As Americans mark breast cancer awareness month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report, Health Insurance Reform and Breast Cancer: Making the Health Care System Work for Women. The report details how health insurance reform will help women diagnosed with breast cancer and is available now at www.HealthReform.gov.
“Thousands of [...]

prescription drugs are the first choice for medical intervention in treating 88 percent of patients suffering chronic conditions. The 50 percent of Americans treated for a chronic condition account for 96 percent of all prescription drug spending and 75 percent of all medical costs. A proprietary new pharmacy model developed over three years by Medco [...]

Care Improvement Plus, one of the nation’s largest chronic condition Special Needs Plans (SNPs), announced today that it has received top scores from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the evaluation of its structure and process measures. The measures are the first in a series of new requirements evaluating the performance of [...]

Health Dialog Services Corporation announced that it has again received full patient and practitioner-oriented accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for disease management services for asthma, coronary heart disease, COPD, diabetes, and heart failure. This three-year renewed accreditation is the highest level of recognition for disease management awarded by NCQA. Health [...]

Health Dialog Services Corporation announced that it has again received full patient and practitioner-oriented accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for disease management services for asthma, coronary heart disease, COPD, diabetes, and heart failure. This three-year renewed accreditation is the highest level of recognition for disease management awarded by NCQA. Health [...]

Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. has entered into a definitive purchase agreement through a wholly owned subsidiary to acquire substantially all the assets of Pegasus Biologics, Inc., a privately held medical device company based in Irvine, Calif., focused on the development of advanced biological solutions for soft tissue repair. The purchase price is $12.1 million in [...]

ALR Technologies Inc announces that insurance carriers will reimburse physicians for remote care of patients by using the ALRT Health-E-Connect System. Healthcare professionals can monitor patient data on-line and intervene to improve clinical outcomes using the proprietary Health-E-Connect System. The ALRT platform is a technology tool for caregivers to track diagnostic data, including blood [...]

On Friday, February 13, 2009, Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI), along with Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced the Health Insurance Coverage Protection Act (H.R. 1085; S442). The legislation, introduced in both houses in 2008, will set a $10 million minimum lifetime cap on health insurance, with future increases [...]

The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) has added a general session on PBM contracting to its 2009 Drug Benefit Conference to be held March 4-6 in Phoenix, Arizona. The session is designed to help employers and other purchasers execute contracts that maximize the potential for benefit cost savings. Discounts on conference registration are available until [...]

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation has awarded $1.95 million in grants to 17 health care delivery organizations working to implement more cost-effective care for the uninsured through outreach and education, prevention, and medical management. The grants range from $55,000 to $95,000.
“State residents who remain uninsured despite the historic gains made under the [...]