TABLE OF CONTENTS

May 21, 2012

American Medical News  Web-only issue

Top stories - Government - Profession - Business - Opinion - Health - 2012 index

Top stories

Medicaid primary care pay: The next SGR?
Putting Medicaid primary care rates on par with Medicare’s raises concerns that doctors will face a new kind of payment cliff after just two years.

More newborns showing ill effects of maternal opioid use
The number of newborns diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome nearly tripled in 10 years due to increasing opiate use among pregnant women, a new study shows.

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Government & Medicine

Former Medicare chiefs say SGR must be eliminated
Past leaders of the agency overseeing the program call on lawmakers at a Senate hearing to approve health reforms that fix Medicare’s broken pay system.

Nearly every state showed health access declines in 2010
The share of adults younger than 65 with unmet medical needs due to cost rose to nearly 20% during the last decade, a new study says.

Appeals court blocks overhaul of VA mental health system
Judges say they have no authority to decide whether the agency provides adequate medical care, despite an earlier panel’s finding of “unchecked incompetence.”

AMA calls for 2-year delay of ICD-10 enforcement
The government must gauge the full impact of the massive code sets before requiring doctors to use them for billing services, the Association says.

News briefs:

• Medicare lawsuit over RUC payment advice is thrown out
• House panel endorses drug user fee reauthorization
• New Jersey governor vetoes bill to establish insurance exchange
• GAO recommends cost savings for Medicaid, Medicare
• Florida counties challenge Medicaid billing law in court

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Professional Issues

Massachusetts hospitals launch patient apology program
The initiative, aimed at reducing liability claims, is similar to disclosure efforts at academic medical centers in Michigan and California.

Drugmakers pledge transparency to tackle credibility problem in journals
Stung by the Vioxx fiasco and other missteps, pharmaceutical companies are partnering with editors to improve the reporting of industry-funded clinical trials.

In the Courts: Minnesota ruling could put medical staff rights at risk

News briefs:

• Georgia replaces assisted-suicide law that was tossed out
• Macy Foundation helps fund examination of GME

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Business

3 ways doctors can take on insurers
Physicians don’t have to remain silent if they feel a health plan is wrong.

Consumer-directed health plans shown to be money-savers
However, researchers say a small part of that savings was patients electing not to pay for some preventive services.

Health insurer earnings telegraph uptick in spending
More visits to doctors’ offices may not be the reason for growth.

Technically Speaking: Should doctors stop patients from taking smartphone pictures?

News briefs:

• Florida insurer launches oncology ACO
• Health plans fined over failure to offer mental health coverage

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The cost of fighting medical liability lawsuits
Connected coverage -- selected articles on trends, challenges and controversies in the changing world of medicine.

Letters:

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Health

Physicians key in tackling the nation’s obesity epidemic
If drastic steps are not taken, 42% of the U.S. population could be obese and 11% of the overall population by 2030, a study shows.

News briefs:

• Physician screening can get patients to open up about abuse
• Nation’s prescription drug shortages decline, FDA says

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