News From Around the Web
> Medicare Part D's efforts to prescribe generic medication in order to trim drug costs comes with a harmful side effect, according to a report from Avalere Health: Name-brand opioids such as OxyContin have been redeveloped in recent years to deter abuse, but the generic drugs increasingly prescribed in their place have not. Report
> Anthem (4.8 million members) and UnitedHealth (4.47 million members) lead the nation's Medicaid managed care market, according to an AIS Health report due to be released later this month. Meanwhile, Health Net's California Medicaid and L.A. Care are the single plans with the most enrollees; both top 1.6 million enrollees. Statement
> President Barack Obama likes to say that the nation's uninsured rate of 11.9 percent is the lowest ever. It's definitely the lowest rate since 1997, Kaiser Health News reported, but a lack of historical data means that may not necessarily be the lowest rate ever. Article
Healthcare IT News
> Federal investments in information technology efforts all too often do not meet expectations and essentially become money pits, according to testimony before the House Subcommittees on Government Operations and Information Technology on June 10 by David Powner, director of information technology management issues at the Government Accountability Office. Article
Health Finance News
> Eighty-two percent of cities or geographic regions in the United States saw their hospital prices rise between 2011 and 2013. Article
And finally … Age ain't nothin' but a number. Article