health policy report
ME judge nixes law limiting prescribing data access
It looks like the prescription data miners have won another victory. After successfully challenging a similar law in New Hampshire, Wolters Kluwer Health, IMS Health and Verispan have won an action... Read more...
Study: Hospital bills up 90 percent over past decade
Even when adjusted for inflation, hospital bills have increased by about 90 percent over the past 10 years, according to new data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The report,... Read more...
Trend: Hospital EDs continue to face strain
Evidence continues to mount up that emergency departments are facing an overcrowding crisis. According to a new report published this week in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, ED visits by people... Read more...
NY health system restructuring moving ahead
As FierceHealthcare readers know, the New York state health system underwent a historic shock last year, when state health planners named a list of hospitals and nursing homes which would be required... Read more...
Trend: Nursing homes big users of antipsychotic meds
In recent times, nursing homes' use of antipsychotic drugs for patients without psychosis has gone up significantly--a trend which is beginning to catch the eye of regulators, consumer groups and... Read more...
Number of PA ASCs keeps growing, but profits level off
Standard market economics have kicked in surprisingly late in Pennsylvania. After several years of hothouse growth, and corresponding increases in profits, margins at the state's ambulatory surgical... Read more...
AHA says Medicare P4P proposal would hurt hospitals
In an entirely predictable move, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has come forward to say that it isn't pleased with CMS's new proposal to base Medicare hospital payments on quality measures.... Read more...
Federal mental health parity measure faces roadblocks
Federal mental health parity legislation--designed to require health plans to cover mental illnesses on an equal basis with physical illnesses--has made meaningful progress of late. However, it's... Read more...
Grassley investigates Medicaid drug claims
Senator Chuck Grassley (D-Iowa) has begun investigating whether the Medicaid program is routinely paying for prescription drugs which haven't gone through the CMS approval process. Presently, to bill... Read more...
WA governor wants MRSA reporting
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) is asking the state's medical laboratories to begin reporting when they detect cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Gov. Gregoire has... Read more...
