By Judith Gordon http://www.philly.com We almost had a catastrophe in our health care system. A mandated 10 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements was averted Tuesday when Congress overrode President Bush’s veto of a bill that would protect doctors from the cut. But the reduction was instigated by a flawed calculation designed to reduce Medicare spending […]

By REED ABELSON http://www.nytimes.com American medical care may be the most expensive in the world, but that does not mean it is worth every penny. A study to be released Thursday highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its health system and the quality of care it delivers, especially when compared […]

http://www.seacoastonline.com COLUMBIA, Mo. — By 2025, the wait to see a doctor could get a lot longer if the current number of students training to be primary care physicians doesn’t increase soon, according to a new University of Missouri study. Jack Colwill, professor emeritus of family and community medicine in the MU School of Medicine, […]

By E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com Two New York health insurance companies are rewarding doctors with cash incentives for prescribing generic drugs. The companies, Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rochester, N.Y., and Independent Health, based in Buffalo, are offering higher compensation to doctors who increase their rates of prescribing generics instead of more expensive brand-name medications. […]

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http://www.wral.com RALEIGH, N.C. — State medical regulators have voted to cut back on the amount of information they post on a Web site about malpractice settlements of North Carolina doctors. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that the North Carolina Medical Board decided to only post settlements that total more than $25,000 on […]

By Beth Cooney http://www.greenwichtime.com When they tell their pregnant patients someone else will have to deliver their babies, it is not unusual for the doctors of Brookside Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates in Greenwich to get a special request. “They’ll say, ‘How about just one more?’ ” said Dr. Gaetane Francis. “Or ‘Can you make an […]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com Private auditors over about three years have recovered almost $700 million in Medicare overpayments to hospitals and other health care providers in six states as part of a recovery audit contractor program, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the program, CMS pays auditors a portion of the amount of improper Medicare payments that they […]

By Jane M. Von Bergen http://www.philly.com They didn’t use a medical analogy, but they could have. If Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross are allowed to merge, will their best practices be “catching,” leading to cost savings and better service, as their executives predict? Or will they infect each other with their worst tendencies? That […]