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American Traveler Expands Benefit Choices for Working Nurses

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Travel nurse staffing agency now offering an expanded menu of healthcare coverage choices to its working travelers

BOCA RATON, Fla. (PRWEB) April 11, 2018

In response to the needs of contingent healthcare professionals, American Traveler is now offering an expanded menu of healthcare coverage choices to its working travelers through Cigna Insurance.

Says Mary Kay Hull, the agency’s Vice President of Recruitment, “Our goal has always been to offer comprehensive benefits to our traveling healthcare professionals, which includes making sure their own health is protected. We now offer a choice of health insurance plans for travelers, including options that offer a Day 1 effective date, which means no waiting 30 days or more until insurance coverage begins.”

Travelers can select from medical / RX plans with varying structures, effective dates and contribution rates. Also available are plans with a Health Savings Account, which allows members to set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses.

American Traveler also offers Dental and Vision coverage plans that are effective on Day One. These plans are available independent of medical coverage election. As always, travelers may arrange for their own healthcare coverage.

Every travel nurse has a unique personal situation and lifestyle, so having a variety of benefit plans to choose from allows each individual to select the one that is right for them.

American Traveler encourages all working travelers -- and all prospective travelers -- to contact one of our expert recruiters to find out how these newly expanded benefits can better their lives and their careers.

About American Traveler

American Traveler Staffing Professionals is a healthcare staffing agency and workforce management solutions company. The agency staffs nursing and allied health professionals at more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide and over 80% of largest hospital systems in the United States. The company has continuously demonstrated the quality of its healthcare staffing services by earning the Joint Commission’s prestigious Gold Seal of Approval since 2005. Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.

Race, income, education, address divide and threaten Dallas County, report says

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Race, income, education, address divide Dallas County, threaten prosperity, study says The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer in Dallas County at an alarming rate, even as the area experiences a population boom. There’s a significant gap between the county’s black and Hispanic residents and its white residents in terms of income, educational achievement and access to health insurance and jobs. And while unemployment is low, the jobs people have don't come with a big… Reported by bizjournals 6 hours ago.

Zerto Announces ZertoCON 2018 Featuring Keynotes that Explore the Future of Being Human with Wired Editor-in-Chief and the Future of Data Protection with Gartner Analyst

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Zerto’s third-annual IT resilience conference will expand the boundaries of business operations protection and accelerate IT modernization and transformation

BOSTON, April 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zerto, an industry leader for IT resilience, today announced ZertoCON 2018 with keynote speakers including Nicholas Thompson, the editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, and Dave Russell, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. Zerto’s third-annual conference will focus on exploring new transformative and disruptive technologies and educate and empower attendees to evolve from beyond backup and recovery, to true IT resilience. The conference will be held May 21-23, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.Thompson is currently the editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine. Prior to that, he was an editor at The New Yorker where he led the organization’s own digital transformation by revolutionizing its online platform. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed biography, The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan and the History of the Cold War.

Thompson’s ZertoCON keynote will explore how technology is changing what it means to be human and how delivering our new world uninterrupted, and immediately responding to opportunity, is not just demanded – it’s required.

Russell, a VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner, will keynote on new and disruptive technologies driving IT transformation and the future of data protection. “For years now, many organizations have continued to rearchitect their backups in an effort to modernize their approach to handle new data types and deployment models, increased workload volumes, and to improve backup and restore times to meet rising SLAs. Ease of deployment, with a rapid time to value, and especially a greater ease of daily administration are key requirements. Gartner sees that many organizations are willing to deploy multiple backup solutions in an attempt to best match the needs of what is being protected, to contain product costs and/or to implement a solution that the staff will find easy to use. As a result, large vendors are no longer viewed as being safe choices, with many losing market share to emerging providers,” according to Dave Russell, Pushan Rinnen, and Robert Rhame in Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Solutions.

“In our third year of ZertoCON, we have placed an emphasis on making this conference a place where customers, partners and industry peers can come to get inspired and learn how they’re each managing their operations and shifting to IT resilience,” said Ziv Kedem, co-founder and CEO of Zerto. “Together, we’ll engage in three days of informative keynotes and technical deep-dive breakout sessions. We are also excited to be announcing innovations in our roadmap that will spark new approaches to IT operations and empower IT to evolve from beyond backup and recovery, to true IT resilience.”

“There’s no better opportunity than ZertoCON to learn from and network with the best minds in the IT resilience space,” said Erik Gilreath, senior systems engineer with RDV Corporation. “I came away from ZertoCON 2017 not only thankful for our relationship with Zerto, but also inspired by new ideas and strategies to meet one of our top business goals: ensuring an always-on experience for our organization.” 

Conference tracks will include:

· *Advanced use cases* – Attendees will have the opportunity to sharpen their skills and change the way they work — learn how to configure failovers, test, automate, optimize and become data driven with Zerto
· *Protect your data, apps & business* – Learn best practices to deliver continuous business availability regardless of mother nature, mistakes, malice or infrastructure modernization
· *Modernize and transform IT* – Lean to move beyond legacy systems, mitigate risks and complexity of datacenter and cloud migrations and futureproof IT operations
· *Solve multi-cloud, hybrid cloud* – Multi-cloud, hybrid cloud, inter cloud, intra cloud: explore the options and best practices to build a cloud strategy

Conference sessions will include the following and more:

· Automation Deep Dive
· Zerto: The Do’s, Don’ts and How To’s
· End-to-End Protection Solution
· GDPR Impact for Cloud Adoption
· Testing Failovers: Best Practices
· Zerto Analytics: Become Data-Driven

Additionally, notable customers in attendance will be McKesson, a leader in health information technology; Independent Health, one of the highest-ranked non-profit health insurance plans in the nation; and Aaron’s, a leading player in the consumer lease-to-own market.

This year’s conference is supported by global sponsor, Microsoft; platinum sponsor, IBM Cloud; gold sponsors, ExaGrid, Expedient, iland, Spectrum Enterprise; and silver sponsors EchoStor, Tegile and US Signal. Learn more about becoming a sponsor today.

For more information or to register, visit the ZertoCON 2018 event page. A conference preview, Embrace IT Resilience: A 2018 ZertoCON Sneak Peek, will also be available in webinar format on April 24 at 11:00 ET where attendees can learn more about what will be covered at the show. 

Source: Gartner, “Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Solutions,” Dave Russell, Pushan Rinnen, and Robert Rhame, 31 July 2017. 

*About Zerto
*Zerto helps customers accelerate IT transformation by eliminating the risk and complexity of modernization and cloud adoption. By replacing multiple legacy solutions with a single IT Resilience Platform, Zerto is changing the way disaster recovery, data protection and cloud are managed. With enterprise scale, Zerto’s software platform delivers continuous availability for an always-on customer experience while simplifying workload mobility to protect, recover and move applications freely across hybrid and multi-clouds. Zerto is trusted by over 6,000 customers globally and is powering resiliency offerings for Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, AWS, Sungard AS and more than 350 cloud services providers.

Learn more at Zerto.com or register today to join us in Boston at ZertoCON in May.

*Contacts:*

*Zerto, Inc.*
Rebecca Murtagh
rebecca.murtagh@zerto.com
1-617-320-8157

*TouchdownPR (for Zerto)*
Katie Schaeffer
zertoUS@touchdownpr.com
1-512-373-8500 Reported by GlobeNewswire 5 hours ago.

Health Insurance Innovations up 6%

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Reported by SeekingAlpha 3 hours ago.

'There's other s--- in the vial': Bombshell lawsuit claims no one knows exactly what's in a drug that's cost the government over $1 billion

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'There's other s--- in the vial': Bombshell lawsuit claims no one knows exactly what's in a drug that's cost the government over $1 billion· *Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals' blockbuster drug Acthar has been one of the biggest drug-related expenses for the government's Medicare program. In 2015 alone Medicare spent $500 million on it. *
· *The drug is primarily indicated to treat infantile spasms. Medicare is a program for the elderly.*
· *One whistleblower claims that Mallinckrodt has engaged in an elaborate scheme to push the drug on payers, and hide the fact that no one at the company actually knows what's in it.*
· *What's more, says the whistleblower, Mallinckrodt couldn't have done it without the help of the biggest pharmacy benefit manager in the country.*
· *Mallinckrodt said in a statement: "The company vehemently disagrees with the allegations made in the complaint and intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter."*

--------------------

What if I told you that the government has been shelling out hundreds of millions for a drug for years and no one knows exactly what's in it?

A new lawsuit from a former employee at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals claims exactly that. The drug in question is called Acthar. It costs about $40,000 and is mainly used to treat infantile spasms. 

Somehow, though, the drug has become one of the biggest drug-related expenditures for Medicare, a government health insurance program for old people. In 2015, Medicare spent $500 million on the drug.

The company claims that the drug can be used in 18 other issues, and since Acthar is so old its approval was grandfathered in.

How exactly it came to be such a big spend for the government, though, has been the subject of a ton of inquiry on Wall Street. Short sellers like Kynikos Associates' Jim Chanos and Citron Research's Andrew Left have both bashed Mallinckrodt — Left once challenged the company to test Acthar publicly.

And yet, the price of the drug keeps climbing, government sales continue, and doctors continue to prescribe the drug.

Now, former Mallinckrodt Associate Director Rasvinder Dhaliwal, in a whistleblower lawsuit, claims that is all because of an elaborate scheme perpetrated by Mallinckrodt and Accredo Pharmacy, a mail order pharmacy owned by Express Scripts.

*The problem with payers*

Dhaliwal joined the company in 2014 and was eventually pushed out in 2018. During that period she alleges that senior executives at the firm didn't know what was actually in Acthar.

From the lawsuit (emphasis added):

On October 10, 2014, during a call with Director Niewoehner, he conceded to Ms. Dhaliwal that Acthar is not highly purified ACTH 1-39 as represented to the public.

Director Niewoehner, stated: “So it’s not only ACTH 1-39, there’s these other small ACTH 1-14, ACTH 1-17, ACTH 1-9 all these other smaller fragments of ACTH which we believe helps give Acthar its potency and physiological effects... *For your own knowledge, there’s other shit in the vial.”*

Dhaliwal's claim is that Mallinckrodt could not answer payers' questions about the drug's efficacy and composition, and it would not share data confirming its efficacy for the 18 — "off-label"— uses that it encourages doctors to prescribe the drug for. 

More from the suit about how little executives knew about the drug (emphasis added):

Executive Director Foster also stated at the September 4th Meeting that if the FDA knew that no one at the Company had information pertaining to the actual ingredients for the drug, the agency could open up the label for review and request that information, indicating that if that were to happen Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals would be shut down.

Further, Executive Director Foster stated at the September 4th Meeting that when Questcor sold the Company to Mallinckrodt, they were provided with the ingredients/recipe in a file that is locked up and can't even be open, due to all of the protections in the file. Executive Director Foster also stated that David Medeiros was the only person who had this information, and was the one that provided the file in this manner. According to Executive Director Foster,* if the FDA questioned Mallinckrodt about this information, they would not have an answer, as they would not be able to open the file.*

Supervisors at the company allegedly instructed Dhaliwal to "to misrepresent the actual clinical data concerning Acthar in order to alleviate the reimbursement hurdle by government payors to improperly increase Acthar sales, essentially causing the submission of false or fraudulent claims for payment or approval."

Mallinckrodt said in a statement: “The company vehemently disagrees with the allegations made in the complaint and intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter.”

Dhaliwal's supervisors tried to get her to tell payers that Mallinckrodt didn't have the clinical data, and to use a doctor on Mallinckrodt's payroll to craft a statement in support of the drug instead. 

“I’ve used this tactic successfully at Allergan and I believe we should implement it at Questcor," said one executive, according to the suit. "This is a strategy to help us overcome the ‘lack of data’ issue/challenge we are experiencing with payers, especially with Medicare and increase our reimbursement rates."

Mallinckrodt acquired Questcor in 2014.

We should note here that Allergan ended up paying a $600 million fine for promoting Botox for off-label uses. It's something Dhaliwal tried to bring to the attention of her supervisors, and they were not interested.

*Distribution*

According to Dhaliwal, Mallinckrodt did not do this alone. Acthar is sold almost exclusively through Accredo Pharmacy, a specialty mail-order pharmacy owned by Express Scripts, the country's largest pharmacy benefit manager.

Dhaliwal claims that Accredo found ways for patients to get around paying their co-pays (illegal for Medicare patients) and that she got complaints that Accredo was stealing client data from other pharmacies. We should note here that Express Scripts is currently being sued by a handful of small pharmacies that accuse it of "stealing" customer information and prescription data with the goal of luring those customers over to Express Scripts' mail-order pharmacy business. The plaintiffs say it has generated "billions of dollars in illegal profits" by doing this.

According to company emails, Accredo was in charge of projecting Acthar sales.

From the lawsuit:

While reviewing various reports for Acthar with Analyst Terhardt, Ms. Dhaliwal inquired how the Company determined “projected vials” for Acthar.

In response, Analyst Terhardt, stated, “so projected vials, we make projections based on information we have about paid referrals. Again, as far as I know we do not have information on all accounts, but on those who go through, if I remember correctly, Accredo, we have this information. So, based on treatment algorithm or diagnosis and patient type there is a formula and David [Okimoto] is still working on this how to make it more accurate, so we project vials because we know that one referral in a, for a certain therapeutic area or disease can generate vials in let’s say current month or prospective month.”

Express Scripts didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The company has bashed Acthar's efficacy to investors, but it hasn't stopped selling the drug entirely though it's unclear how much Accredo/Express Scripts could make off of selling Acthar.

Doctors have also bashed the drug. A study conducted by Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine and Oregon State published in the Journal of American Medicine bolsters Dhaliwal's allegation that the company uses paid doctors as cover for its like of data.

The study found that a surge in government spending — ultimately a tenfold increase — on the drug was driven in part by a relatively small group of doctors who were prescribing it heavily (both with more prescriptions per person and with a spike in people being treated with it). And, the study notes, this can't just be explained away by the fact that it may be used on more "severely ill" patients.

"I was shocked for my profession," said Dr. Dennis Bourdette, one of the authors and a professor and chair of neurology at OHSU, told Business Insider following the publication of the findings in JAMA. There's an accompanying — and scathing — editorial, written by Saate Shakil, a doctor at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.

"I hold physicians to a higher standard," Bourdette said, noting that some alternatives to Acthar cost 1/50th of the drug's price. "It's a mystery to me why someone would be prescribing the drug."

If what Dhaliwal claims is accurate, then we've solved a big part of the mystery.

Acthar, made of who knows what that does very little, is sold thanks to an elaborate scheme masterminded by individuals at Mallinckrodt, Accredo/Express Scripts, and a few greedy doctors.

Brutal, if true.

*SEE ALSO: The biggest healthcare mergers of the year shouldn't happen — period*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What living on Earth would be like without the moon Reported by Business Insider 23 hours ago.

Feds give Kansas, Missouri more say in health insurance

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A final rule approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would give Kansas and Missouri broader authority to define health insurance plans. The rule, passed Monday, would give insurers and states more flexibility in selecting what essential health benefits plans must include. It also adds exemptions to the individual mandate and gives states the ability to review network standards for qualified health plans, which was previously a task for the federal government. “Too many… Reported by bizjournals 22 hours ago.

Jon Cotton Named Chairman of Medicaid Health Plans of America

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Detroit, April 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jon Cotton, corporate president of Meridian, will take over as chairman of the board for Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA), the leading association representing the Medicaid managed care industry.

Cotton served as an MHPA board member for five years, and will now lead improvements of the Medicaid program as chairman with his vast knowledge of and 18 year tenure within the managed care industry.

“I’m extremely eager and motivated to take on this new role with MHPA,” said Cotton. “As a member of the MHPA board, we have had great discussions regarding how we can transform Medicaid into a more efficient program and improve the access and quality of care for our enrollees.”

MeridianHealth has been family-owned and operated since its inception over 20 years ago, and is Michigan’s largest Medicaid plan.

“Medicaid is a target for a number of significant changes addressing efficiency, sustainability, eligibility, and accountability, to name a few,” said Jeff Myers, president and chief executive officer, MHPA. “Jon’s vision of how to improve the program for plans, their state partners, and most importantly, the enrollees, will benefit not only these stakeholders but the health care system overall.”

About Meridian
Meridian is a family-owned, family-operated group of health plans with offices in Michigan and Illinois. Meridian’s affiliates include MeridianHealth (Medicaid), MeridianCare (Medicare), MeridianComplete (Medicare-Medicaid), MeridianChoice (Health Insurance Marketplace), and MeridianRx, a Pharmacy Benefit Management company. Meridian serves more than 1,000,000 members in four states. For more information, visit www.mhplan.com.

About Medicaid
Health Plans of America Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) is the leading national trade association solely focused on representing the universe of Medicaid health plans. MHPA works on behalf of 136 commercial and nonprofit plans that serve over 30 million lives in 39 states and Washington, DC. MHPA provides advocacy and research that support policy solutions to enhance the delivery of quality care to disadvantaged Americans. MHPA also holds an annual conference where industry leaders address key issues, discuss solutions, and share best practices. For more information, visit http://www.medicaidplans.org or www.medicaidconference.com.

CONTACT: Chelsea Davis
Meridian
313-324-3700
media@mhplan.com Reported by GlobeNewswire 25 minutes ago.

Walmart and CVS have 15,000 combined stores. Why are both trying to buy health insurance companies?

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The economics of health care in America is making for some strange bedfellows. CVS, the behemoth pharmacy chain, plans to buy Aetna, a 22-million member health insurer, for $69 billion. Less than two weeks ago, it became public that Walmart, where one in four Americans shop each week, is considering an acquisition of another insurer, Humana. Reported by philly.com 8 hours ago.

Nigeria should improve investment in health – WHO DG

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The official says UHC means much more than just health insurance, "it means much more than just healthcare."

The post Nigeria should improve investment in health – WHO DG appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria. Reported by Premium Times Nigeria 12 hours ago.

Why Health Net is pulling out of the Arizona employer health insurance market

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Focus turns to uninsured population Reported by bizjournals 11 hours ago.

Global Gold Nanoparticles Market Will Reach USD 5.15 Billion by 2023: Zion Market Research

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According to the report, global gold nanoparticles market was valued at approximately USD 2.01 billion in 2017 and is expected to generate revenue of around USD 5.15 billion by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of around 17% between 2017 and 2023.

New York, NY, April 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Market Research has published a new report titled *“Gold Nanoparticles Market by Application (Imaging, Targeted Drug Delivery, Proton Therapy, In-Vitro Assays and Others), and By End Users (Healthcare, Electronics, Chemicals and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2017 - 2023”*. According to the report, global gold nanoparticles market was valued at approximately USD 2.01 billion in 2017 and is expected to generate revenue of around USD 5.15 billion by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of around 17% between 2017 and 2023.

Gold nanoparticles are the type of particles which are metallic in nature and are generally brown in colour with powdered form. Reports state that colloidal gold nanoparticles have been utilized for centuries by artists for their vibrant colors, which are produced by their interaction with visible light. Brust and Schriffin achieved a breakthrough in gold nanoparticles synthesis in 1994 by creating organic soluble alkanethiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles, which possessed higher stability as compared to the other discovered gold nanoparticles. Spherical gold nanoparticles possess useful properties such as size-related and shape-related optoelectronic properties, large surface-to-volume ratio, excellent biocompatibility, and low toxicity. Gold nanoparticles can be thoroughly dried and redispersed in solution without any aggregation making them excellent precursors. 

*Browse through 37 Tables & 19 Figures spread over 110 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Global Gold Nanoparticles Market Size, Share, Trends and Industry Forecast 2016 – 2022”.*

*Request Free Sample of Global Gold Nanoparticles Market Report @ *https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/nanoparticles-market

The gold nanoparticles market is segmented on the basis of application into imaging, targeted drug delivery, proton therapy, in-vitro assays and others. The imaging segment is expected to dominate the global gold nanoparticles market due to the increase in demand for its use in imaging and various diagnosis processes. The targeted drug delivery segment is also expected to show significant growth. On the basis of the end user, the market is divided into healthcare, electronics, chemicals and others. Healthcare segment is expected to dominate the global gold nanoparticles market in the forecast period due to the increasing awareness about its diagnosis and treatment in various diseases.

North America is expected to dominate the global gold nanoparticles market. This is due to the increase in awareness about healthcare which increases its investment in this industry. Also, increase in the investment in the research and development sector by nanotechnology firms and universities has led to the growth of gold nanoparticles market in this region.

*Download Free Report Brochure: *https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/requestbrochure/nanoparticles-market

Europe is the second largest regional market and is expected to show significant growth in the years to come due to the various applications of gold nanoparticles in fields like electronics, healthcare, and chemicals. Increase in geriatric population and increasing coverage of health insurance also drives the growth of the market in this region.

The Asia Pacific is expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast years. The market is driven due to increase in the electronics sector and the demand for electronic devices in the countries like Japan, Taiwan, China, and India. Gold nanoparticles market is also expected to grow due to the growth of high precision printing and photovoltaic industry, in which gold nanoparticles are used.

Browse the full *"Nanoparticles Market by Application (Imaging, Targeted Drug Delivery, Proton Therapy, In-Vitro Assays and Others), and By End Users (Healthcare, Electronics, Chemicals and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2017 – 2023"* report at https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/nanoparticles-market

The Middle East and Africa and Latin America are expected to witness the least growth in comparison to other regions. The anticipated economic improvement and improvement in the technologies in these regions is expected to fuel the growth of the gold nanoparticles market in the future.

Some of the key players in the global wine market include BBI Solutions, Johnson Matthey Plc, Meliorum Technologies, Inc., Innova Biosciences, Cytodiagnostics, Cline Scientific, NanoComposix and Tanaka Holdings. Major players are frequently engaged in developing efficient gold nanoparticles which can be used in various fields.

*Inquire more about this report before purchase @ *https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/nanoparticles-market

*This report segments the global gold nanoparticles market as follows:*

*Global Gold Nanoparticles Market: Application Segment Analysis*

· Imaging
· Targeted Drug Delivery
· Proton Therapy
· In-Vitro Assays 
· Others

*Global Gold Nanoparticles Market: End-User Segment Analysis*

· Healthcare
· Electronics
· Chemicals
· Others 

*Global Gold Nanoparticles Market: Regional Segment Analysis*

· North America

· The U.S.

· Europe

· UK
· France
· Germany

· Asia Pacific

· China
· Japan
· India

· Latin America

· Brazil

· The Middle East and Africa

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· *Medical Oxygen Concentrators Market:* https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/medical-oxygen-concentrators-market
· *Ventilator Market:* https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/ventilator-market
· *Medical X-ray Market:* https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/medical-x-ray-market
· *Healthcare Decision Support System Market:* https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/healthcare-decision-support-system-market
· *Intraocular Lens Market:* https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/intraocular-lens-market

*About Us:*

Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting-edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the client’s needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to us—after all—if you do well, a little of the light shines on us.

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Website: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com Reported by GlobeNewswire 5 hours ago.

33 incredible perks Google, Netflix, and other US companies are offering their employees right now

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33 incredible perks Google, Netflix, and other US companies are offering their employees right now· *Facebook, Google, Netflix, and other top companies in the US are competing for the best talent out there.*
· *To compete, they offer some of the best benefits and perks around.*
· *See which companies are raising the bar and going beyond free food, on-site gyms, and 401(k)s to attract new talent.*

--------------------Most of us spend a majority of our waking hours at work, so it's only natural that we want to enjoy our time in the office as much as we can. And perks help — a lot.

According to career site Glassdoor, more than half (57%) of all workers say perks and benefits are among the top things they consider when deciding whether to accept a job, and almost 80% of employees say they would prefer new benefits over a pay raise.

That's why some employers are raising the bar and going beyond standard vacation days, health insurance benefits, and 401k matching to attract top talent.

Companies like Airbnb and Google are offering unique and surprising perks like travel stipends and death benefits, Glassdoor reports, while Facebook and Netflix have upped the ante for companies wanting to support new parents.

"Benefits and perks matter because they're an added piece of the total compensation puzzle," Scott Dobroski, Glassdoor's career trends analyst, told Business Insider. "Job seekers should understand what benefits and perks an employer may be offering, and do their research ahead of time to find companies that offer benefits that matter most to them."

Employees rated some of their favorite employee benefits on Glassdoor. The following perks are not only unique, but they also received a rating of at least 4.0 out of 5.0 on Glassdoor.

*SEE ALSO: Here's how to respond to weird interview questions you may hear from major companies like Google and Apple*

-Generous paid parental leave at Netflix-

Netflix offers one paid year of maternity and paternity leave to new parents. The company also allows parents to return part-time or full-time and take time off as needed throughout the year.-'Yay Days' at REI-

REI encourages its employees to get outside by offering two paid days off each year, called "Yay Days," to enjoy their favorite outside activity.-Paid time off for volunteering at Salesforce-

Salesforce employees receive six days of paid volunteer time off a year, as well as $1,000 a year to donate to a charity of their choice.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider Reported by Business Insider 4 hours ago.

VITAS HEALTHCARE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI BUSINESS OF HEALTH CARE CONFERENCE

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Miami, FL, April 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VITAS^® Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care, will serve as an executive sponsor of “The Business of Health Care: What’s Next?” a University of Miami (UM) conference featuring the healthcare industry’s most influential business leaders and policymakers. The conference will be held April 13, 2018 at the University of Miami Watsco Center.
VITAS’ conference support, in addition to serving as a UM School of Business Corporate Associates Program (CAP) partner, includes the sponsorship of 150 UM business students to attend the conference at no cost. The students are part of the Health Sector Management and Policy (HSMP) Executive MBA program and HSMP Undergraduate Studies, among other health management degrees. The sponsorship provides students with the distinct opportunity to participate in high-level policy discussions and network with experts in the healthcare industry.

The Business of Health Care conference is a unique opportunity to hear from some of the nation’s top industry and policy leaders on the implications of widespread changes to the U.S. healthcare system on business and government. The featured speakers for 2018 include American Hospital Association President and CEO Richard Pollack, America’s Health Insurance Plans President and CEO Marilyn Tavenner and American Nurses Association President Pamela Cipriano.

VITAS representatives will also be available at Exhibit Booth 5 during the conference. Attendees are encouraged to visit and learn about career and partnership opportunities in addition to the healthcare insights the company has accrued in the past four decades of operation.

*About VITAS Healthcare *

VITAS® Healthcare, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 44 hospice programs in 14 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. VITAS employs 11,627 professionals who care for more than 17,000 terminally ill patients on an average day, primarily in the patients’ homes, but also in the company’s 27 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. Visit www.vitas.com.

*Attachments*

· UM Conference - Nick Westfall
· UM Conference - VITAS sponsors UM students

CONTACT: Claudia Quintana
VITAS Healthcare
877-848-2701
claudia.quintana@vitas.com Reported by GlobeNewswire 2 hours ago.

DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Health insurers worry over consumer satisfaction — FDA approves first AI device for retinopathy — Telemedicine survey aims to standardize care

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DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Health insurers worry over consumer satisfaction — FDA approves first AI device for retinopathy — Telemedicine survey aims to standardize care Welcome to Digital Health Briefing, the newsletter providing the latest news, data, and insight on how digital technology is disrupting the healthcare ecosystem, produced by Business Insider Intelligence.

*Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing free to your inbox.*

Have feedback? We'd like to hear from you. Write me at: lbeaver@businessinsider.com

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*HEALTH PLAN LEADERS ARE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT MEMBER SATISFACTION:* As healthcare information and options become increasingly available to consumers, health insurance leaders are reassessing their annual goals to better align with their customers’ needs. For the first time, the number one goal for US health plan leaders is improving customer satisfaction, according to a new HealthEdge survey. The majority of survey participants highlighted the need to modernize technology to achieve the goal of improving customer satisfaction. 

*Online health insurer Oscar Health is a prime example of how payers use modern technology and a customer-centric approach to drive growth and retention.* Oscar leans on its virtual services that offer convenience and encourage user engagement.* *In 2017, around two-thirds of Oscar’s customers’ interactions were virtual. Oscar’s Concierge team was accessed by 46% of Oscar members, its telemedicine service was used by 25% of customers, and the Care Router service — a yellow pages for finding physicians and booking appointments — was accessed by 45% of its members. These services aim to provide affordable care in place of more expensive healthcare services like emergency room visits.

*However, cost structures are preventing many payers from innovating, according to HealthEdge.* Nearly two-thirds of payer executives cited cost as the biggest barrier in the way of a product overhaul. Regardless, health plan leaders could find that they begin to fall behind the competition, unless they begin to make moves now to modernize their offerings. Because of this, we believe M&A activity will continue to pick up steam in 2018, particularly among larger players, such as Aetna and Cigna. New health tech innovations from companies like Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple could help to incentivize and drive the adoption of modern tech solutions as they explore entry points into the lucrative healthcare market.

Enjoy reading this briefing?  Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing to your inbox.

*FDA APPROVES FIRST AI-POWERED RETINOPATHY APP:* The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greenlit the marketing of IDx-DR, the first medical device that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect diabetic retinopathy — a leading cause of blindness among people with diabetes. Developed by AI-diagnostics company IDx, the service uses AI to analyze images of a patient’s retinas to determine whether they have a form of retinopathy that requires a specialist examination. Because the software doesn’t need a specialist to run, it can be used by primary care providers, which vastly improves the availability of care. In turn, this could help increase the likelihood of catching diabetic retinopathy early. The FDA reviewed IDx-DR under its De Novo pre-market review pathway for low- to moderate-risk devices, which speeds up the process of new device approval. As the first AI product for diabetic diagnostics, IDx-DR will pave the way for more automated devices to enter the healthcare market. However, this isn’t the first AI-powered product to receive FDA approval. In February, the FDA approved the marketing of CDS software that alerts physicians of potential stroke in their patients.

*AI as a clinical decision support (CDS) tool is gaining traction in the US.* The technology shows potential for improving operational workflow by automating time-consuming tasks like image screening. And because it can be offered through primary care providers, it lessens the need to send patients on to emergency care or specialists. In addition, enabling primary care providers to see patients, rather than sending them off to specialists straight away, could help lower healthcare costs for payers. 

*SURVEY PROVIDER AIMS TO STANDARDIZE TELEMEDICINE QUALITY OF CARE:* As telemedicine adoption takes off among US providers, there's a growing need for a standardized test to determine the quality of care and patient satisfaction. To fill this need, leading US patient satisfaction survey provider Press Ganey developed two surveys that aim to measure a patient’s experience with virtual care, according to FierceHealthcare. Two surveys have been created — one measures fully virtual interactions, while the other measures partially virtual conference calls. The scientifically-validated questions address traditional things like the communication skills of the physician, but will also take into consideration how the telemedicine technology worked, whether it was effective, and how it impacted the patient experience. Creating a standardized test will also help physicians peer-review their scores, allowing expert opinion to counter consumer scores that don't necessarily reflect the physician's skill. As digital health offerings gain traction, there’s an opportunity for those that can back up the quality of their services to pull ahead of the competition. This will be particularly important as governments continue to ramp up regulations and incentives around telehealth solutions.

*WEARABLES DATA ISN’T EXEMPT FROM DATA PRIVACY DISCUSSIONS:* Data collected by wearables needs to be part of the ongoing data security discussion, according to leaders from Fitbit, UnitedHealth Group, and Empatica. Alongside security and privacy, health companies need to ensure transparency around how users’ data is being used and shared, Fitbit medical director John Moore said during a panel discussion at PULSE: The Atlantic Summit on Healthcare in Boston last week. The concerns discussed by industry leaders highlight the thin line that health organizations must tread. Continuous monitoring of users’ health has many benefits for a range of industries operating in health. For instance, it can help providers with remote patient monitoring, and give physicians a fuller picture of a patient’s lifestyle and behaviors. For insurers, wearables and health apps are spearheading preventative medicine, and could help lower costs associated with chronic illnesses. However, healthcare data is also being targeted by hackers. In early April, 150 million Under Armour-owned health app MyFitnessPal accounts were hacked, including usernames, passwords, and email addresses. If consumers become fearful of their data being accessed by nefarious players, it could mute the adoption and use of these tools. One way to combat this could involve regulation and policy that outline best practices for collecting consumer data, according to Empatica cofounder Rosalind Picard.

*IN OTHER NEWS:*

· Pharmaceutical giant *Bayer* commissioned a study that will explore how patients perceive digital products in healthcare, MobiHealthNews reports. The two-part pilot study aims to determine the feasibility of using digital products in future clinical trials. The move comes as demand for non-drug therapies gains momentum, threatening the pharmaceutical space.
· More than half of US consumers over the age of 40 would be comfortable with AI-assisted surgery, according to a new survey from SAS. That’s compared to just 40% of consumers under 40 who say the same. More so, consumers over 40 felt more comfortable with AI in health than they did with AI in banking or online retail. Overall, 47% of the 500 consumers surveyed say they’re okay with the idea of AI-assisted care.

Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 1 hour ago.

Health-insurance brokers allowed to charge client fees under new law

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Colorado health-insurance brokers who face increasingly diminished commissions from insurers will be able to charge customers fees on new or renewal policies under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Senate Bill 136, sponsored by Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, allows for brokers to charge fees when they receive no commission from insurers. The measure passed through the House and Senate without a single “no” vote. Brokers argued the change is needed because deep cuts… Reported by bizjournals 23 hours ago.

New Jersey Revives Obamacare Mandate

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The Affordable Care Act's individual mandate that was repealed by Congress last year is likely to be reinstated in New Jersey.On Thursday, Garden State lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Phil Murphy that would revive the mandate, requiring those without health insurance to pay a... Reported by Newsmax 22 hours ago.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance ranked among India's 15 'Best Workplaces in the BFSI Sector'

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[India], Apr. 14 (NewsVoir): Apollo Munich Health Insurance, India's leading standalone health insurance company, has been rewarded as India's 15 Best Workplaces in BFSI - 2018 by Great Place to Reported by Sify 9 hours ago.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Ranked Among India’s 15 ‘Best Workplaces in the BFSI Sector’

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Apollo Munich Health Insurance Ranked Among India’s 15 ‘Best Workplaces in the BFSI Sector’· Featured in the list for the 7th time in a row by Great Place to Work® Institute

· Recognition is for building two-way trust with employees and exemplary employee-centric initiatives

· Lower attrition, higher rate of referrals and better-skilled employees are some of the key markers of great workplaces in BFSI

 

Apollo Munich Health Insurance, India’s leading standalone health insurance company, has been rewarded as India’s 15 Best Workplaces in BFSI-2018 by Great Place to Work® Institute India. Recognized as the hallmark of excellence worldwide this study is conducted annually. Apollo Munich has been featured in the list for the 7th year in a row.

 

This award is an outcome of building a two-way trust with employees and various employee-centric initiatives propelled by its leadership team. This enables the company to sustain a high-performance culture where every employee is productive and feels inspired and finds a meaning in the work that they do.

 

In order to win the ranking, a company has to excel on the five elements which are credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. Apollo Munich has excelled on all these parameters and won the recognition.

 *Dr. Sriharsha Achar, CPO & CISO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance*

Speaking about the prestigious recognition*, Dr. Sriharsha Achar, Chief People Officer, **Apollo Munich Health Insurance*, said, “We are extremely delighted to get this recognition. Greater awards bring greater responsibilities. This gratitude is a result of a great deal of commitment from our employees who are constantly pushing the bar to make this organization even better. For Apollo Munich, one leadership skill that stands out is connecting employees with our purpose which is making India a health confident nation. This is a significant factor to boost employee engagement which results in better performance. Of course, a good employee experience translates into creating a customer delight and makes a meaningful difference to our purpose. This award will further embolden us in our efforts. This achievement is the most satisfying vindication of both our HR policies and focused leadership guidance for the holistic development of our employees. It is a remarkable achievement and an honor to be a part of India’s 15 Best Workplaces in BFSI – 2018.”

 

Great Place to Work’s annual research is based on data representing more than 10 million employees in 50 countries representing about 6,000 organisations of varying sizes, industries, maturity and structures. The Great Place to Work Institute's methodology is considered as the gold standard for defining great workplaces across business, academia and government organizations. It aims at benchmarking, action planning and recognition of large, small and mid-sized companies every year.

 

*About Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company*

Apollo Munich offers innovative and award-winning health, personal accident and travel insurance plans, with state-of-the art infrastructure and uncomplicated services, delivered by engaged employees. It is a joint venture between the Apollo Hospitals Group, Asia’s largest healthcare group, and Munich Health, Munich Re’s health business segment, which offers global health insurance and reinsurance excellence. Reported by NewsVoir 12 hours ago.

BJP launches outreach to rural poor, Dalits

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The Union government and the ruling BJP on Saturday embarked on a massive rural outreach, especially towards Dalits and tribals, with the launch of gram swaraj abhiyan, which aims to cover thousands of villages with seven key welfare schemes of the Modi dispensation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bijapur, a tribal district in Chhattisgarh, to launch several government projects, including a wellness centre under the ambitious health insurance scheme Ayushmaan Bharat. There, he invoked his humble origins while paying tribute to Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 127th birth anniversary.

BJP president Amit Shah paid tributes to the Dalit icon at the partys headquarters while hundreds of its MPs, including Union ministers, fanned out across India to join people as part of the outreach programme.

Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Radha Mohan Singh were in Patna and Motihari. Prasad met women rural entrepreneurs from the two backward communities, while Singh joined them in listening to Modis speech.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan was in a Telangana region to launch the Ujjwala scheme.

The gram swaraj ahiyan, which will continue till May 5, is being seen as a part of the BJPs massive outreach to the rural poor, especially Dalits, as it gears up for a string of assembly elections leading to the Lok Sabha polls due by next year.

The campaign comes against the backdrop of opposition parties targeting the Modi government over its alleged anti-Dalit policies.

Modi has asked BJP MPs, including Union ministers, to ensure everyone in villages, where the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes constitute more than 50 per cent of the population, is covered under the schemes, which aims to provide LPG connections, vaccination for children, Jan Dhan bank accounts and electricity for households.

Official sources said there are 20,844 such villages across India but the exercise will not cover West Bengal and Karnataka, where the Model Code of Conduct is in force in view of panchayat and assembly polls in the two states.

BJP MPs have been asked to spend at least a night in one such village, while Union ministers will spend two nights in different parts of the country during the exercise.

They will highlight the governments works for the poor and farmers.

In an address to party MPs, the prime minister had spelled out several programmes with April 18 being observed as Swachh Bharat festival.

April 20, 24 and 28 will be observed as Ujjwala Diwas, Panchayati Raj Diwas and Gram Shakti Diwas respectively to highlight various government schemes, he said.

He said he will interact with BJP leaders on April 22 via a video link.

April 30, May 2 and May 5 will be dedicated to highlighting various schemes aimed at benefiting farmers and the poor. Reported by Deccan Herald 4 hours ago.

Texas cancels health insurance contracts for low-income kids after it finds errors in scoring bids

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Reported by DallasNews 6 days ago.
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