Spring starts Saturday and I realize some of you might be thinking about spring cleaning/organizing. For those of you who are looking at cleaning out the basement, I encourage you to look into recycling that old junk.
It’s one of those parenting nightmares – you find your baby sitting on the floor with an open bottle of medicine. My story went something like that, but instead of medicine, my 1 year old got her hands on a bottle of cleaning solution for our CD’s.
I may be a good friend, but that doesn’t mean I’m not bitter. So, because it was 4am, and because I’m not a morning person, and because I’m insanely jealous, as I dropped my pal off I told him I hoped he was seated in-between two teething infants on the flight.
Patients that have similar clinical characteristics and similar costs are assigned to an MS-DRG. The MS-DRG will be associated with a fixed payment amount based on the average cost of patients in the group.
The start of spring means the start of Spring Training. The major leaguers start warming up for the season, and it’s not long before little leaguers follow suit. Tons of kids play on youth baseball and softball teams every year and right about now they are in their spring training.
OHIO: Governor Ted Strickland has signed into law a bill providing temporary extensions of Ohio continuation (mini-COBRA) coverage from 12 months to 15 months
The other night, I was awake the whole night. I haven’t had a night like that in a long time, but it reminded me of my past issues with insomnia.
Results of a clinical trial conducted in a largely self-contained religious community during the 2008-09 influenza season show that immunizing children against seasonal influenza can significantly protect unvaccinated community members against influenza as well. The study was conducted to determine if immunized children could act as a barrier to limit the spread of influenza to the wider, unvaccinated community, a concept known as herd immunity.
Medicare premiums and coinsurance rates for 2010
CONNECTICUT: The Human Services Committee is giving strong consideration to two measures that would go a long way toward lowering health care costs and improving health care quality.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today terminated its contract with Fox Insurance Company. After an onsite review of the plan and its services, CMS determined that the plan’s significant deficiencies – not meeting Medicare’s requirements to provide enrollees with prescription drugs according to recognized standards of care – jeopardized the health and safety of Fox enrollees.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The D.C. Council approved an emergency version of the “Reasonable Health Insurance Premium Increase Emergency Act of 2010.” The Act applies retroactively to rate filings after January 1, 2009.
CALIFORNIA: The Accountability and Administrative Review Committee chaired by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre is holding a hearing this week to examine the activities of the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance.
ARIZONA: Bills prohibiting pre-existing condition and pregnancy exclusions in individual policies have been referred to two separate committees, increasing the likelihood that they will not move forward.
Daylight Saving Time is Almost Here
This is a reminder to turn your clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 14. The transition officially happens at 2:00am local standard time, which becomes 3:00am local daylight time.
The good news is that it’s easy – when you get your form, just answer the 10 questions and mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope they provide (the form cannot be completed online). It only took me a couple of minutes to complete mine.