Health costs significantly higher in U.S., report finds

This Week's Healthcare News
Healthcare Info Security
Medical Research: Privacy Measures
Mar,29,2013
by:+Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
The new Aurora Research Institute is taking multiple steps to protect the privacy of patients who participate in medical research, clinical trials and personalized medicine endeavors, says institute leader Randall Lambrecht.

Aurora Health Care, a delivery system in Wisconsin, launched the institute this month to consolidate its research efforts.

"There are a number of mechanisms put in place to make sure information is protected," Lambrecht says in an interview with HealthcareInfoSecurity.
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iHealthBeat
Physicians Offer Mixed Views About Emailing With Their Patients
Mar,26,2013
by:+Staff
Some physicians find that emailing with patients saves time and money, but others have concerns about the practice, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Benefits of Emailing With Patients

Physicians who email with their patients say the practice:

Is a convenient way to communicate about patient care;
Avoids the challenges of reaching patients by phone; and
Helps prevent patients from inaccurately diagnosing their health conditions using the Internet.

Andrew Martorella -- an endocrinologist in New York -- said that if he did not email with patients, he likely would need at least one extra staff member to field patients' phone calls. He added that emailing with patients has "definitely made a big change in terms of reducing costs, especially for solo practitioners."

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Modern Healthcare.com
Health costs significantly higher in U.S., report finds
Mar,26, 2013
by:+ Melanie Evans
Private insurers in the U.S. last year paid significantly more—up to 26 times as much in one case—for common procedures, hospital and doctor visits and prescriptions when compared with private and public insurers in 10 other countries, a report shows.

The report, by the International Federation of Health Plans (PDF), did find a few instances where average prices paid in other countries mostly matched those of the U.S., but such occurrences were rare. Instead, U.S. private insurance prices widely exceeded those of other countries.

“It means, to us, that apparently the difference in the cost of healthcare is not so much about utilization,” said Tom Sackville, CEO of the IFHP. “They seem to be more about the actual unit cost of items of care.”

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Featured Report: Evidence that mobile health is making the tiny steps to make us better
Med City News
Mar,27, 2013
by:+Woodbridge, Rob
I quit smoking 14 years ago this past March.
I can still remember that last pull of my last cigarette and the little jingle that played from my LifeSign smoking cessation computer. I quit smoking because a mobile device told me when to smoke … and when I was done smoking for good. And it worked.

That was the first time for me that a habit change was brought on by a mobile device — but certainly not the last. Back then the commercial web was emerging, mobile was a distant ripple and the RAZR was the rage. There wasn’t a single smartphone in sight.

Today, when five out of six people on the planet carry a connected device, many habits have already been modified as a result of this pervasive technology. There is a “low-hanging fruit” kind of change that is sweeping through the home as land lines are being dropped in lieu of mobile phones. Parents are debating at what age to buy their kids cell phones.
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Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.

Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story

Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology

Sincerely,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416

Featured Report: BlackBerry 10: A better Android than Android?

This Week's Wireless News
Fierce Wireless
Verizon, AT&T, Sprint shrug at T-Mobile's new no-contract plans
Mar,26,2013
by:+ Phil Goldstein
Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) seemed unfazed by T-Mobile USA's decision to do away with wireless contracts and CEO John Legere's vow to shake up the status quo.

T-Mobile on Wednesday formally unveiled its new "Simple Choice" plans without device subsidies and also launched LTE its network. The actions are part of the company's efforts to rekindle customer additions. However, T-Mobile's fellow Tier 1 carriers greeted T-Mobile's event with a shrug--despite Legere's edgy presentation, which was laced with profanity and specifically called out Sprint and AT&T.

"Customers don't need another AT&T," Legere said. "Customers need someone to stop acting like AT&T." Legere also blasted AT&T's network performance when it first launched the iPhone--indeed, AT&T has acknowledged that its network, particularly in cities like New York and San Francisco, was not able to handle the deluge of data traffic the iPhone brought to its network.
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Fierce Mobile Content
iPhone owners bemoan battery drain, Wi-Fi issues following iOS 6.1.3 update
Mar,27,2013
by:+Jason Ankeny
Battery drain issues are once again plaguing some iPhone and iPad owners following the release of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iOS 6.1.3 software update, with some consumers also blaming the release for issues with Wi-Fi connectivity.

Apple issued iOS 6.1.3 last week to fix a security vulnerability allowing users to bypass the lockscreen and gain unauthorized device access. But on Twitter and Apple's own Support Communities forum, users who've downloaded the update say their iOS devices are now experiencing severe battery life problems.

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RCR Wireless U.S.
Oracle to buy Tekelec (video)
Mar,25, 2013
by:+ Martha DeGrasse
Oracle (ORCL) continues to make its way aggessively into telecom software, this time with the purchase of Tekelec, a provider of diameter signaling and policy control solutions. Tekelec has been privately held for just over a year; it was taken private in January 2012 by Siris Capital in a deal that valued the company at $780 million. Analysts at Exact Ventures expect the market for diameter signaling controllers to grow about 50% a year through 2017, propelled by the accelerating pace of LTE rollouts. The firm says that Tekelec currently has a 75% – 85% market share. The purchase of Tekelec is meant to complement Oracle’s other recent mega-purchase in the telecom software space: the $2.1 billion acquisition of Acme Packet announced last month. Oracle said that by combining the capabilities of Tekelec and Acme Packet with its own software expertise, it expects to provide the “most complete communications offering that will enable service providers to engage with customers, improve operations, control network resources and deploy innovative communications services.”
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Featured Report: BlackBerry 10: A better Android than Android?
ZD Net
Mar,21, 2013
by:+Jason Perlow
Today, BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion) made an announcement that its BlackBerry 10 App World has reached the 100,000 app milestone.

While I applaud the sheer numbers of apps that their developers have been able to seed the store with in such a short period of time for the Z10's US carrier launch, BlackBerry has not been forthcoming as to what kind of apps they are. What do I mean by "what kind" of apps?

Back in Q1 2011, RIM had finally confirmed what had been rumored for months: That its then-new PlayBook tablet, which runs on the same fundamental QNX operating system that BlackBerry 10 uses, would be able to run Android applications in addition to Adobe Air, HTML5, and native C/C++ QNX apps.
Read Report









Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.

Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story

Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology

Sincerely,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416

How social media helps you crack the code to inbound marketing

This Week's Mobile Marketing News
Smart Blog on Social Media
How social media helps you crack the code to inbound marketing
Mar,25,2013
by:+ Michael Lieberman
Inbound marketing is the methodology innovative CEOs, business owners and marketing professionals are using to help their companies get found, get leads and drive sales. Inbound marketing, by definition, is the process by which you create educational content, leverage that content to help your business drive visitors to your website, convert those visitors from anonymous lurkers into leads and then nurture those leads through the sales process turning them into new customers.

While this is a bit more complicated than traditional outbound or interruptive marketing, it is much more efficient and much more aligned with the way today’s prospects want to be marketed to. People don’t want to be sold to, they want to be guided through a process to a point where they feel safe making their purchase decisions. Buyer behaviors have changed, and businesses need to adapt to survive.

Social media is one of the secret ingredients that help us crack the code to inbound marketing, helping businesses drive discovery and increase sales.
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Luxury Daily
9pc of US consumers trust text messages from brands: Forrester
Mar,25,2013
by:+Erin Shea
Just 9 percent of U.S. consumers trust text messages from marketers, while 12 percent trust information on mobile applications, according to a new report by Forrester Research.

In the “How to build your brand with branded content” report, Forrester uncovered that U.S. and European consumers trust recommendations from other consumers more than brand promotions, especially digital promotions. This means that brands should look to build their brand campaigns with more authenticity and emotion.
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Small Business Newz
Changing the Social Channel
Mar,10, 2013
by:+ John Jantsch
I’ve been asked to speak at three different social media related events over the next few months and in each case I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the future of social media.

But here’s the thing. I don’t plan to talk about social media – not much at least.

What I plan to talk about is the future of business as I see it, now that social behavior has infiltrated every aspect of our lives.

I plan to challenge the thinking that social networks are really channels and, in fact, make a case for things like clarity, culture, content and method as the most important channels of a social business.

And finally, I plan to introduce how a vibrant community, perhaps the highest objective of any business today, is built not through social media, but through the confluence of a specific set of socially assisted practices.

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Featured Report: Can Mobile Targeting Ever be as Accurate as Cookies on the Desktop?

Ad Age Digital
Mar,21, 2013
by:+ John McDermott
Mobile ad startup Tapad announced on Thursday it closed a $6.5 million series B funding round led by venture capital fund Firsthand Technology. By analyzing hundreds of data points including device type, browser type and content source, Tapad says that it can target consumers across devices with 70% to 75% accuracy. In turn, the company has attracted high-profile investors and 75 customers in Fortune 500.

But Tapad is just one of numerous cross-device tracking companies to capture the attention of Madison Avenue and Silicon Alley with such claims. While mobile device adoption has been a boon to Apple and Samsung, it has threatened to make cookies--the lifeblood of digital advertising--less relevant. As the cookie slowly crumbles, advertisers have heralded new technologies that will one day replace them.
Read Report







Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.

Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story

Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology

Sincerely,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416

Business groups differ on health insurance exchange

This Week's Healthcare News



P.J.Star.com
Business groups differ on health insurance exchange
Mar,19,2013
by:+ Dean Olsen
SPRINGFIELD —

A proposal to create an Illinois health-insurance exchange with the power to turn away plans based on affordability and quality would be a good deal for employers, representatives of small businesses said Tuesday.

“Small businesses need a level playing field,” said Mark Burris of Glenarm, the owner of seven Springfield-area Subway restaurants.

Burris is part of the Small Business Health Care Consortium, a project of the Champaign-based Campaign for Better Health Care. The consortium supports an amendment to Senate Bill 34 as the blueprint for forming a state-based health-insurance exchange to help carry out a section of the federal Affordable Care Act.
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Modern Healthcare.com
Federal EHR payouts top $12.3 billion
Mar,19,2013
by:+Joseph Conn
An estimated 219,257 hospitals, office-based physicians and other eligible professionals have shared in just over $12.3 billion in federal electronic health-record incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to government figures through February.

The CMS, which operates EHR incentive payment programs under Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage, reported that $725 million was spent on incentives by the programs in February alone.
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New York Times
States Urged to Expand Medicaid With Private Insurance
Mar,21, 2013
by:+Robert Pear
WASHINGTON — The White House is encouraging skeptical state officials to expand Medicaid by subsidizing the purchase of private insurance for low-income people, even though that approach might be somewhat more expensive, federal and state officials say.

Ohio and Arkansas are negotiating with the Obama administration over plans to use federal Medicaid money to pay premiums for commercial insurance that will be sold to the public in regulated markets known as insurance exchanges.

Read Report

Featured Report: Some states won't enforce reform law, so feds must
Fierce Health Payer
Mar,20, 2013
by:+Dina Overland
With multiple health reform deadlines looming, some states are declaring they won't enforce the law, deferring instead to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to guarantee insurers in their state comply with the provisions. So far, five states--Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming--already have notified HHS that they either can't or won't police insurers to uphold the reform provisions, Politico reported. Florida, for example, won't penalize insurers for violating new consumer protections but will report those insurers to HHS to take further action. Other state officials say their legislatures haven't granted them the authority to oversee reform requirements. In Wyoming, the state insurance department said it lacks regulatory authority for the reform law, reported Kaiser Health News.
Read Report





Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.

Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story

Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology

Sincerely,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416