Category: 4th Circuit Affirms Withholding of WV Medicaid Funds

whcchealthinnovations
Today the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit affirmed a ruling by the district court in West Virginia which sustained a disallowance of federal funding by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) against the West Virginia Medicaid Program.
The 4th Circuit Decision in West Virginia Department of Health and […]

MEwens
It’s no secret that there’s a shortage of physicians that will likely only get worse when the health-care overhaul law brings an estimated 33 million new people into the health-care system starting in 2014.
To gauge the current access situation, the government is planning a mystery shopper program that is already raising the hackles […]

whcchealthinnovations
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has made available the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT) Provider Compliance Training webcast. OIG is making the training information available to help highlight and educate providers on the the federal government’s effort to fight health care fraud and abuse.
More information about  HEAT Task Force […]

MEwens
Kaiser’s latest health tracking poll focuses on Medicaid — and some of its findings may surprise you. About half (51%) of the 1,203 adults surveyed report a personal connection with the federal-state insurance program for low-income Americans, defined as receiving benefits themselves or having a friend or family member who has done so.
Digging […]

Laura Landro
Hep C Drugs: Incivek, the hepatitis C drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson, won FDA approval, setting up a marketing battle with Merck’s new drug Victrelis, which was approved a week ago, the WSJ reports. Both drugs are added to existing therapies and will be expensive; a course of Victrelis […]

MEwens
Paying for Quality: WellPoint’s Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states will tie hospital reimbursement increases to quality of care, as measured by a 51-indicator test, the WSJ reports. The assessment is based 55% on health outcomes, 35% on measures of patient safety and 10% on patient satisfaction; the company’s chief medical […]

Katherine Hobson
Hearing Arguments: Three appellate court judges questioned whether Virginia has standing to sue the federal government over the health-care overhaul in a hearing on two of the suits challenging the law, the WSJ reports. The judges, all appointees of Democratic presidents, were chosen at random. Virginia’s challenge to the law is one […]

Katherine Hobson
Capsugel Sale: Pfizer is selling its drug capsule-making unit, Capsugel, to private-equity firm KKR for $2.38 billion in cash, the WSJ reports. The drug maker is reviewing all its business units, and an analyst report released last month said the company might spin off enough businesses to reduce its annual revenue base […]

MEwens
Food Worries: Elevated radiation levels were found in spinach and milk from areas near the Japanese nuclear power-plant disaster over the weekend, prompting the government to today suspend shipments of those products, plus rapeseed, from four prefectures, the WSJ reports. In addition, radiation was found in tap water in a village about 20 […]

MEwens
Under the terms of the health-care overhaul law, about 16 million people will join the Medicaid rolls starting in 2014.
But once that happens, will there be enough doctors, particularly those focused on primary care, to treat them?
A study out this week from the Center for Studying Health System Change (CSHSC) comes to a […]