Department of Labor proposes rules to cut down on health care fraud 
POSTED: Monday, December 12, 2011 at 03:01 PM PTBY: Kimberly Atkins
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has proposed two new rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aimed at cracking down on heath care fraud and protecting businesses and workers whose health benefits are provided through a multiple employer welfare arrangement. Groups of unrelated employers, typically small businesses, often enter such [...]
Healing at -200 degrees
POSTED: Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 11:09 AM PTBY: Brad Iverson-Long
Boise chiropractor Dr. Jason Watson is hoping to heal patients and set his practice apart by offering a super-cold treatment called whole body cryotherapy. The therapy has been used by topflight athletes in hopes of speeding recuperation from tough workouts. It’s a more advanced and more intensive version of an ice pack or ice bath, [...]
Saint Alphonsus ordered to pay $52M to former MRI partner
POSTED: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 04:51 PM PTBY: The Associated Press
A jury has ordered a Boise hospital to pay $52 million to an MRI company for violating a partnership agreement it had with the company. The award is one of the largest to ever come out of the Idaho district courts. It’s the second time the lawsuit, brought by MRI Associates against Saint Alphonsus Regional [...]
Bill would cut regulatory red tape in U.S. for medical devices
POSTED: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 11:23 AM PTBY: Kimberly Atkins
Legislation that would streamline the regulatory process for some medical devices has been filed in the U.S. Senate. The Medical Device Regulatory Improvement Act, S. 1700, introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., would streamline the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation process for certain medical devices by clarifying some [...]
Washington State breaks ground on new medical school in Spokane
POSTED: Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 12:40 PM PTBY: The Associated Press
Officials broke ground Oct. 5 on a new medical school building at Washington State University’s Spokane campus. The $70 million building is intended to produce more doctors for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho will also be the new home of a consolidated Washington State University College of Pharmacy. Medical students from the five states will take [...]
Annual IBR Health Care Heroes event draws community support
POSTED: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 03:02 PM PTBY: Jeanne Huff
It took Nancy Casperson 30 tries to conquer her smoking habit. Then she founded Quit and Live Global, an organization devoted to helping people quit. So far, she’s worked with more than 10,000 tobacco users and helped nearly 4,000 kick the habit. Caspersen was one of 18 honored Oct. 4 at an award ceremony and [...]
Boise council moves ahead with banning smoking in bars, parks
POSTED: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 11:56 AM PTBY: Brad Iverson-Long
It may be lights out for lighting up in Boise bars and parks. The Boise City Council is moving forward with plans to extend the smoking tobacco ban to include bars, parks, private clubs and tobacco shops. The city council will hold two public meetings in October before taking action on proposed ordinances. Idaho law [...]
Delta Dental trims payments to dentists
POSTED: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 09:12 AM PTBY: Brad Iverson-Long
Hundreds of Idaho dentists will see fees from one Delta Dental of Idaho plan cut by an average 8 percent in November. The insurance company, which is the market leader in the state, hopes the savings will spur more employers to pick up dental insurance. Delta Dental will lower dentists’ fee reimbursements in its lower [...]
Health groups seek to snuff out e-cigarette sales to minors
POSTED: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 04:34 PM PTBY: Anne Wallace Allen
A movement to keep electronic cigarettes away from young people is growing among health educators in northern Idaho, and Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, said he’s considering sponsoring legislation to that end next year. The group of state health districts has passed a resolution asking lawmakers in 2012 to ban the use, possession, or sale [...]
Latest St. Luke’s acquisition could be approved Sept. 27
POSTED: Friday, September 23, 2011 at 03:31 PM PTBY: Blair Koch
St. Luke’s Health System is surveying the Jerome community to see how residents feel about a plan to merge St. Luke’s with St. Benedict’s Family Medical Center. But the move could be approved Sept. 27 when the the St. Luke’s board of directors meets in Boise. The merger has already received several letters of support, [...]
