http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:35:48 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35861/ranks-of-uninsured-drop-by-1m.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThere were a million fewer uninsured Americans last year, the first annual decrease under the Bush administration, according to Census Bureau data released today. Median household incomes also rose slightly for the third consecutive year, while the nation’s poverty rate held steady at just over 12%, AP reports. The encouraging figures don’t factor in the economic downturn that began late last year, however.http://www.newser.com/story/35861/ranks-of-uninsured-drop-by-1m.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 26 Aug 2008 13:10:37 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35553/man-steals-identity-to-fund-heart-surgery.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA Chicago man allegedly nicked the identity of a mentally disabled friend to fund a $350,000 heart bypass operation, say police. John Parsons, 57, was sure he would die without the surgery, said a relative; the alleged scam was uncovered after a caregiver began receiving copies of expenses billed to the man's Medicaid account. Mental-health advocates condemned the incident, while some remain confused by the case.http://www.newser.com/story/35553/man-steals-identity-to-fund-heart-surgery.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 22 Aug 2008 8:13:30 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35403/medicare-fudged-fraud-figures-report.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMedicare's boasts of having reduced fraud by billions are misleading, a draft report obtained by the New York Times finds. Auditors were told to ignore procedures that would have accurately measured fraudulent claims for medical equipment, the draft report says.   Proper methods would have revealed an estimated $2.8 billion in fraud in 2006, instead of the $700 million reported to Congress.http://www.newser.com/story/35403/medicare-fudged-fraud-figures-report.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 20 Aug 2008 22:07:28 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35360/mass-trumpets-success-of-health-mandate.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAbout 75% of Massachusetts residents who had been uninsured now have health coverage, thanks to the state’s closely watched, near-universal health care mandate, says a new report from Gov. Deval Patrick. Nearly half of the 439,000 newly insured bought private insurance, rather than taxpayer-funded plans, the Boston Globe reports. And the number of patients using emergency rooms for routine treatments has fallen significantly.http://www.newser.com/story/35360/mass-trumpets-success-of-health-mandate.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 20 Aug 2008 11:17:45 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34994/the-win-win-economics-of-medical-tourism.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe spread of “medical tourism”—uninsured and underinsured patients seeking cheap health care in Southeast Asia or Latin America—has fueled fears that developing nations will divert resources from state health systems caring for their own citizens. But, the Economist argues, “if governments make the best of the boom, then medical tourism should improve the health of rich and poor alike.”http://www.newser.com/story/34994/the-win-win-economics-of-medical-tourism.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 15 Aug 2008 8:46:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34786/in-sickness-and-for-health-insurance.html?refid=rss_all_defaultHealth insurance worries are pushing a growing number of Americans both into and out of marriages, the New York Times reports. Couples in which one party has better health benefits are marrying hastily as medical needs outweigh any doubts about each other. One survey this year found health insurance was a major factor in 7% of weddings, and one wedding chapel owner says 1 in 10 couples come before him for health reasons.http://www.newser.com/story/34786/in-sickness-and-for-health-insurance.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 13 Aug 2008 3:24:20 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34316/ceo-arrested-in-plan-to-use-homeless-in-medicare-scam.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe CEO of a Los Angeles hospital was arrested today for defrauding Medicare by using the city’s homeless to fill empty beds, the AP reports. The FBI says Rudra Sabaratnam, of City of Angels hospital, recruited the homeless in a scheme to charge for unnecessary health services and keep the funds. The FBI also arrested the operator of a skid-row shelter.http://www.newser.com/story/34316/ceo-arrested-in-plan-to-use-homeless-in-medicare-scam.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 06 Aug 2008 15:44:47 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34093/new-databases-share-test-results-prescriptions.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe prescriptions and medical test results of more than 200 million Americans are being assembled into commercial databases, the Washington Post reports, which then sell health "credit reports" to insurance companies trying to evaluate whether to accept an individual for coverage. The companies not only disclose drug and test information, they provide a "pharmacy risk score," based on people in a particular age group who have taken the same prescriptions.http://www.newser.com/story/34093/new-databases-share-test-results-prescriptions.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 04 Aug 2008 8:14:15 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33112/obama-health-care-cure-may-prove-elusive.html?refid=rss_all_defaultIn a campaign that has made several big promises, perhaps Barack Obama's most ambitious vow is that he will bring down health care premiums by $2,500 by the end of his first term as president. But whether he can deliver that is an open question, writes the New York Times . Even if he can muster the political will to cut down a bloated system, the savings might not materialize.http://www.newser.com/story/33112/obama-health-care-cure-may-prove-elusive.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 23 Jul 2008 5:14:44 CDT