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Kathleen Sebelius


Cincinnati, Detriot named final Beacon pilot communities

Top Stories | Thursday, September 02 2010
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Sept. 2 that Cincinnati and Detroit are the two final pilot communities selected under the new Beacon Community Program that is using health IT to help tackle leading health problems in communities across the U.S.
 

HHS awards $17M for patient-centered outcomes research

Industry News | Wednesday, September 01 2010
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced three sets of grants and cooperative agreements, totaling nearly $17 million for patient-centered outcomes research.
 

HHS tags $32M for rural healthcare programs

Industry News | Tuesday, August 24 2010
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has granted more than $32 million in fiscal year 2010 funds to increase access to healthcare for Americans living in rural areas.
 

HHS announces $46 million to ensure transparency in health insurance markets

Industry News | Wednesday, August 18 2010
Affordable Care Act grants totaling $46 million will be distributed to 45 states and Washington, D.C. to help improve the oversight of proposed health insurance premium increases, take action against insurers seeking unreasonable rate hikes and ensure consumers receive value for their premium dollars, announced U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
 

HHS allocates $159M for healthcare workforce training

Industry News | Thursday, August 05 2010
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary awarded $159.1 million in healthcare workforce training program grants to train nurses and geriatric specialists in order to improve the performance and recruitment of under-represented minority students.
 

Judge allows Virginia's healthcare reform suit into court

Industry News | Monday, August 02 2010
Federal District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled that the Commonwealth of Virginia has standing to bring its lawsuit seeking to invalidate the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss the commonwealth’s suit.
 

HHS allots $51 million for state health insurance exchanges

Industry News | Friday, July 30 2010
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made available $51 million in grants to help states begin work to establish health insurance exchanges.
 

HHS to require insurers to cover cancer screenings

Top Stories | Friday, July 16 2010
New health insurance plans or insurance policies beginning on or after Sept. 23 will be required to cover, without cost sharing, several recommended preventive healthcare services--including breast cancer screening--under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
 

HHS approves Florida data mining waiver to identify Medicaid fraud

Industry News | Friday, July 16 2010
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has approved the state of Florida’s Medicaid waiver request to help fund a demonstration program that will allow the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to mine Medicaid Management Information System data to identify cases of potential Medicaid fraud.
 

CMS, ONC release meaningful use final rules

Top Stories | Tuesday, July 13 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) issued the final rules on Meaningful Use and Standards and Certification, which providers must follow in order to benefit from the approximate $27.3 billion in financial incentives over 10 years, authorized under the HITECH Act’s EHR incentive program.
 

HHS attempts to strengthen HIPAA privacy rules with new NPRM

Top Stories | Thursday, July 08 2010
“Today, we begin to make real the phrase ‘private and secure’ as operative characteristics of that ambitious project of improving health information in the U.S.,” said David Blumenthal, MD, the national coordinator for health IT during a Thursday press conference concerning the notice of proposed rulemaking published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the July 8 edition of the Federal Register to strengthen HIPAA privacy and security rules.
 

Virginia healthcare reform case begins, awaiting standing verdict

Top Stories | Friday, July 02 2010
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his legal team made their first defense of Virginia’s lawsuit against the federal government’s new healthcare reform legislation. Federal district court judge Henry E. Hudson listened to Virginia’s and the federal government’s arguments on U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ motion to dismiss the suit.
 

HHS awards $96 million to train health professionals

Industry News | Friday, July 02 2010
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has awarded $96 million in grants to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators.
 

News & Views

Departments | Monday, June 21 2010
Written by Staff Report
NIH revises conflict of interest rules for researchers; Senator asks HHS to remove mammo guidelines from website; A more transparent FDA approval process?; Settlement reached in California radiation case
 

Feature: Virginia AG defends standing in healthcare reform case

Web Exclusives | Wednesday, June 09 2010
Written by Jeff Byers
The Commonwealth of Virginia responded this week to the federal government’s attempt to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against the new federal healthcare law in an attempt to move the case of Commonwealth of Virginia v. Kathleen Sebelius forward. Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli now awaits the July 1 court date that will determine whether his case has standing to challenge the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the healthcare reform bill under the Commerce Clause.
 

Sebelius to grant $51M for state insurance premium review

Industry News | Tuesday, June 08 2010
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the availability of $51 million in Health Insurance Premium Review Grants through the Affordable Care Act.
 

HHS grants $84M for EHR adoption for health center controlled networks

Top Stories | Friday, June 04 2010
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $83.9 million in grants to help Health Center Controlled Networks adopt EHRs and other health IT systems.
 

Physician-owned hospitals latest to sue gov't over healthcare reform

Top Stories | Thursday, June 03 2010
Physician Hospitals of America and Texas Spine & Joint Hospital have jointly filed suit in U.S. Federal Court, Eastern District of Texas, challenging the constitutionality of Section 6001 of the healthcare reform bill, which prohibits physician-owned Medicare hospitals from expanding after March 23, and bans any new physician-owned Medicare hospitals that are not certified as Medicare providers by Dec. 31.
 

HHS, IOM put health data to work with new initiative

Industry News | Wednesday, June 02 2010
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Institute of Medicine (IOM) President Harvey Fineberg have launched a national initiative to share a wealth of new community health data to drive innovation and create new applications and tools to improve the health in the U.S.
 

Obama Administration attempts to dismiss Virginia's reform suit

Top Stories | Wednesday, May 26 2010
Federal attorneys, acting on behalf of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, filed a 39-page brief in the U.S. District Court of Richmond in Virginia this week, in an attempt to dismiss Virginia’s lawsuit against the Obama Administration’s healthcare reform law.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

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