New rules have been proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services to stregthen patient privacy protections. Continue Reading

The Senate on Friday passed the annual “doc fix” — but this short-term stay on the reimbursement rates for physicians who treat Medicare patients does not resolve the underlying problem: Those reimbursements are woefully below market. And if Congress does not address this, the much-heralded health-care reform is at risk (Dr. Michael Newman, 6/19). Continue Reading

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby sets out to clarify how the new health law might change consumers’ current health insurance premiums and benefits. Continue Reading

A few years back a law that was meant to cover millions of elderly extending their prescription drug coverage backfired with many who could not access their medicines or were charged more all because of computer generated errors. Administration, industry and consumer groups are gearing up to prevent the same thing from happening after the healthcare bill became law last week. Continue Reading

GlaxoSmithKline today announced the launch of the GSK Vaccines Access Program, which will provide the company’s adult vaccines free of charge to eligible, low income individuals who do not have insurance coverage for vaccines. The program will cover the company’s FDA-approved vaccines for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis for eligible persons ages 19 and older. Continue Reading

Senate Democratic leaders are trying to end the debate on a bill that “fixes” the health overhaul law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday. Once the debate ends, the Senate is expected to begin voting on a number of Republican amendments, The New York Times reports. Continue Reading

Austin American-Statesman: The Texas Medical Association split with the American Medical Association to announce its opposition to the health care bill that passed Sunday, saying: “We are disappointed and saddened that Congress and President Obama would pass a half-baked Senate proposal and call it ‘Health System Reform.’ The bill is simply bad medicine for patients and the state of Texas.” Continue Reading

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the voice of the world’s commercial software industry, today announced a settlement with iCan Benefit Group of Boca Raton, FL. iCan Benefit paid $61,500 to BSA to settle claims that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec software installed on its computers. As part of the settlement agreement, the company agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software from its computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become compliant, and commit to implementing stronger software asset management (SAM) practices. Continue Reading

In releasing a new report on maternal health nationwide, Amnesty International today revealed that flaws and shocking disparities in maternal health care that the government is ignoring lead to two to three women dying daily in the United States from pregnancy-related complications, with half of these deaths believed preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Continue Reading

In releasing a new report on maternal health nationwide, Amnesty International today revealed that flaws and shocking disparities in maternal health care that the government is ignoring lead to two to three women dying daily in the United States from pregnancy-related complications, with half of these deaths believed preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A state-by-state examination shows that New Jersey is 35th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. Continue Reading