Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), with nine additional cosponsors, introduced a bill to amend the Public Service Health Act Wednesday night to authorize $20 million in grants for Mental Health First Aid trainings around the country. This program gives emergency services personnel, police officers, educators, primary care professionals, students and others the… Keep reading →
Health spending in July 2014 grew 4.3% over July 2013, bringing the year-to-date increase to 4.4%. This is well above the 3.6% growth rate estimated for 2013 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and, with further acceleration expected in the final two quarters, puts 2014 on track to be the first year since… Keep reading →
National health spending (NHS) in March 2014 grew 7.1% over March 2013, the highest 12-month rate since February 2005, well before the recession, which began in December 2007. The health spending share of GDP reached an all-time high of 17.9% in March, just above its February value of 17.8%. Health care prices in March 2014… Keep reading →
National Health Expenditures (NHE) in February 2014 grew 6.7% over February 2013, the highest rate since March 2007, just prior to the recession, which officially began in December 2007. While governmental data attribute a portion of the growth in January and February 2014 to newly insured individuals under the Affordable Care Act, much of the… Keep reading →
April marks Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Month and the 68th anniversary of the founding of the veterans service organization. Throughout the month of April, Paralyzed Veterans and its 34 chapters across the country will be highlighting the challenges facing veterans with spinal cord injury/dysfunction and educating the public about the programs, services and support… Keep reading →
Health care lost 400 jobs in January 2014, and revised data for December 2013 showed a scant gain of 2,400 jobs. This two-month increase of 2,000 jobs is the lowest since our data series began in 1989, and the 3-month moving average gain of 10,500 jobs has not been lower in more than a decade…. Keep reading →
Led by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Trent Lott, and former Senator John Breaux, the Alliance for Connected Care (www.connectwithcare.org) was launched today to promote policy reform around telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Long thought of as an issue affecting only rural areas, advances in technology and broadband deployment have fostered new… Keep reading →
In the new era of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, the financial ties between medicine and industry will be unveiled as the law is implemented this year and transforms the medical community and patient care. Physicians, researchers, lawyers and medical industry professionals from across the nation will gather to discuss transparency, the state of medicine… Keep reading →
The American Coalition for Healthcare Claims Integrity (ACHCI) today issued the following statement regarding the decision by House lawmakers to refrain from extending the moratorium on the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would cost over $2 billion. Based on the CBO’s feedback, lawmakers removed a proposal from the Sustainable… Keep reading →
Health care prices in October 2013 rose 0.9% above October 2012, the lowest reading in the fifty-plus years for which we have data. Prices for physician services rose by a mere 0.2% while prescription drug prices rose by 0.5%. Hospital prices rose by 1.2%, the lowest rate since November 1998, held down by very low… Keep reading →