ROCKFORD Rock Valley College is marrying GED preparatory classes with an introduction to health care careers in an effort to bridge the gap between receiving a high school equivalency degree and landing a job.

Bridge to Health Care started after the Illinois Community College Board directed learning institutions to develop bridge programming to help their students find work, said Amanda Smith, RVCs transitions coordinator.

Its become quite apparent that getting your GED is not enough to get gainful employment, Smith said. Were finding many in our community are not only lacking their GED but basic employment skills, so doing those two things at once seemed natural.

The program includes test prep sessions and visits to local health care providers to learn about careers and what postsecondary education is needed for those jobs. Smith said the students also work with her to identify what services are needed to help them transition from the classroom to the workplace.

The class meets four days a week for four hours a day; the first eight-week session is concluding Monday, Smith said. Another class will be offered in the fall, funding permitting.

Eleven students were enrolled in the class when it began. This week, the nine students who remain were busy preparing for their final exam. Some of them have already begun to take their six-part GED tests; others say they plan to do it this summer and enroll in college-level classes in the fall.

Raisa Curieo, 22, of Rockford has taken four of the six parts of the GED test and hopes to finish her exams soon. This fall, she plans to enroll at Rock Valley with the ultimate goal of becoming a registered nurse.

She said returning to a classroom was a challenge, but the experience has been worthwhile.

It was kind of hard to not be able to be at home or work, but its helping me out a lot, she said. This is stuff I wouldnt learn somewhere else.

Smith said RVC is partnering with two agencies on the program: the Northwest Illinois Healthcare Collaborative, an umbrella organization of Rockfords three health care systems, plus KSB Hospital in Dixon and FHN in Freeport; and the Workforce Investment Board of Boone and Winnebago counties, which administers federal job-training grants.

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GED classes, intro to health care careers together at RVC

BOSTON As the Senate opened debate yesterday on a major health care cost control bill, Republicans tried in vain to delay action until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules next month on the constitutionality of national health care reforms.

While the Senate rejected that proposal, Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-Gloucester, argued that the pending court ruling, which could strike down the federal mandate to buy health insurance and cut federal Medicaid funds to the state, could have a major impact on the states health care system.

Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, a chief proponent of the Senate bill, argued that no matter what the court decides, it would not have an impact on reforms being considered by the state to control health care cost increases or the existing state insurance mandate.

At the same time, Gov. Deval L. Patrick said limits called for in House and Senate proposals may not go far enough to curb annual health insurance premium increases in a state many consider to have the highest health care costs in the country.

The Senate was set to spend Tuesday and Thursday debating its version of sweeping cost containment legislation aimed at reducing family insurance premiums in the state by thousands of dollars each year.

Besides converting state subsidized and state employee insurance to global payment systems from the current fee-for-service system in the next two years, the Senate bill would also limit insurance premium increases to the percentage of annual increase in Massachusetts gross state product, a measurement of the economic output of the state and a counterpart to the gross domestic product.

Mr. Patrick made the case yesterday that the Senate plan and a similar House plan to limit increases to one-half percent less than the increase in the gross state product, could allow for excessive increases in health insurance rates.

I think the industry can do better than gross state product. I certainly could not imagine accepting GSP plus anything, Mr. Patrick said in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He said the industry has already shown it can reduce costs more than that, without jeopardizing the quality of care.

Mr. Moore argued on the Senate floor that the Senate plan would not set up a large new state agency and that if the plan to link increases to the gross state product proved inadequate in the future, the Legislature could revise it to further limit increases or allow larger increases.

Both a plan offered by the governor and the Senate plan would convert state-subsidized and state-employee insurance plans to global payment systems that allocate per capita budgets to providers for annual care, replacing the current system of charging insurers for each service or treatment provided.

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State Senate conjures new health cost

NORTHBROOK, IL--(Marketwire -05/15/12)- Blue Chip Patient Recruitment, a division of Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, today announced the launch of its mHealth (mobile health care technology) Survey. The study will examine the benefits of mobile technology in clinical trial recruitment through three separate surveys targeting patients, physicians and site coordinators. Complete survey results will be presented at this year's Drug Information Association (DIA) Conference, June 26, 2012, during the forum "The Next Patient Recruitment Frontier: Leveraging Mobile Health Care Technology (mHealth) to Recruit Patients for Clinical Trials." Neil Weisman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Blue Chip Patient Recruitment, will moderate.

"According to the Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation, delays in patient recruitment for clinical trials account for an average of 4.6 months lost per trial. It is our opinion that this delay can be avoided by better understanding where and when potential study participants are most receptive to receiving a message asking them to enroll in a specific study," said Stanton Kawer, Chairman and CEO of Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide. "Blue Chip Patient Recruitment recognizes the significant changes that the growth in mobile technology has delivered to all facets of society. We are specifically interested in identifying how such dynamic platforms can translate to accelerated enrollment for the clinical trial industry. That is our charge."

Blue Chip Patient Recruitment is fielding the mHealth Survey in three parts over the course of three months (March - May 2012), directly targeting three core constituencies -- patients, physicians and trial site coordinators. Selected patient participants have to currently own a smartphone and/or tablet. All participating physicians and site coordinators have to currently be involved in clinical trials.

"The mHealth Survey will help us to determine ways in which mobile devices can be used by each of our key audiences to make them more willing to participate in, engage with, or refer patients to clinical trials," said Neil Weisman. "In our technologically savvy world where people are constantly connected in one way or another, the Survey will be vital in helping Blue Chip Patient Recruitment create tools that will connect patients, physicians and research sites to meaningful clinical trial opportunities."

About Blue Chip Patient RecruitmentBlue Chip Patient Recruitment, a division of Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, is a global, full-service patient recruitment and retention agency dedicated to accelerating clinical trial enrollment. They have proudly delivered success to the world's top health care corporations for nearly 20 years, across more than 600 clinical studies. They are recognized for their scientific approach to clinical trial marketing, their insights and strategies, their innovative recruitment tactics and their best in class creative. Most importantly, they are known for the intelligence and passionate service that they bring to every study. For more information, visit http://www.bcpatientrecruitment.com.

About Blue Chip Marketing WorldwideFounded in 1982 in Northbrook, Illinois, Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide (www.bluechipmarketingworldwide.com) is an independent, full-service global marketing agency that unites brands to sales to deliver unparalleled results. Through 360 insights, proprietary models and detailed execution, BCMW delivers core marketing capabilities for the retail, healthcare and branding sectors. Clients include Procter & Gamble, Gorton's, Wells Enterprises, Inc. (Blue Bunny Ice Cream), Fisher Nuts, On-Cor Frozen Foods, LLC, BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., inVentiv Health and Alva-Amco, among others.

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Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide Launches New Mobile Health Care Technology Survey

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Health care provides poor value for tax dollars spent

TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN - News) announced today that Paramount Senior Living at Peters Township, a premier assisted living facility in the South Western Pennsylvania region that is owned and developed by Health Care REIT, has been awarded LEED Silver certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the nations preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

The strength of USGBC has always been the collective strength of our leaders in the building industry, said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role of the building industry in that effort, Health Care REIT demonstrates their leadership through the LEED certification of Peters Township.

Peters Township is owned by Health Care REIT and operated by Paramount Health Resources. The LEED certification of Peters Township was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively contribute to the project and the broader community. Key sustainability metrics of the project include:

An integral part of Health Care REITs strategy is to make sustainable investments, which is the right thing to do for the environment while also creating value for our shareholders, said George L. Chapman, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Health Care REIT. The pursuit and accomplishment of LEED certification for Peters Township demonstrates Health Care REITs industry-leading capabilities, as well as its commitment to be a full-service capital partner.

Peters Township is a state-of-the-art, premier assisted living community that is focused on providing the highest level of clinical service to our residents, said James J. Cox, President and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Health Resources. There was an alignment of incentives when we were given the opportunity to maximize resident satisfaction while employing sustainable strategies to protect the environment.

Health Care REIT is also pursuing LEED certification for several additional projects currently underway. The companys corporate headquarters was also recently awarded LEED Platinum.

About Health Care REIT, Inc.

Health Care REIT, Inc., an S&P 500 company with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of seniors housing and health care real estate. The company also provides an extensive array of property management and development services. As of March 31, 2012, the companys broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 956 facilities in 46 states. More information is available on the companys website at http://www.hcreit.com.

About U.S. Green Building Council

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Health Care REIT Property Awarded Prestigious LEED® Environmental Certification

BOSTON (WWLP) - The State Senate began debate Tuesday on health care payment reform.

Senate leaders say their version of the health care cost containment bill will reign-in skyrocketing health care costs, while at the same time updating how we deliver health care.

The Senate bill seeks to contain health care spending equal to the growth of the state economy. The bill encourages providers to adopt electronic health records and to become certified as Accountable Care Organizations that focus on wellness and sickness-prevention efforts.

A new Health Care Quality and Finance Authority would be created to keep an eye on spending and set annual health care cost goals. Governor Deval Patrick criticized the bill's creation of a new state agency, calling it a "bad Massachusetts habit." Nevertheless, Patrick did say there's a lot to like about the bill.

"This bill is 233 pages of ways to contain costs, said Sen. Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham). It has wellness programs, it makes providers accountable for rates."

The Senate will sift through about 260 amendments to the bill; most of which will be rejected or withdrawn.

Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) has said she expects the health care overhaul bill to pass by July 1.

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Senate bill aims to reduce health costs

Drug distributor cuts deal on charges of improperly controlling distribution of pain medication at a facility in Lakeland, Fla.

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Health-care Stocks: Cardinal Health settles Florida DEA charges

IRVING, TX--(Marketwire -05/15/12)- As health care leaders struggle to manage myriad new payment models and other demands associated with health care reform, the need for enterprise-wide visibility and the synthesis of clinical, operational and financial data has become a critical business requirement. To deliver this level of insight, VHA Inc., the national health care network, has developed VHA IMPERATIV, an enterprise-wide performance management solution to be unveiled and demonstrated at VHA's annual Leadership Conference in Denver, Colo., May 20-23.

Powered by analytics, expert advisory services and industry-leading best practices, the concept for VHA IMPERATIV was originally conceived through a collaboration of member hospitals in the VHA network. The VHA IMPERATIV roadmap includes sophisticated data analysis across the entire continuum of care that is considered integral to managing population health on a broad scale.

"Our 1,500 hospital members find that they must balance the complexities of emerging payment models and other health care reform changes with the need for continued superior clinical care and patient experience within a cost effective and patient-centric model. To support this, we've built a comprehensive, multi-dimensional solution designed to help each hospital achieve its performance improvement objectives. This solution meets each member where they are today in their transformation journey and guides them where they need to go moving forward," said Steve Miff PhD, senior vice president for VHA IMPERATIV. "Given today's pressures, this holistic, data-driven and collaborative approach allows health care leaders to quickly make well-informed decisions that will significantly improve their overall performance."

IMPERATIV componentsMiff explains that the sum is greater than the whole of its parts, with VHA IMPERATIV components, including: Advisory servicesVHA IMPERATIV is differentiated from other hospital performance improvement tools by a critical element to success: the human touch. VHA's expert advisors work with subscribers to synthesize opportunities and recommend performance improvement strategies based on factual information from multiple data sources throughout the enterprise. AnalyticsVHA IMPERATIV employs integrated data from clinical, financial and operational domains, combined with proven strategies, to deliver the insight to support current and emerging population-based payment models. VHA IMPERATIV building blocksVHA partners with Thomson Reuters and UHC to provide hospitals with industry-leading clinical and operational benchmarking data in an additional subscription-based service called VHA IMPERATIV Advantage. VHA IMPERATIV Advantage provides all the service of the foundational offering plus more detailed analytics, robust data and advanced advisory services. VHA partnered with Thomson Reuters and UHC to include their powerful clinical and operational database systems into VHA IMPERATIV Advantage. VHA IMPERATIV Advantage incorporates clinical data tools CareDiscovery and CareDiscovery Quality Measures from Thomson Reuters and UHC's Clinical Data Base and Resource Manager, along with the operational data system from Thomson Reuters, ActionOI.

Thomson Reuters and UHC are recognized leaders at managing complex healthcare data and combing it with powerful analytics to uncover every opportunity to improve the efficiency and outcomes of healthcare services. Building upon existing relationships, these new collaborations unite information assets with the power of analytics, expert advisory services and industry knowledge to help hospitals improve their operational, clinical and financial performance.

KnowledgeMoving beyond data, VHA IMPERATIV leverages the VHA Leading Practice Blueprint library of more than 150 leading clinical and patient-centered practices including clostridium difficile, hand hygiene and urinary tract infections to help hospitals achieve CMS' Partnership for Patients improvement objectives as well as emerging national quality and cost improvement requirements on metrics such as 30-day readmission, care coordination, value analysis, reprocessing, inventory management and the patient centered medical home (PCMH).

Peer-to-Peer collaborationIn addition to data capture and analysis, VHA IMPERATIV encourages peer-to-peer networking and collaboration by expanding existing regional and national knowledge-sharing opportunities, which help to facilitate members' adoption of best practices. VHA advisors are available every step of the way to aid members in evaluating, prioritizing and identifying performance improvement opportunities.

To schedule a VHA IMPERATIV demonstration at the VHA Leadership Conference in Denver, contact Maxine Levy, 972.830.7845, mlevy@vha.com. For additional information on VHA IMPERATIV, visit http://www.vha.com/VHAIMPERATIV or call 800.842.5146 or 972.830.0626.

About VHA Inc. Based in Irving, TX, VHA Inc. is a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations that work together to drive maximum savings in the supply chain arena, set new levels of clinical performance, and identify and implement best practices to improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes. Since 1977, VHA has leveraged its expertise in analytics, contracting, consulting and networks to help members achieve their operational, clinical and financial objectives. In 2011, VHA delivered record savings and value of $1.8 billion to members. VHA serves more than 1,350 hospitals and more than 30,000 non-acute care providers nationwide, coordinating delivery of its programs and services through its 15 regional offices. VHA has been ranked as one of the best places to work in healthcare by Modern Healthcare since the publication introduced this list in 2008.

Original post:

VHA IMPERATIV(TM) Gives Hospital Leaders Holistic Performance Improvement Advantage

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Accretive Health, Inc. (NYSE: AH - News) announced today that prominent health care and policy leaders have agreed to convene to develop a process for implementing national standards for how hospitals and other providers interact with patients regarding their financial obligations.

This process will create first-of-kind national standards for understanding expected charges, available resources, counseling, billing and payment procedures regardless of the ability to pay. An independent accreditation process will accompany the new standards, providing patients with assurance that they will be treated compassionately and fairly.

The group will identify and select an independent non-profit Standard Development Organization (SDO) to conduct a collaborative process among practitioners, patient advocates, and other interested parties. Once concluded, the group will advance the identified standards to a national accrediting organization.

Accretive Health initiated this process in order to provide clarity and consistency among providers and, as a result, help ensure a more uniform and transparent experience for patients as hospitals work to become more financially stable and bring down the cost of care.

The following noted health care and policy leaders have agreed to serve as independent conveners of the process:

CHAIRMAN

Michael O. Leavitt Former Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, three-term governor of Utah and former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He is currently the founder of Leavitt Partners, which specializes in the health care field, and has led numerous large public and private collaborations.

ADVISORS

Tom Daschle Former U.S. Senator from South Dakota, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a respected health care thought leader. He is currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a member of the Health Policy and Management Executive Council at the Harvard School of Public Health.

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Accretive Health Initiates Panel of Health Care Policy Experts to Establish National Standards for Health Care ...

In the 1940s, almost half of all adults smoked in this country. By 2010, that percentage had been more than cut in half, thanks to public health campaigns, the reduction of smoking advertising and the banning of smoking in restaurants and many public buildings.

Today, almost two-thirds of adults in Lancaster County are overweight or obese. A third of children also are overweight or obese. Together, they total more than a quarter of a million people here.

Local health care leaders are hoping that what happened to tobacco will happen to obesity and weight issues in the coming decades.

"I have hope because there are a lot of parallels with what happened with tobacco 40, 50 years ago," said Alice Yoder, a Lancaster General Health official who is coordinator of the Lighten Up Lancaster County Coalition. "The surgeon general put out a report. Things that were needed went in place. A lot of public awareness had to go on."

"I think obesity should be everybody's concern," said Steve Batchelor, director of wellness services for Ephrata Community Hospital.

Next week, more than 300 business, health care and community leaders will gather for a summit on the state of health in Lancaster County.

Berwood Yost of Franklin & Marshall College will present the results of a 2012 community health assessment, highlighting statistics on local residents' access to health care; their health behaviors; maternal and infant health; sexually transmitted diseases; substance abuse; and rates for diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Lancaster General and Ephrata Community Hospital helped fund the study, as did a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The group also will hear Gretchen Van Wye of the New York City Department of Health discuss how that city has tried to reduce obesity.

And it will hear a panel, including representatives from a health care provider, an employer, an insurer and a public agency, talk about the best practices for improving a community's health.

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Local health care leaders plan obesity summit

Gov. Deval L. Patrick told Boston business leaders this morning that by the time he returns to speak to them again next year, Massachusetts will have the best health-care cost-containment system in the country to match what he said it has already, the highest access rates to medical care in the nation.

Lawmakers will pass some combination of bills put forward by the chief executive, the House and the Senate, he said. And he is confident the result will be an improvement, whatever the mixture of ideas turns out to be, despite jabs the states health-care system may have received in the presidential race.

The question for me is not whether there is a role for government. The question is, what is the role for government, Patrick said to a packed Seaport Hotel audience of members of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Just as the public and private sectors came together to solve health-care access, we are going to find a solution together to containing health-care costs. We have already shown we can, the problem is how we can sustain it for the next decade and beyond.

The governor was greeted warmly by chamber President and CEO Paul Guzzi, who put continuing health-care cost reform front and center as the top issue for his members and the business community in general.

He praised Patrick for his willingness to hear the concerns of businesses and to work with them on health care and other issues.

We have enjoyed a working relationship which we think has been very, very productive, said Guzzi.

Patrick said many of the solutions to the states health-care improvements and cost containment will come from the hospitals, doctors and others working in that industry itself, all of whom have the closest knowledge of their own industry.

I am proud of the strong partnership we have built and am certain we will reach a good legislative conclusion together in the next few weeks. And I have no doubt that the future of health care as a business in Massachusetts is bright, he told his audience. We have challenged each other to make a big change. Thats what we do in Massachusetts. I know we can accomplish this. My confidence comes from the undeniable fact that, working together with many of you in this room, we have addressed problem after tough problem that had been talked about and yet left unsolved for decades.

And while the governor was received well by the business crowd, there were voices who expressed concern over problems yet to be resolved in the legislation.

Lynn Nicholas of the Massachusetts Hospital Association rose to challenge Patricks assertion that health-care costs might even be able to drop below the level of growth for the state economy in general.

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Gov. Patrick promises health-care cost containment

Couples retiring this year can expect their medical bills throughout retirement to cost 4 percent more than those who retired a year ago, according to an annual projection released Wednesday by Fidelity Investments.

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Health-care costs for retirees up 4 percent from 2011

Military veterans can discuss their medical care in a town hall meeting Tuesday hosted by the American Legion.

The meeting will focus on the overall quality of health care that veterans receive at the Memphis Veterans Medical Center.

Men and women who receive health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs are invited to share their experiences at the open forum.

American Legion representatives will also visit the VA hospital to talk with patients, staff and administrators to determine ways to improve the patients' experiences.

"We visit these sites all across the country every year to evaluate the quality of health care our veterans are receiving," said Jacob Gadd, deputy director for health care for the Legion.

The town hall meeting and hospital visit are part of the Legion's "System Worth Saving" program. A task force of representatives from the organization makes about 50 visits annually to veterans centers nationwide.

"Overall, the feedback has been good. Veterans are quite happy with the level of care they are receiving," said Warren Goldstein, a field service representative in the site visits.

The task force compiles semiannual reports based on findings and submits them to the White House, Congress and VA leaders.

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American Legion will host veterans' health care event

By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune Published: May 13, 2012 Updated: May 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM

The real battleground in Tampa area health care lies far from the city's limits.

During the next three years, eastern and southern Hillsborough County residents will witness the arrival of a new hospital and several hospital-owned medical practices, such as a Tampa General Hospital office opened this month in Brandon.

It coincides with similar growth in Northeast Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

Leaders from the area's major health care systems say these geographic moves are essential to their long-term growth, which for years has heavily marketed hospital technology and specialized services.

"In this day and age, you need to be where your patients are, and not the other way around," said Isaac Mallah, chief executive officer of BayCare's St. Joseph's Hospitals, including St. Joseph's Hospital South Hospital and medical offices slated to break ground this fall.

Today, many in the hospital industry believe the best way to attract new customers is to provide primary-care services in traditionally underserved areas. That means hiring doctors to work in these communities, as opposed to hiring physicians to practice only on the hospital campus.

There's great value in building relationships between patients and community-based family doctors who work for the hospital, said Jana Gardner, vice president of ambulatory services at Tampa General.

"We want to make sure people have access to our specialty care (at the hospital). And that all starts with a family physician," said Gardner, who oversees the new Brandon practice that eventually will house five staff physicians.

This approach is somewhat new for Tampa General, best known for its downtown trauma center, burn unit and organ-transplant program. Instead of contracting with community-based doctors under so-called affiliation agreements, Tampa General has brought a dozen family physicians onto its payroll.

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Tampa area hospitals look to suburbs for growth

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Slippery-Slope Logic vs. Health Care Law - Economic View

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT - News) today announced that members of its management team are scheduled to present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Health Care Conference on May 15, 2012, at approximately 11:40a.m. Eastern time (8:40a.m. Pacific time).

A live webcast and replay of the presentation will be available at http://www.healthnet.com under Investor Relations. The webcast is open to all interested parties. The webcast should be accessed at least 15 minutes prior to its start time. Anyone listening to the webcast will be presumed to have read Health Nets Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012, and other reports filed by the company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Health Net

Health Net, Inc. is a publicly traded managed care organization that delivers managed health care services through health plans and government-sponsored managed care plans. Its mission is to help people be healthy, secure and comfortable. Health Net, through its subsidiaries, provides and administers health benefits to approximately 5.6million individuals across the country through group, individual, Medicare (including the Medicare prescription drug benefit commonly referred to as Part D), Medicaid, U.S.Department of Defense, including TRICARE, and Veterans Affairs programs. Health Nets behavioral health services subsidiary, Managed Health Network, Inc., provides behavioral health, substance abuse and employee assistance programs to approximately 4.9million individuals, including Health Nets own health plan members. Health Nets subsidiaries also offer managed health care products related to prescription drugs, and offer managed health care product coordination for multi-region employers and administrative services for medical groups and self-funded benefits programs.

For more information on Health Net, Inc., please visit Health Nets website at http://www.healthnet.com.

Cautionary Statements

Health Net, Inc. and its representatives may from time to time make written and oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) of 1995, including statements in this and other press releases, in presentations, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports to stockholders and in meetings with investors and analysts. All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information provided herein, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and as such are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by PSLRA. These statements are based on managements analysis, judgment, belief and expectation only as of the date hereof, and are subject to changes in circumstances and a number of risks and uncertainties. Without limiting the foregoing, statements including the words believes, anticipates, plans, expects, may, should, could, estimate, intend, feels, will, projects and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by the forward-looking information and statements due to, among other things, health care reform and other increased government participation in and regulation of health benefits and managed care operations, including the ultimate impact of the Affordable Care Act, which could materially adversely affect Health Nets financial condition, results of operations and cash flows through, among other things, reduced revenues, new taxes, expanded liability, and increased costs (including medical, administrative, technology or other costs), or require changes to the ways in which HealthNet does business; rising health care costs; continued slow economic growth or a further decline in the economy; negative prior period claims reserve developments; trends in medical care ratios; membership declines; unexpected utilization patterns or unexpectedly severe or widespread illnesses; rate cuts and other risks and uncertainties affecting Health Nets Medicare or Medicaid businesses; Health Nets ability to successfully participate in the dual-eligibles pilot programs; litigation costs; regulatory issues with federal and state agencies including, but not limited to, the California Department of Managed Health Care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state departments of insurance; operational issues; failure to effectively oversee our third-party vendors; noncompliance by Health Net or Health Nets business associates with any privacy laws or any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information; any liabilities of the Northeast business that were incurred prior to the closing of its sale as well as those liabilities incurred through the winding-up and running-out period of the Northeast business; investment portfolio impairment charges; volatility in the financial markets; and general business and market conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in the Risk Factors section included within Health Nets most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, and the risks discussed in Health Nets other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by law, Health Net undertakes no obligation to address or publicly update any of its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.

Continued here:

Health Net Announces Appearance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Health Care Conference

MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC-TV) - Memphis city employees can expect a sharp rise in health care costs next year.

At the same time, citizens will foot the bill for millions of dollars that were not collected from those city employees this year.

"Like a lot of private businesses, health care costs are going up," said Memphis City CAO, George Little.

But until now, Memphis city employees have notbeen a part of that rise in costs.

"There will be increases," said Little. "The question is how much and when."

Saturday, the city administration announced in a budget hearing that health care costs for city employees could increase up to 12 percent in 2013.

"In addition to that, the Health Care Reform Act that Congress passed could increase costs," said Memphis City Councilman, Jim Strickland.

In the current budget year, the city delayed an increase in health care payments. Leaving a three million dollar shortfall in the 2013 budget.

"Some type of way, we have to find the money to make up that shortfall, said Memphis City Councilman, Harold Collins.

See the original post here:

Memphis residents may foot bill for rise in city health care costs

Recent Requests

Since Jan. 1, six companies have presented rate increases that the N.C. Department of Insurance found to be actuarially justified. These percentages are the overall change to the specific block of insureds of the subject filings. The actual percentage increase applicable to a specific insured can vary based on age. 1. Mutual of Omaha requested 32.6 percent, DOI approved 24 percent 2. Physicians Mutual received 10 percent requested 3. Physicians Mutual received 10 percent increase requested 4. RiverSource Life received 15 percent increase requested 5. Prudential Insurance received 32 percent increase requested 6. UNUM Life received 25 percent increase requested Source: N.C. Department of Insurance

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Asheville area seniors see long-term health care rates skyrocket

Merge Healthcare, a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, has announced that Advocate Health Care, one of the nation’s top health care systems, will implement Merge’s complete cardiology solution suite to capture, manage and display cardiac images, and hemodynamics and ECG data across its enterprise of more than 250 care sites, including 10 acute-care hospitals ...

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Advocate Health Care partners with Merge Healthcare to provide physicians instant access to cardiac imaging and ...

By Phil Gregory, WBGO News Trenton. May 9, 2012

Listen to Report

Doctors and Republican lawmakers at Statehouse news conference (photo by Phil Gregory/WBGO News)

A proposed Health Care Disclosure Act is intended to make sure New Jersey residents know whether their medical care is covered in their insurance network plan. Some provisions of the bill are meeting with resistance.

The measure would require doctors to make three good faith efforts to collect payment from patients for out-of-network services and keep those financial records for seven years. Ira Monka, a family practice physician in Cedar Knolls, says that would be a hardship.

Were checking their health not their financial wealth. We want to take care of patients and not have to deal with paperwork that adds to the burden and cost of delivering simple family practice care.

Assembly Republican Conference Leader Dave Rible also opposes that requirement.

Its almost like this is the doctors collection law or the doctors penalization act because these guys are just trying to survive. These men and women who are working very hard to stay here in the state, were chasing them out with this legislation.

The primary sponsor of the measure, Democrat Gary Schaer, says the goal is to increase transparency about patients medical care costs.

When you go to have an elective procedure you should have the right know whether all of the people involved in that surgery, the anesthesiologist, the pathologist, the radiologist, whether theyre in network or out of network. There are financial consequences you want to be aware of.

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Concerns About Health Care Disclosure Act