State receives three months to check wages of Medicaid recipients
by Andy Davis, Arkansas Online Arkansas has been granted a three-month extension, until Dec. 31, to finish checking the incomes of 600,000 Medicaid recipients who have been enrolled for at least a year, the director of the state Department of Human Services said recently. Human Services Director John…
Governor favors keeping Medicaid expansion, with changes
Governor Asa Hutchinson spoke recently to a joint meeting of the Health Reform Legislative Task Force and the Governor's Medicaid Advisory Council. He told the group that he favored keeping Medicaid expansion — but only if the federal government allowed changes that seemed intended to appeal to conservative…
Urgent Message Regarding Private Option Terminations
News reports have been following the situation of Private Option patients whose coverage has been or will be terminated due to lack of updated income information. There have been major problems in collecting the needed information, compounded by backlogs at local county offices, delayed mail, nondescript envelopes and…
Physician Groups Band Together to Address America’s Opioid Crisis
AMA convened task force engages physicians to curb opioid abuse CHICAGO — Opioid abuse is a serious public health problem that has reached crisis levels across the United States, with 44 people dying each day from overdose of opioids, and many more becoming addicted. Recognizing the urgency and…
Successful Physician Recruitment Vital To Allay Shortages in Arkansas
Arkansas Medical News July 2015 | Becky Gillette Physician shortages, particularly primary care shortages in rural areas of Arkansas far from metro areas, are acute and there is a looming imperative to address the issue not just for the present, but for the next ten to 20 years…
3 things the Supreme Court’s ACA ruling means for physicians
An AMA Viewpoints post by AMA President Steven J. Stack, MD. The Supreme Court of the United States delivered an historic decision Thursday morning in King v. Burwell. In a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled that subsidies should remain available for lower-income people who purchase their health insurance…
California governor signs bill to limit vaccine exemptions for children.
ABC World News (6/30, story 5, 1:25, Robach, 5.84M) reported that California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) “signed into law one of the toughest vaccine bills in the country” Monday, requiring all children attending school to be “fully vaccinated unless they have a medical reason not to be.” Parents…
CDC HEALTH ADVISORY: Bird Infections with Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses
Bird Infections with Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N2), (H5N8), and (H5N1) Viruses: Recommendations for Human Health Investigations and Response Summary: Highly-pathogenic avian influenza A H5 viruses have been identified in birds in the United States since December 2014. The purpose of this HAN Advisory is to notify public…
Physicians influence the lowest growth rate in national healthcare cost since 1961
How physicians are slowing health care costs An AMA Viewpoints post by Barbara L. McAneny, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. As physicians, we hear firsthand from the media and other places how health care costs are out of control, and we’re often asked what can be done…
Hepatitis C Trend Increasing in Arkansas
Video from THV11 | Download May Journal (members only) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ADH) – Illness and death due to Hepatitis C (Hep C) infection is increasing in Arkansas, according to new research published in the May 2015 issue of the Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society. The research,…
Free Webinar on Tobacco Use in LGBT Communities: How Can We Do Better?
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 12 - 1 pm The Arkansas Department of Health and The National LGBT Health Education Center is sponsoring a free webinar to try to improve treatment and prevention of tobacco use in LGBT populations. Faculty: Phoenix Matthews, PhD, Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist with…