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For
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and access to ABL.org, go to
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-- Click on Titles Below to Go to News Item --
Nine Finalists Chosen for 2007 ABBY Awards
9th Annual Innovations in HealthcareSM Awards Event
Orqis Raises $12 Million in Equity Financing
Abraxis
BioScience
to Initiate Two Phase I/II Clinical Trials
Aperio
Chosen by Systems Pathology Company
Leggett
Helps Raise Money for Underserved Youth
LifeMasters
to Support Aged, Blind, Disabled in Ohio
Pediatrix
Adds to its Indiana NICU Staff
Census Says Number of Uninsured Long Overestimated
Retiring in '07: Couples Will Need $215K for Healthcare
More Companies Offering CDHPs
Wal-Mart Pledges $1M for
Healthcare Innovation Center
Texas Consumers Can "Shop"
Hospitals Online
Counties Granted Federal $ to
Treat Uninsured
L.A. County Approves Federal
Aid to King-Harbor
Finalists Chosen for 2007 ABBY Awards
ABL will present its 2007
"Leadership
in Innovation" Award to the Ninth Annual
Innovations in HealthcareSM
Awards Event Keynoter Steve Burd, CEO of Safeway,
on June 6th.
Solving America’s healthcare crisis is a
passion of Steve’s and, under his direction, Safeway has reversed the
trend of rising healthcare costs by implementing an innovative plan that
pays 100% of preventive care, rewards healthy behavior and allows employees
to take more control of their healthcare decisions. Participating
employees of this Fortune 50 company have a better, more comprehensive health plan while their
out-of-pocket costs have decreased 22% to 32% over a two-year period.
More than 70% of Safeway's, Vons' and Pavilion's 30,000 eligible non-union employees participate in the plan.
Steve will share with the Innovations audience his
recommendations for how business, labor,
government and the healthcare industry can - working together - solve
America's
healthcare crisis.
Also, Finalists for the ABBY Awards have been chosen,
in
three categories. Congratulations to DestinationRx,
eHealth and IntelliDOT in the Healthcare
Information Technology category; Acclarent, ev3
Neurovascular and U.S. Medical Instruments in the
Medical/Bio-Tech category; and Conceptus,
Inc., Integrated Healthcare Association and Sutter Health
in the Innovative Approaches to the Delivery of Healthcare category.
Top executives from each of these companies will make presentations
on their innovative products, systems and/or approaches at the June 6th
Innovations in HealthcareSM Awards Event. At the event's
conclusion, attendees' votes will determine who will take home ABBY
Awards. So JOIN US on Wednesday, June 6th in Newport Beach
for the Finalists' presentations and Awards.
Orqis Raises $12 Million in Equity Financing
Orqis Medical Corporation, where Ken Charhut is CEO,
has raised an additional $12 million in the second closing of
its Series D round of financing. This brings the total funds
raised in the Series D to $34.7 million. New investors include
Wasatch Advisors, Cross Creek Capital and the Omega Fund.
>>
Abraxis BioScience to
Initiate Two Phase I/II Clinical Trials
Abraxis BioScience, Inc., where Pat
Soon-Shiong, MD is CEO,
will begin enrollment in two Phase I/II clinical trials to
investigate the use of nab-docetaxel (ABI-008), an albumin-bound
chemotherapeutic, for the treatment of hormone refractory prostate
and metastatic breast cancer. Both trials will be conducted at The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
>>
Aperio Chosen by Systems
Pathology Company
Aperio Technologies,
where Dirk Soenksen is CEO, announced
that Systems Pathology Company has selected Aperio’s ScanScope slide scanning system and Spectrum
digital pathology information management software to assist in the
development of their automated digital imaging software solutions for
use in toxicologic pathology and pathology-related analyses.
>>
Also, Dirk's speech
on "Digital
pathology adoption? Expect it in niches" was published
recently in CAP TODAY.
>>
Leggett Helps Raise Money for Underserved Youth
Scott Leggett, Executive Director of Coast & Orthopedic
Surgery Centers, is co-hosting San Diego Charger Kassim
Osgood's 2nd Annual Celebrity Golf Classic, a fundraiser for
"Team KO, An Athletes for Education Program," which is a San
Diego-based youth mentorship and scholarship program.
For more information on the May 13-14 golf event ;
For more info on Team KO
LifeMasters to Support Aged, Blind, Disabled in Ohio
LifeMasters Supported SelfCare,
where Chris Selecky is Executive Chair, and CareSource, a managed care organization, have signed an agreement to provide care management services
to Aged, Blind and/or Disabled Medicaid beneficiaries in Ohio. Under the contract, ABD members
enrolled in CareSource will have access to LifeMasters’ care management
programs to improve their health outcomes and learn how to
better manage their chronic conditions.
>>
Pediatrix Adds to its Indiana NICU Staff
Pediatrix Medical Group, where David
Mintz is a senior executive, has acquired a neonatal
physician group practice based in Munster, Indiana, whose
annual patient volume exceeds 5,600 NICU patient days. Pediatrix also
staffs NICUs in South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
>>
Census Says Number of Uninsured Long Overestimated
The U.S. Census Bureau since 1995 has overestimated the number
of uninsured U.S. residents because of a computer programming
error.
According to revised estimates recently
released by the bureau, about 44.8 million residents, or about
15.3% of the population, lacked health insurance in 2005. The
bureau previously estimated that 46.6 million residents, or
about 15.9% of the population, lacked health insurance in
2005.
The bureau also released a revised estimate for 2004 and in
August plans to release revised estimates for the other
affected years.
(AP/Washington Times, 3/24/07)
Retiring in '07:
Couples Will Need $215K for Healthcare
An average 65-year-old couple retiring this year will need
about $215,000 for healthcare costs for the rest of their
lives, according to a Fidelity Investments estimate.
Fidelity calculated the estimate
assuming that retirees had no employer-sponsored health
coverage and that average life expectancies were 82 years for
men and 85 for women. The costs do not include
over-the-counter medications, most dental services and
long-term care. Fidelity estimated that about 32% of retiree
healthcare spending would be on Medicare premiums for
physician visits, outpatient hospital care and prescription
drugs; 35% would come from Medicare copayments, deductibles
and other cost-sharing provisions; and 33% would be for
out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. Fidelity estimated that
65-year-old workers who plan to retire at the end of the year
should expect that 50% of their pretax Social Security
benefits will be consumed by health expenses within the next
16 to 18 years. The latest estimate is 7.5% greater than the
estimate released in 2006. Retiree healthcare expenses
annually have increased by an average of 6.1% over the past
five years. Fidelity projects healthcare costs will increase
by about 7% per year, outpacing inflation. (AP/Houston
Chronicle, 3/28/07)
More Companies Offering CDHPs
The
portion of large companies offering a consumer-directed health
plan increased from 33% to 38% in the last year, according to
the findings of an annual survey conducted by Watson Wyatt
Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health. 40% of
employers now offer or plan to offer a health savings account,
and 26% offer or plan to offer a health reimbursement account.
However, employee enrollment in CDHPs remains low at 8%, an
increase of only one percentage point from 2006. This comes
despite the fact that CDHPs usually involve lower health
insurance premiums for employees. Nonetheless, broader
participation in CDHPs is linked to lower healthcare cost
increases. Employers with 10% or more of their covered
population in a CDHP are holding healthcare cost increases to
a lower level — 6.5% on average — than other employers. Companies
that are best at controlling costs are more focused on
adopting approaches that involve quality, health improvement
and productivity, data and evidence, and the appropriate use
of healthcare services. For instance, best performers are 17%
more likely to offer compelling financial incentives to
encourage employee education and participation and 11% more
likely to effectively deliver healthcare information.
(Healthcare Daily Data Byte, 3/30/07)
Wal-Mart Pledges $1M for
Healthcare Innovation Center
Wal-Mart
stores, the University of Arkansas and Blue Cross and Blue
Shield have joined together to develop the Center for
Innovation in Health Care Logistics to study ways of improving
healthcare delivery using health information technology. The
center will conduct research aimed at identifying and
addressing gaps and roadblocks in the application and delivery
of health IT, and highlighting and replicating proven
applications that are working to benefit patients and
providers. Wal-Mart will pledge $1 million over five years to
fund the center. Donations are also expected from private
sector companies, government agencies and foundations.
(Health IT Strategist, 3/30/07)
Texas Consumers Can "Shop"
Hospitals Online
A new
Web site launched by the Texas Hospital Association in Austin
will allow healthcare consumers to view and compare prices on
inpatient hospital services at Texas hospitals. The Web site,
Texas PricePoint, includes charge data on the most common
inpatient services, links to data and general information on
all Texas hospitals. The site uses hospital-supplied data,
updated quarterly, from a variety of sources including the
Texas Health Care Information Collection and the CMS.
(Health IT Strategist, 3/28/07)
Counties Granted Federal $ to
Treat Uninsured
State officials announced that 10 California counties have
received a combined $540 million in federal funding over the
next three years for a program to provide healthcare services
to 180,000 low-income, uninsured residents who are not
eligible for public health insurance. The funding will be
directed to provide services for individuals who generally
seek care at emergency departments. Counties will use the
funding for programs to provide preventive care services to
these individuals and follow-up treatment for chronic
conditions.
(Contra Costa Times & Sacramento Bee - 3/30/07)
L.A. County Approves Federal
Aid to King-Harbor
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a CMS
proposal to extend federal funding of Martin Luther King
Jr.-Harbor Hospital through April. Federal funding was set to
expire March 31.
The extended federal funding would
preserve the hospital's accreditation through Aug. 15 and
preserve 250 training slots for medical residents as the
facility prepares for another federal inspection. The $22
million extension would leave the hospital to find other
sources of funding for the remaining $38 million to maintain
services at the hospital. The remaining funds are expected to
come from the county's tobacco tax fund and possibly from the
state. (L.A. Times, 3/28/07)
4/12 - Northern California Round Table
4/18 - Life Sciences Round Table
4/20 - Los Angeles Round Table
5/2 - Orange County
Round Table
6/6 - Innovations in HealthcareSM Awards Event
For
the
most current ABL Healthcare Online and access to ABL.org, go to
http://www.abl.org/new/html/resources_news_hc.asp