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Congressional Democrats have asked officials from the pharmaceutical industry to contribute an additional $10 billion, on top of a promised $80 billion, to help offset the cost of the healthcare overhaul over the next 10 years, according to a report…

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and 18 Senators have sent a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging the leaders to press for inclusion of language to repeal the federal antitrust exemption for…

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is proposing that Congress give hospitals that perform at higher levels in CMS' the pay-for-performance program a payment update of 2.4 percent in fiscal year 2011, based on the market basket index. Hospitals that don’t perform…

Custom Spine, a Parsippany, N.J.-based spinal implant and instrument maker, announced that it has expanded its sales management team by adding three vice presidents, according to a Custom Spine news release.

Mark Kabins, MD, a Las Vegas spine surgeon, who previously pleaded guilty to concealing fraud, was sentenced to five years probation and six months home detention for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently settle a malpractice lawsuit, according to…

The Maryland Court of Appeals has upheld the state's $812,500 limit on malpractice awards for pain and suffering, overturning a lower court's award of a higher amount, according to a report by the Baltimore Business Journal.

Brian D. Rudin, MD, a spine surgeon, has joined Glenn D. Cohen, MD, a hand, wrist and elbow surgeon, at his private practice in Westlake Village, Calif., effective Jan. 1, 2010, according to a news release from the surgeons.

A federal grand jury has indicted Lillian Pagkaliwangan and Raymundo Arellano, who are married, of Lakeland, Fla., with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, according to a report in Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Key Congressional Democrats, along with Pres. Obama, held a nearly day-long session yesterday to negotiate a joint healthcare reform legislation package with the aim of submitting a final plan to the Congressional Budget Office early next week. Negotiations are expected…

A CBS News poll finds that 36 percent of Americans approve of President Obama's handling of healthcare and 42 percent disapprove, which is a new low, according to a release from CBS.