SUBJ: Medicaid primary care pay: The next SGR? Monday May 21, 2012 - American Medical News - www.amednews.com Fresh news posted every weekday. See bottom for news posted last week. Rely on this alert to keep you up to date - always one click to full text. Follow us: http://facebook.com/amednews - http://twitter.com/amednews 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/gvl10521.htm 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/hll20521.htm ************************* ADVERTISEMENT ************************ Stay informed American Medical News helps you keep pace with a changing profession. Subscribe to RSS feeds for your site, your blog, or yourself. http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;234509089;55526966;x?http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/site/newsfeed.htm **************************************************************** 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/gvsa0521.htm 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/gvsb0521.htm 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." http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/gvsc0521.htm 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/gvsd0521.htm 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/prsa0521.htm 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/prsb0521.htm In the Courts - Minnesota ruling could put medical staff rights at risk http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/prca0521.htm BUSINESS 3 ways doctors can take on insurers Physicians don't have to remain silent if they feel a health plan is wrong. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/bisa0521.htm 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/bisb0521.htm Health insurer earnings telegraph uptick in spending More visits to doctors' offices may not be the reason for growth. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/bisc0521.htm Technically Speaking - Should doctors stop patients from taking smartphone pictures? http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/bica0521.htm OPINION The cost of fighting medical liability lawsuits Connected coverage -- selected articles on trends, challenges and controversies in the changing world of medicine. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/edsa0521.htm HEALTH & SCIENCE 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. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/21/hlsa0521.htm POSTED LAST WEEK Health plans providing detailed cost estimates of doctor visits - May 15 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/bisd0515.htm Omega-3 intake linked to lower levels of protein associated with Alzheimer's - May 15 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/hlsc0515.htm EHR incentive payments improve bottom line of for-profit hospitals - May 16 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/bise0516.htm Obesity raises women's risk of rheumatoid arthritis - May 16 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/hlsd0516.htm GAO: Doctors should submit more data to get meaningful use money - May 17 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/bisf0517.htm Physicians receive federal innovation grants - May 17 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/gvsd0517.htm CMS eases rules to cut doctors' regulatory burdens - May 18 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/gvse0518.htm Teen immunization rates improve with middle school vaccine mandates - May 18 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/05/14/hlse0518.htm _____________________________________________________________________ SITE QUICK-GUIDE: * Latest issue www.amednews.com/new * Past issues www.amednews.com/archives * Topics www.amednews.com/topics * Multimedia www.amednews.com/multimedia * RSS www.amednews.com/newsfeed * Twitter http://twitter.com/amednews * Facebook http://facebook.com/amednews _____________________________________________________________________ Keep getting our alerts! 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