Health care

Ronald McDonald House Turns Dirt As $8.5 Million Goal Nears

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas broke ground on a new $8.5 million housing facility on the campus of Arkansas Children’s Hospital on Tuesday.

Is Obamacare Crony Capitalism?

Scott Rasmussen writes in Real Clear Politics that there’s a reason why insurance companies in many states are asking for large premium increases this year: Because next year is an…

Health Consultants: State Innovative, But Should Try More Tried-And-True

The Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative has produced some savings, but the state should consider looking at other, more proven strategies, legislators were told Thursday. The Health Care Reform Legislative Task…

Insurance Execs: Private Option Recipients Use ER Five Times More Often

Enrollees in the state’s private option visit the emergency room at five times the rate of the rest of the Blue Cross population and are less likely to use their…

Termination Notices Sent To 25,000 Private Option Recipients

Arkansas Medicaid officials have sent notices of termination to 25,000 Medicaid beneficiaries, almost all of them recipients of the state’s private option, informing them that they are losing their eligibility because they did not respond to a request for income verification.

Report: Number Of Foster Children Rising; State High In Mistreated Children

Arkansas should expand intensive home and community-based health services and develop a plan to reduce caseloads to address a rising foster care population and a high rate of child maltreatments….

Speakers Say Incentives Needed For Generics, Also Opiate Abuse A Problem

Arkansas pharmacists are reimbursed $3 less for dispensing generics than they are for brand-name drugs, creating a disincentive to sell them, Mark Riley, executive vice president of the Arkansas Pharmacists…

Arkansas Medicaid Growth Rate Beating National Average

Arkansas’ annual 2.2% growth in Medicaid spending from 2010-13 places it below the U.S. average of about 4% and in the middle of adjacent states – well below Oklahoma’s more…

UAMS Medical Center To Receive ‘2015 Most Wired’ Award

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Medical Center recently became the only Arkansas hospital to earn the 2015 Most Wired Award from the American Hospital Association Health Forum…

Crittenden County Hospital Sales Tax Passes

A plan to reopen Crittenden Regional Hospital in West Memphis received an overwhelming okay Tuesday by county voters. The five-year, one-cent sales tax was approved by a 2,888 to 444…

Health Beat: Health Care Spending Starting To Slow

Editor’s note: Each Wednesday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Health Beat,” a round-up of health-related topics in our email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive daily for free here. HEALTH CARE…

HHS Proposes To Improve Care And Safety For Nursing Homes Residents

A proposal announced Tuesday at the White House Conference on Aging would make major changes to improve the care and safety of the nearly 1.5 million residents in the more…

State Gets ‘F’ On Medical Cost Transparency, But Future Is ‘Cautiously Optimistic’

Arkansas, like 44 other states, gets an “F” for its medical pricing transparency from one report, but a statewide effort could raise the score and help consumers better understand what…

Governor: 15,000 Lose Benefits After Not Responding To Alerts

More than 15,000 individuals have lost state government health benefits because their family incomes vary at least 10% from their original applications and they did not respond to government requests to verify their incomes.

Gallup Polls: ACA Support Up, Uninsureds Down

Support for the Affordable Care Act has increased slightly since the King v. Burwell decision, though more Americans disapprove than approve, while the percentage of uninsured American adults dropped slightly…

CHI St. Vincent Expands In Little Rock, Hot Springs, Conway And Morrilton

CHI St. Vincent has been in an expansion mode of late. Petit Jean Home Care in Morrilton, Ark. and Visiting Nurse Association of Arkansas in Little Rock, Ark. are now…

U.S. House Passes Bill To Speed New Cures, Arkansas Delegation Splits

The U.S. House of Representatives Friday passed a bill aimed at introducing medical breakthroughs faster to market. The state’s delegation split 2-2 on the bill.

UAMS Names New Pharmacy Dean

The UAMS College of Pharmacy has named Keith M. Olsen, Pharm. D., as its new dean, UAMS announced Friday in a press release. He will begin his new job on…

Hospitals Say Private Option Cuts Charity Care By Half, Opponents Cite Long-term Concerns

The number of uninsured patients treated by Arkansas hospitals for inpatient care decreased 48.7% from 2013 to 2014, but private option critics still worry about a long-term solution.

Poll: Three-Fourths Of Americans Would Raise Tobacco Age To 21

Seventy-five percent (75%) of American adults favor raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21, according to a Centers for Disease Control study published July 6 in the…