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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: health care industry

health care industry stories: 42 news summaries

21 - 40 of 42 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

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 At the Mall? Pick Up 
 Some Health Care 

Blue Cross sells coverage from a Fla. storefront

Mar 5, 09 11:18 AM CST
(Newser) - The nation's largest health provider is trying a new tack: selling insurance from a stripmall storefront. The suburban Florida Blue Cross shop hopes to attract some of the state's 4 million uninsured residents, and it's part of an "overall retail transformation" of the industry, a spokesman tells NPR. Consumers... More »

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Florida • health care • health care industry • uninsured • Blue Cross • Bill Maher Grid

(Newser) - In his address to Congress, President Obama made it clear certain industries are in his crosshairs, from agribusiness to defense to health care. But those industries aren’t taking it lying down, the Wall Street Journal reports. They’re spending big on lobbyists, hoping to derail—or at least reshape—... More »

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Barack Obama • agriculture • Boeing • health care industry • lobbying • lobbyists • defense spending • utilities • Obama administration • President Obama

Back-Room Consensus: Require Health Insurance for All

Kennedy leads meetings with industry

Feb 20, 09 11:55 AM CST
(Newser) - A series of unprecedented back-room meetings among the biggest players in health care is close to a consensus: Any new legislation will require that every American have insurance, the New York Times reports. The next part, of course, is trickier: figuring out how to enforce it, how to make it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care • health insurance • insurance companies • business • Ted Kennedy • health care industry • Medicaid • labor unions • health care reform

OPINION

'Intangible' Jobs—Health, Education—Are US' Best Bet

Knowledge-based sector gains jobs; those making homes, autos disappearing

Dec 11, 08 4:51 PM CST
(Newser) - The job market may be hitting rock bottom, but the “intangible" sector of the economy—comprising industries that, like health care and education, produce nothing concrete but have long-lasting effects—could be the best path for development, writes economist Michael Mandel in BusinessWeek. “Tangible” industries—like manufacturing—have... More »

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economics • health care industry • job creation • Obamanomics • financial crisis • President Obama • "intangible" economy

Now You Can Buy Insurance for Insurance

Think you'll lose health coverage? Firm will insure your right to it

Dec 3, 08 9:23 AM CST
(Newser) - Healthy and insured but afraid you might someday lose your medical coverage? UnitedHealth has just launched a new product that lets consumers pay now for the guarantee that they’ll be able to get insurance later—even if they get sick, the New York Times reports. Critics are skeptical of... More »

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health care • health insurance • health care industry • insurance • health care reform • UnitedHealth • insurance industry

 Cleveland Clinic 
 First to Divulge 
 Docs' Drug Ties 

Research center strives for complete disclosure on potential conflicts of interest

Dec 3, 08 4:35 AM CST
(Newser) - One of America's leading medical research centers will reveal all links its doctors and scientists have to drug companies and makers of medical devices, the New York Times reports. The move by the Cleveland Clinic—stung by conflict-of-interest accusations when cozy relationships between staff and suppliers have been discovered—is... More »

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drug companies • health care industry • medical research • doctor • Cleveland Clinic • conflict of interest

US Health Care Bleeds $1T, But Can Be Saved

Preventative model could save taxpayers billions

Nov 29, 08 5:35 PM CST
(Newser) - What America needs is another preemptive strike, executives say—in the world of health care. As Barack Obama gears up to reform the industry, several health care leaders say that up to half of the nation's $2.3 trillion health budget is wasted. In a broad consensus, they call for... More »

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health care • health care costs • health care industry • America • health care reform • President Obama

Next Stab at Health Reform Looks More Promising

Industry claims to be ready to compromise

Nov 20, 08 9:33 AM CST
(Newser) - If health care reform passes this time, a major factor will be that its erstwhile enemies are now rooting for it, the Wall Street Journal reports. An industry roadblock killed the Clinton administration’s attempt in the early 1990s, but this time, insurers are playing ball. “You see a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care • Ted Kennedy • health care industry • universal health care • Clinton administration • health care reform • Max Baucus • Tom Daschle • health insurers • President Obama

E-Records Improve Care, But Cost Discourages Doctors

Insurers, hospitals are main beneficiaries; feds weigh financial incentives

Jun 19, 08 3:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Doctors aren’t using electronic health records, though they lead to better care, a study reports. Why? The costs are prohibitive, especially for small private practices. E-records do bring savings—but for insurers and hospitals, not doctors who invest in them. The government is experimenting with financial incentives for doctors... More »

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health care • health care industry • doctor • medical records • online medical records • electronic health records

 Medicare Fraud Runs Rampant 

Most claims are filled automatically

Jun 13, 08 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Health care fraud is rampant, especially in South Florida and the LA area, and surprisingly easy to pull off, reports the Washington Post. The 11-digit annual price tag could be smaller if investigators focused more on the fact that Medicare, for example, is "highly vulnerable" to scam artists and... More »

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fraud • Medicare • health care industry • Michael Mukasey

Manufacturing's Unemployed Find Work at the Hospital

The healthcare sector's growth could help mitigate US slowdown

Apr 15, 08 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - American communities once reliant on the manufacturing industry are increasingly being supported by the growing healthcare sector, the Wall Street Journal reports. Over the past 10 years, the former paper-mill town of Bangor, Maine, lost 3,700 factory jobs—but gained 3,500 healthcare jobs, a hopeful sign for an... More »

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health care • health care industry • Maine • manufacturing • credit crisis • subprime crisis • service economy • job creation

Record $2.79B Spent Lobbying Last Year 

Health-product industry leads way in seemingly 'recession-proof' uptick

Apr 10, 08 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Lobbyists made a record-breaking $2.79 billion on Capitol Hill last year, beating 2006’s record by $200 million. The healthcare industry led the way, spending $227 million on attempts to influence legislators, up 25% from the year previous. The insurance and real-estate sectors were right behind, Reuters reports. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
General Electric • health care industry • lobbyists • real estate wealth • US Chamber of Commerce

Nurses With Doctorates
Ease Shortage

Advanced degrees, 'hybrid practitioners' raise questions

Apr 2, 08 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - As part of the effort to counter the worsening doctor shortage, some 200 American nursing schools plan to train "hybrid practitioners" with doctorates in nursing practice who can function as independent primary care givers. But even as the concept of the DNP catches on, some physicians and nurse practitioners... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • education • nurses • physician • health care industry • doctor • shortage • nursing • Doctor of Nursing Practice

Many Duck
DNA Tests Over Fears of Bias

Bosses and insurers
will dis them over disorders, some say

Feb 24, 08 5:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Some Americans are ducking genetic tests for fear that bosses and insurers may single out those with disorders, the New York Times reports. Others, tested privately, hide problems from doctors to dodge financial pain—leading, in some cases, to health problems that could have been avoided. But insurance reps and... More »

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DNA • health care industry • health insurance premiums • genetic disorders

States Push to Restrain Insurers

Legislators see rise in unfair cancellations
of individual plans

Feb 21, 08 5:10 PM CST
(Newser) - As more Americans buy individual health insurance, states are acting to make sure insurers don’t cancel the plans without fair cause, USA Today reports. Plans can be canceled if applicants misreport their medical history, whether accidentally or on purpose. But amid complaints that companies are cutting the plans... More »

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health care industry • insurance • state legislature • state governments • health insurers • Blue Cross • health care cancellations • insurance fraud

'They Took
My Daughter
Away From Me'

Family plans to sue insurer after teen dies awaiting liver transplant

Dec 21, 07 7:15 PM CST
(Newser) - The family of a 17-year-old whose insurer had refused to OK a liver transplant plans to sue the company in the wake of the girl's death, the Los Angeles Times reports. Leukemia patient Nataline Sarkisyan died after Cigna HealthCare refused to fund the transplant despite doctors’ recommendations. After online... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care • health care industry • leukemia • liver • UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital • Cigna • Nataline Sarkisyan

UnitedHealth's Ex-CEO Will
Pay Back $620M

Ousted Maguire settles claims over backdating stock options

Dec 6, 07 9:59 PM CST
(Newser) - UnitedHealth's ex-CEO will surrender another $420 million in stock options and retirement pay to settle claims in a scandal over stock-option backdating. William McGuire already had forfeited $200 million to UnitedHealth when he was ousted last year, the Wall Street Journal reports, making his giveback one of the largest in... More »

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health insurance • CEO • health care industry • corporate earnings • corporate responsibility • stock options

Take 2 and IM Him in the Morning

Brooklyn general practitioner does much of his business in cyberspace

Nov 18, 07 10:43 AM CST
(Newser) - Eschewing traditional practice, a Brooklyn doctor is using the Internet to generate and conduct much of his business, Yahoo News reports. For $500, patients get three yearly examinations from Jay Parkinson, and can email or text him during the business day. "I'm not so much an online doctor,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • health care costs • Internet • health care industry • Dr. Jay Parkinson

Battle Brews in Pharma's Market

Pfizer launches attack on generic drug that threatens Lipitor's dominance

Nov 3, 07 6:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pfizer is trying to stave off its own heart attack now that its flagship cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor faces stiff competition from a cheaper generic. Lipitor is still patent-protected, but a very similar drug called Zocor isn't, and since a generic version called simvastatin hit the market, many doctors and insurers... More »

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insurance companies • pharmaceutical companies • Pfizer • cholesterol • health care industry • heart attack • medical treatment • statins • LDL • generic drugs • Zocor • Lipitor • simvastatin

Clinics Test Prepaid
Health Plans

Flat-rate programs aim to take up slack for uninsured, underinsured

Oct 22, 07 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Primary care is increasingly out of reach for patients and unprofitable for physicians, but a prepaid plan at a walk-in clinic could provide a solution, one doctor says. Vic Wood charges a monthly fee for basic and urgent care, allowing his practice to stay afloat and his uninsured patients to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care costs • health insurance • health care industry • doctor • health care reform • primary care

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