Donovan Yeates, Ph.D., BioTechPlex Corporation »»

Blue Shield of CA:  Rewards Healthy Lifestyles with Cash »»
AT&T:  Named to the Leader Quadrant »»
DataLabs:  New Software Unifies Paper, Electronic Data »»
Gallagher:  Acquires Benefit Brokerage »»
HeartMath:  Presents Workshop for Healthcare Leaders »»
Hythiam:  Adds Another Florida Licensee »»
Kaiser Permanente:  Launches Disease Management Unit »»
Pathway:  Expands Biomarker Portfolio »»
Triple Tree:  Registration Open for Upcoming Webcasts »»
Kudos on the Good News »»

Limited Health Plans Increasingly Popular »»
Healthcare Spending Growth Rate Declines Again »»
Blue Cross to Give Free PDAs to Doctors »»
Top Performers Excel in Use of IT »»
Hospitals Implement Video Translation Service »»

Maryland Now Requires Large Employers to Offer Coverage »»
Nearly 24 Million Now Have Prescription Drug Coverage »»
Pilot Project Launched to Expand Electronic Prescribing »»

MooersBOOKSHELF: Popular ABL Conference speakers from the Mooers Group are now publishing Mooers BOOKSHELF as "the place where you can find out what we think is worth reading."  »»

AT&T:  Named to the Leader Quadrant
AT&T Inc., where Judi Manis, Karren Verdolivo and Jon Wellinger are senior executives, has been positioned by Gartner in the Leaders Quadrant in the "Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers, 2005" report, which means AT&T has a full portfolio of voice and data products coupled with above-average service and support, wide global coverage and competitive pricing, as well as a strong vision that is articulated clearly and openly. >>

DataLabs: New Software Unifies Paper, Electronic Data
DataLabs, where Jim Langford is President, announced the general availability of DataLabs Clinical, which unifies the functionality of paper data entry with the flexibility of electronic data capture. DataLabs Clinical is an electronic clinical data management platform that enables the biopharmaceutical and CRO industries to streamline processes and reduce time and costs. >>

Gallagher & Co.:  Acquires Benefit Brokerage  
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., where Dave Brown is San Francisco Area President of Gallagher Benefit Services, has acquired Benefit Management Group, Inc., a Florida-based benefit brokerage firm offering a wide-range of employee benefit services to clients nationwide. >>

HeartMath:  Presents Workshop for Healthcare Leaders
Bruce Cryer, CEO of HeartMath, invites you to attend a workshop, on February 1st in San Francisco, for healthcare leaders that will reduce stress and improve the quality of your life. Tested on five continents, HeartMath's The Power to Change Performance program combines research-based tools with technology, significantly improving stress levels, cognitive state, well-being, and emotional balance. >>

Hythiam:  Adds Another Florida Licensee
Hythiam, Inc., where Rick Anderson is CAO, announced that AAR Counseling Services, of Florida, will license Hythiam's PROMETA protocols for alcoholism and stimulant dependence to its network of five intensive, outpatient addiction counseling locations, increasing to six the total number of Hythiam licensed sites in Florida. >>

Kaiser Permanente:  Launches Disease Management Unit
Kaiser Permanente, where Mary Ann Barnes, Christine Paige and Terry Austen are senior executives, has launched a new disease management subsidiary, Kaiser Permanente Healthy Solutions, that will offer its programs to large, national employers (10,000+ employees) with self-funded employee populations, as well as labor and trust unions, and government payers. The programs will provide telephone health coaching, and online, video and printed materials to help people with chronic conditions manage their diseases more effectively, as well as education on nutrition, smoking cessation, stress reduction and other issues. >>

Pathway:  Expands Biomarker Portfolio
Pathway Diagnostics Corporation, where Wally Narajowski is CEO, has expanded its biomarker intellectual property portfolio, allowing the company and its partners to use protein signatures to develop in vitro diagnostic tests and laboratory services for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and inflammatory bowel disease. >> 

Triple Tree:  Registration Open for Upcoming Webcasts
Triple Tree, where Rob McCray is a Managing Partner, will host a number of one-hour webcasts, at no charge to participants, each featuring a panel of leading industry experts. Topics include "Wireless Health Convergence: An Introduction to the Emerging World of Wirelessly-Enabled Health," on February 7; "Consumer-Driven Healthcare and Its Impact on Health & Wellness," on February 16; and "Population Health Management," on March 16. >> 

Kudos on the Good News  
Congratulations to two Members who have been the recent beneficiaries of good news: Don Earhart, CEO of I-Flow Corporation, which was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal in an article about the use of external infusion pumps that deliver anesthetic to a wound site to help control pain after surgery; and Gary Goltz, President of Goltz Healthcare, on becoming Chief Operating Officer of the United States Judo Association, a 10,000-member non-profit organization.

Limited Health Plans Increasingly Popular
"Mini-medical" or "limited-benefit" plans that cover only routine physician visits and offer little to no coverage for hospitalization or emergency care have become popular options for some U.S. companies as an alternative to more comprehensive plans. Typically, the plans cover four to 10 physician visits annually, as well as a portion of prescription drugs and lab work and have premiums around $40 a month and annual coverage caps of $10,000 or less. Approximately one million people have the plans, and carriers selling them say their business is growing 20% annually. (Wall Street Journal, 1/17/06)

Healthcare Spending Growth Rate Declines Again
The growth in healthcare spending in the U.S. slowed for the second straight year in 2004, according to a report by CMS. Spending in 2004 rose 7.9%, slower than the 8.2% growth in 2003 and 9.1% growth in 2002. Healthcare spending was $1.9 trillion in 2004, or $6,280 per person. The share of the nation’s GDP spent on healthcare grew 0.1 percentage point to 16% in 2004. This was a smaller increase than in recent years as economic growth in 2004 grew at its fastest rate since 1989. (CMS release, 1/10/06)

Blue Cross to Give Free PDAs to Doctors
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is putting free pocket computers in the hands of 1,000 doctors in an effort to get more physicians writing prescriptions electronically. BCBS officials say each doctor equipped with a handheld will save the organization about $3,000 a year by linking to a system that automatically weeds out pricey prescription options, while patients will benefit from lower drug costs, faster prescription processing and fewer mistakes, since doctors will have more patient history available at their fingertips. Blue Cross affiliates in Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania also have undertaken the initiative. (The News & Observer, 1/12/06)

Top Performers Excel in Use of IT
Twenty California physician organizations -- including John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health Network -- were rated as top performing by The Integrated Healthcare Association, selected from among 225 participants in the IHA Pay-for-Performance program. To earn selection, a physician group had to demonstrate that it met criteria in three categories of performance measurement: clinical, patient experience and the use of information technology. All top-performing groups received the maximum rating for qualifying IT activities: using clinical data to manage patient populations and using technology to support physician decision-making during patient interactions. (Managed Care Information Center, 1/17/06)

Hospitals Implement Video Translation Service
A video-based translation service, called the Health Care Interpreter Network, will be launched at two public hospitals in Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, and could be implemented in Southern California facilities by the end of 2006. Participating hospitals use a secure, high-speed data line to connect to translators. When a non-English speaking patient arrives at one of the hospitals, a healthcare provider can turn on the video unit and within 15 seconds connect to a live interpreter. The service  is capable of providing translators in more than 90 languages. (Stockton Record, 1/22/06)

Maryland Now Requires Large Employers to Offer Coverage
The Maryland General Assembly overrode Gov. Robert Ehrlich's veto of a bill that will require employers with more than 10,000 workers in the state to spend at least 8% of their payroll on employee healthcare or to pay into a fund for the uninsured. The law will take effect in 30 days. Four companies have 10,000+ employees in Maryland, but Wal-Mart is the only company that will be affected by the law. Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA said, "You're going to see similar legislation being introduced and debated in at least three dozen more states, and at least some of those states will end up also requiring large employers to provide healthcare coverage."  (USA Today & New York Times, 1/13/06)

Nearly 24 Million Now Have Prescription Drug Coverage
Nearly 24 million Medicare beneficiaries now have prescription drug coverage, including more than 2.6 million people who signed up for the new stand-alone prescription drug coverage in the last 30 days. This number comes on top of the 1 million who enrolled in stand-alone plans in the first 30 days of the program, which began in November 2005. HHS' goal is 28 to 30 million enrollees in the first year. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1/17/06)  Meanwhile, the federal government will reimburse states for expenses they incur by covering the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries who have had difficulty obtaining medications under the new drug benefit, the Bush administration announced. As of January 23, California had spent more than $9.2 million to pay for more than 109,000 prescriptions, according to the DHS. In addition, the federal government will reimburse states for administrative expenditures related to providing the drugs and for any difference between the amount the state paid and the amount drug plans pay the states. (New York Times & San Francisco Chronicle, 1/25/06)
Pilot Project Launched to Expand Electronic Prescribing
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced the launch of a pilot project to test initial standards for electronic prescribing, which may ultimately be adopted as the final standards that will create a robust system of electronic transmission of prescription information for the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program. In a project to be administered jointly by CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, four grantee teams will measure the impact of electronic prescribing data transmission systems on patient safety and quality of care, such as whether and how they reduce adverse drug events and improve the appropriate use of medications. Several systems will be tested to determine how efficiently and effectively prescriptions and related information can be sent and received by participating providers and pharmacies. (CMS Release, 1/17/06)