News

A new report prepared for the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System offers a series of recommendations to help shore up the finances of safety-net hospitals and promote their ability to provide high-quality care to low-income, vulnerable patients once the health reform law is fully implemented.

The trend of MRI and ultrasound being used together for more effective diagnosis is cited as a major reason for growth in sales of both modalities, according to a recent report from healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.

In an effort to standardize financial transparency for nonprofit and for-profit hospitals in New Jersey, the state's Senate's Health Committee approved a bill that would require for-profits to publicly disclose the same financial information that nonprofit entities must file with the Internal Revenue Services.

In an effort to standardize financial transparency for nonprofit and for-profit hospitals in New Jersey, the state's Senate's Health Committee approved a bill that would require for-profits to publicly disclose the same financial information that nonprofit entities must file with the Internal Revenue Services.

Later this month, just as the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the 2010 health law, the House is expected to pass a measure that would repeal an advisory board created in the law to curb Medicare spending if it exceeds specific targets.

Mitt Romney was declared the winner in Alaska's Republican district conventions, ensuring he'll have the support of a majority of the state's 24 delegates to the GOP's National Convention.

Maine's Department of Health and Human Services is having trouble with interoperability between its decade-old Medicaid IT eligibility system and its one-year-old claims system and it's resulting in budget woes, according to Mary Mayhew, commissioner, DHHS.

A bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. Andrew Manuse to prevent New Hampshire from setting up and running a health insurance exchange passed on Thursday by an overwhelming margin.

A computer glitch has resulted in Maine potentially covering 19,000 residents with Medicaid benefits who are no longer eligible to receive coverage.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT hopes to see "really rapid progress" this year on the building blocks that will promote health information exchange, such as provider directories, certificates to assure identification and rules of the road for the nationwide health information (NwHIN) Exchange.