Author: Matt

An effort by Johnson & Johnson to buy back defective Motrin pills from store shelves — described as a “phantom recall” by some members of Congress — has come under fire in a lawsuit filed by the state of Oregon against the company, the New York Times reports. (NEW YORK TIME, 1/13)

But this week, Medicaid fraud investigators struck out in a new direction as federal prosecutors brought a civil fraud lawsuit accusing the New York City government of using the bureaucracy to run its own Medicaid mill. And in the minds of several advocates for aged and disabled people, the lawsuit raised new questions about health policy, just as the government is expanding health care. (NEW YORK TIMES, 1/13)

As Republicans push forward on repealing health reform, planning the law’s demise, a different conversation is happening among thousands of health care investors gathered in San Francisco for this week’s J.P Morgan Health Care Conference: how to capitalize on health reform’s new business opportunities. (POLITICO, 1/13)

House Republican leaders are eager to fulfill their promise to vote to repeal the legislation, but taking up the divisive issue could hurt the party at a time of calls for rejecting partisan rhetoric. (LA TIMES, 1/13)

Accountable care organizations take up only seven pages of the massive new health law yet have become one of the most talked about provisions. This latest model for delivering services offers doctors and hospitals financial incentives to provide good quality care to Medicare beneficiaries while keeping down costs. A cottage industry of consultants has sprung up to help even ordinary hospitals become the first ACOs on the block. Kaiser Health News examines them. (KAISER HEALTH NEWS, 1/13)