

July 2, 2009 — 1:21pm ET | By Anne Zieger
Readers: This is just a brief note to wish you a happy July 4th. We at Fierce will not be publishing tomorrow, July 3rd, but will resume publishing on July 6th. In the mean time, grill those dogs... Read more...

SPOTLIGHT: Dem Senators prep reform plan with government-option

July 2, 2009 — 12:48pm ET | By Anne Zieger
So, wherefore the public health plan option? Apparently, the Democrats on a pivotal Senate committee have a plan ready to roll that includes a government-run insurance option and a $750-per-worker... Read more...

White House reform director served on boards w/questionable behavior

July 2, 2009 — 12:44pm ET | By Anne Zieger
White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle is in a tight spot. A new investigative report has concluded that DeParle earned more than $6 million serving on the boards of major healthcare... Read more...

Extending Medicare drug payments pays

July 2, 2009 — 12:35pm ET | By Anne Zieger
Extending prescription coverage for Medicare enrollees sounds like an expensive boondoggle to some. However, a new study suggests that the extra cost of such coverage was substantially offset on... Read more...

Trend: E-prescribing on the rise despite problems

July 2, 2009 — 12:28pm ET | By Anne Zieger
In the past, prescribing electronically was confusing to many doctors. Today, however, e-prescribing sounds like a reasonable idea, and its benefits--largely improving prescription accuracy and... Read more...

Johns Hopkins facility settles false claims allegations

July 2, 2009 — 12:05pm ET | By Anne Zieger
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center of Baltimore has agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle false claims charges. The claims asserted that patients suffered from malnutrition and acute respiratory... Read more...

CMS increases hospital outpatient payments

July 2, 2009 — 11:59am ET | By Anne Zieger
Starting in 2010, hospital outpatient departments will see a 1.9 percent increase in their Medicare payments under a proposed CMS rule that will change payment structures. The new rule would allow... Read more...

SPOTLIGHT: Committee develops government-insurance plan draft

July 1, 2009 — 10:00am ET | By Anne Zieger
Though some healthcare industry players are quite unhappy about it, the "public option"--a government run health plan that would compete with commercial plans--is still in play on the Hill. This... Read more...
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Also Noted

> It's a big day for doctor-gift bans. Legislation is taking effect today in both both Massachusetts and Vermont which substantially changes the rules governing industry freebies for physicians. FiercePharma

> It's not just CMS getting down and dirty to fight fraud: the Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans say that the group recovered almost $350 million last year through anti-fraud investigations. FierceHealthFinance

> New York City is putting electronic medical records at the center of a plan to improve population health. More than 1,100 doctors are participating in the project, which gives free EMR software to participants. FierceEMR

> Here's an interesting project. A Kansas clinic has created a mobile virtual private networking letting doctors, nurses and other staffers at Wichita Clinic stay connected to their organization even when they're out of cellular or Wi-Fi range. FierceMobileHealthcare

And Finally... They say justice delayed is justice denied...especially in this case. Article