UnitedHealth Group filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense Tuesday, seeking the restoration of a $20 billion contract to oversee health care for more than 3 million military members, retirees and families within the government's Tricare network. Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth won the contract to serve Tricare's south region in 2009, only to have the deal taken away in 2011, following a protest by Humana, the health insurance company that previously held the contract. UnitedHealth then filed its own protest, which failed last week when the Government Accountability Office refused to side with UnitedHealth in the dispute. UnitedHealth claims that after losing the contract, Humana reworked its bid using doctor and hospital reimbursement fees that are too low to attract physicians and facilities to participate in the Tricare program. "The stakes for military families are simply too high, and the deficiencies in the contracting process too significant, for the Department of Defense to proceed with implementing this contract as it stands," Lori McDougal, CEO of UnitedHealthcare's military health division, said in a statement.
A U.S. Senate committee has launched an investigation into reports that doctors with financial ties to the medical device company Medtronic were aware of serious complications with a lucrative spine surgery product yet failed to reveal those problems in medical journal articles. Citing reports in the Journal Sentinel, two leaders of the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to Medtronic on Tuesday demanding an extensive trail of documents, including financial records and communications between the company and doctors who have received millions in royalties and other payments. Medtronic was warned not to destroy any of the documents, data or other information in the letter signed by committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and senior member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The growing controversy involves Medtronic's spine surgery product Infuse, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002.
The Walgreen Company said on Tuesday that it was willing to walk away from more than $5 billion in annual revenue because the pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts did not pay it enough to fill prescriptions. If the companies do not settle their dispute, people whose prescription benefits are handled by Express Scripts will not be able to get their prescriptions filled at the biggest drugstore chain in the United States, and Walgreens will give up about 7% of its annual revenue. The announcement on Tuesday follows a similar contract fight a year ago between Walgreens and the CVS Caremark Corporation that was resolved less than two weeks after it became public. The impasse with Express Scripts overshadowed news that Walgreens' net income climbed 30% in its third quarter. Walgreens' stock fell $1.90, or 4.2%, to $43.28 a share. Express Scripts rose 20 cents to $54.99 a share. Walgreens, which has spent months negotiating a new contract with Express Scripts, said it would stop participating in Express Scripts' prescription plans starting Jan. 1.
The National Library of Medicine, the world's largest medical library and a component of the National Institutes of Health, has formally launched MedlinePlus Connect. This free service allows health organizations and health information technology providers to link patient portals and electronic health record systems to MedlinePlus.gov, a trusted source of authoritative, up-to-date health information for patients, families and health care providers. MedlinePlus brings together information from NIH, other federal agencies, and reputable health information providers. MedlinePlus covers a wide range of health conditions and wellness issues, and includes key resources to inform patients about their health. Patients using portals or EHRs that have implemented MedlinePlus Connect can access easy-to-understand health information on MedlinePlus that is directly related to their diagnoses, medications, and lab tests.
The American College of Physician Executives has a new 40-hour course program in health IT that can help M.D. who lead hospitals, integrated health delivery networks, physician groups, and committees better understand the important health IT projects underway at their organizations. The ACPE certificate program can also give the participants a head start for a earning a master's degree in healthcare management from several U.S. universities. According to ACPE's description of its new program, the courses promise to provide information that allows physicians executives to "be conversant on IT issues and fundamentals; develop the skills to manage the people implementing IT; and successfully strategize, plan, and implement health IT changes."
Health centers in Indiana that offer care for medically underserved individuals participate in the Indiana Health Information Exchange and have a large role in its quality initiative and Beacon Community Program. The Indiana Health Information Exchange is a non-profit corporation formed by the Regenstrief Institute, private hospitals, local and state health departments and other Indiana organizations to enable healthcare providers to share patient data. Seven separate community health centers and federally qualified health centers in central Indiana, including Open Door Health Services, Boone County Community Clinic and HealthNet, and one in the northwest section of the state, Northshore Health Center, take part.