Originally Published MX March/April 2006
BUSINESS NEWS
Planning for the FutureJohnson & Johnson (J&J; New Brunswick, NJ) has completed its acquisition of insulin-delivery company Animas Corp. (West Chester, PA) in a transaction valued at about $518 million. Animas will operate as a stand-alone entity within J&J's subsidiary LifeScan Inc. (Milpitas, CA), which manufactures blood glucose–monitoring systems.
Under the provisions of the budget reconciliation package passed by Congress, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS; Baltimore) will establish six gainsharing pilot programs, to be fully operational by January 1, 2007. CMS commissioner Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, said that the projects must proceed in accordance with the cautionary framework of the Office of Inspector General.
The 2006 congressional budget package earmarks $61.7 million for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The amount represents an increase of 87% over the previous year's allocation, but it falls $13.3 million short of President Bush's budget request.
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