Act averts 10.1 percent reduction in Medicare payments to
physicians, extends SCHIP.
In one of its final acts before adjourning for the year,
Congress approved a modest bill (S.2499) that averts a 10.1
percent reduction in Medicare payments to physicians, extends
the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that
provides health insurance to millions of low-income children,
and makes various other changes that provide payment and
regulatory relief to dozens of other Medicare and Medicaid
stakeholders.
The legislation is mostly good news for physicians,
hospitals, and other health care service providers and payors,
as well as program beneficiaries....
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On July 14, 2010 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published formal notice of its long-awaited proposed rule under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH).
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on July 6, 2010 that soy meal imported from Argentina produced from Roundup Ready® soybeans does not infringe a Monsanto gene patent since the gene in question in the soy meal cannot perform its function, as is required by Article 9 of Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions.
On June 28, 2010, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario released a decision in Appeal Number PA08-294-2, which pertains to disclosure of Schedules to a product listing agreement between an unidentified drug company (the "affected party") and the Executive Officer of the Ontario Public Drug Programs ("OPDP").
On Wednesday, July 14, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its notice of proposed rulemaking entitled "Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act" (HITECH).
The healthcare industry is facing historical changes including an ever more complex regulatory environment, continued decreases in reimbursement rates, and other competitive and economic pressures.
The recently enacted health care reform legislation (H.R. 3590) includes a generous new tax credit that could benefit biotech firms and other health companies with fewer than 250 employees.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as the health reform act) contains many changes to how we access, deliver, and pay for health care in this country.
Four companies selling direct-to-consumer genetic tests came up with different results for DNA samples of the same individuals, and some findings contradicted the actual medical histories of the patients, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
On July 13, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released, final regulations implementing the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 provisions that provide incentive payments for the meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.
