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For
the
most current ABL Healthcare Online
and access to ABL.org, go to
http://www.abl.org/new/html/resources_news_hc.asp
-- Click on Titles Below to Go to News Item --
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>>
John Stein, Reta Trust - Gallagher Benefit Services
Abraxis
Launches Ondansetron Injection
El Camino Hospital
Recognized for Clinical Excellence
Elite Engineering
Announces New Product Line
HealthTalent: Staffing Company Changes its Name
HFS
Lands State Department of Health Contract
Hythiam
Launches National Field Team & Two New Centers
IsoTis Inc.
Starts Trading on NASDAQ
LifeMasters Chosen
by PreferredOne
TOMR Provides
Updates on Recent Healthcare Legislation
Typo = $8B Positive Difference for Hospitals in Governor's
Plan
President's Budget Seeks Savings in Medicare, Medicaid
Enrollment in Medicare Rx Plans Tops 39 Million
John Stein, Reta Trust -
Gallagher Benefit Services
John Stein is Executive Director of the Reta
Trust, which provides healthcare coverage for Catholic organizations,
primarily dioceses and other small religious communities. Reta is
managed by Arthur J. Gallagher and is essentially a group purchasing
coalition. It currently has about 30,000 members and annual revenue
approaching $160 million, serving dioceses in California, Alaska and Las
Vegas with PPO, EPO and HMO options. Previously, John was President and
CEO of Banker Benefits, a subsidiary of the California Bankers
Association, specializing in health and business insurance products for
banks. Earlier, he was a consultant focusing on health plans, physician
groups and hospitals; VP of Corporate Provider Services for Blue Shield
of California; a healthcare consultant for Booz-Allen & Hamilton; and
spent five years with Fischer-Mangold, a multi-state hospital-based
physician organization. He began his career as an Administrative
Resident in the Kaiser system. Referred to ABL by Dave Brown and
Walter Kopp, John has joined the Northern California
Round Table.
Abraxis Launches Ondansetron Injection
Abraxis BioScience, Inc.,
where Patick Soon-Shiong, MD, is CEO, recently launched Ondansetron Injection, USP,
the generic equivalent of Zofran Injection, indicated for the
prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
and postoperative.
>>
El Camino Hospital Recognized for Clinical Excellence
El Camino Hospital, where Ken Graham is CEO, has been named one
of the nation's top hospitals for the third year in a row, receiving the 2007 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence
from HealthGrades, as well as awards for stroke care, pulmonary care and
women's health services.
>>
Elite Engineering Announces New Product Line
Elite Engineering,
a high-tech product development company focused
on instrumentation and diagnostic products,
where Bob Kay is CEO, has launched its Fundamental
Function Systems product line, a family of off-the-shelf
modules that make implementation of sensor-based systems
easier and faster.
>>
HealthTalent: Staffing Company Changes its Name
HealthTalent is the new name for Stat
Nurses International, Inc., where Jai Gupta is President of
International Services. HealthTalent provides both short-
and long-term staffing
services to hospitals throughout the
HFS Lands State Department of Health Contract
HFS Consultants, where Richard Gianello, Richard Parsons and
Larry Blitz are senior executives,
has been awarded a three-year contract
with the State of California Department of Health Genetic Disease Branch
to provide accounting support. This facility runs the largest
program in the world to screen newborns and pregnant women for
genetic and congenital disorders. HFS will provide assistance with the billing
and collection of fees associated with the tests.
>>
Hythiam Launches National Field Team & Two New Centers
Hythiam,
Inc., where Rick Anderson is Senior Executive VP,
has launched a new
nationwide team of field personnel focused on increasing
awareness of its PROMETA protocols among physicians and allied
health professionals specializing in the treatment of
substance dependence. Also,
Hythiam has opened two new PROMETA Centers, in San Francisco and New Jersey,
offering PROMETA protocols as a featured treatment for substance
dependence.
>>
IsoTis Inc. Starts Trading on
NASDAQ
The stock of IsoTis Inc.,
where Pieter Wolters is CEO, has begun trading on the NASDAQ Global Market
(ticker symbol: ISOT). IsoTis expects to fully consummate
the Exchange Offer in the course of February 2007, and intends to delist
from Euronext Amsterdam, SWX Swiss Exchange and the Toronto Stock
Exchange as soon as possible. Meanwhile, IsoTis has filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the
SEC for a proposed public offering of its common
stock.
>>
LifeMasters
Chosen by PreferredOne
LifeMasters Supported
SelfCare, where Chris Selecky is Executive Chair, and PreferredOne Community Health Plan
have
announced a three-year agreement to provide PreferredOne members with
disease management services for COPD, diabetes, congestive
heart failure, asthma and coronary artery disease. Over 50,000 members
throughout the upper Midwest will have
access to LifeMasters' customized program.
>>
TOMR
Provides Updates on Recent Healthcare Legislation
Theodora Oringher Miller Richman, where Dale Miller is a
Principal, has recently published two Health Care Updates.
One addresses guidance from CMS regarding the remote use and access of
patients' electronic protected health information (ePHI) in
accordance with HIPAA security regulations, which includes
strategies that may be reasonable and appropriate for covered
entities to adopt when using portable media or devices that
store ePHI, or allow off-site access or transportation of ePHI
through laptops, personal digital assistants, or home
computers.
>>
The other Update is regarding that, effective July 1, 2007,
California will require hospitals to report any adverse event
to DHS. The new law sets forth an extensive set of reportable
events and requires DHS to publish the results of its
investigation to the public. It is expected to have a
substantial impact on hospital operations and risk management.
>>
Typo=$8B
Positive Difference for Hospitals in Governor's Plan
California Hospital Association officials said a provision in
Gov. Schwarzenegger's
healthcare reform proposal to require a 4% contribution
from hospitals' gross revenue was intended to be based on
hospitals' operating revenue. A mandatory contribution based
on operating revenue for CHA members would cost $2.3 billion,
compared with $10 billion if the contribution were based on
gross revenue. (San Francisco Business Times, 2/5/07)
Meanwhile,
71% of California adults and 65% of likely voters support
Schwarzenegger's healthcare reform proposal, according to a
poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California.
(SF Chronicle, 1/25/07)
President's Budget Seeks Savings in
Medicare, Medicaid
President Bush has released a $2.8 trillion fiscal year 2008
budget proposal that includes $101.5 billion in savings from
Medicare and Medicaid over five years. The budget includes
about $78.6 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings and
revisions to federal regulations for an additional $22.9
billion in savings from the programs. Regarding healthcare,
Bush's budget proposal also:
>>
Meanwhile,
the new federal proposal would cut Medi-Cal funding for Los
Angeles County's five public hospitals by $200 million
annually, according to Bruce Chernof, director of the county
DHS, and, statewide, Medi-Cal funding would be cut by $1.5
billion over three years, according to the California Hospital
Association. Analysts say the proposed cuts could also impact
Gov. Schwarzenegger's healthcare reform proposal, which relies
on Medi-Cal funds. (L.A. Daily News, 2/4 & 2/5/07)
Enrollment in Medicare Rx Plans Tops 39
Million
More than 39 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in
Medicare prescription drug plans, CMS officials have
announced, including 1.6 million who have signed up for a
Medicare plan since June 2006. Beneficiaries on average are
saving $1,200 annually. According to a CMS survey, about 75%
of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a drug plan reported
satisfaction with the benefit, and 6% of beneficiaries
switched plans, primarily for greater coverage during the
so-called "doughnut hole" coverage gap. (Detroit Free
Press, 1/31/07)
Proposed
High School Targets Medical Worker Shortage
San Diego State University professors are partnering with
Sharp Healthcare and San Diego City College to open a medical
charter high school in September that serves students
countywide.
Students could earn their high school
diploma while taking City College courses that include
biology, microbiology and other prerequisites for students
interested in entering healthcare degree programs. The college
also offers licensed vocational nursing and registered nursing
programs.
(San Diego Union-Tribune, 2/4/07)
2/8 - Northern California Round Table: "Paying for Rx
Miracles" Event
2/16 - Los Angeles Round Table
2/21 - Life Sciences Round Table
3/7 - Orange County
Round Table
For
the
most current ABL Healthcare Online and access to ABL.org, go to
http://www.abl.org/new/html/resources_news_hc.asp