Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Officials Tell State Inspectors To Watch For Nursing Home Errors With Blood Thinners
ProPublica: Feds: More Scrutiny Needed Of Nursing Home Errors Involving Blood Thinner
The federal government is asking health inspectors nationwide to be on the lookout for errors by nursing homes in managing the blood thinner Coumadin, including those that lead to patient hospitalizations and deaths. In a memo sent last month to state health departments, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cited a report by ProPublica and The Washington Post that focused on the harm caused by homes’ failure to manage the drug. (Ornstein, 8/3)
Kaiser Health News: Half Of Nation’s Hospitals Fail Again To Escape Medicare’s Readmission Penalties
Once again, the majority of the nation’s hospitals are being penalized by Medicare for having patients frequently return within a month of discharge — this time losing a combined $420 million, government records show. In the fourth year of federal readmission penalties, 2,592 hospitals will receive lower payments for every Medicare patient that stays in the hospital — readmitted or not — starting in October. (Rau, 8/3)
The New York Times: ‘Sex Never Dies,’ But A Medicare Option For Older Men Does
On July 1, however, Medicare stopped covering vacuum erection devices, the result of legislation Congress passed in December. Since 2006, Congress has banned Medicare Part D coverage of medications for erectile dysfunction, too, after Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa, scoffed at “lifestyle drugs” and said taxpayers wouldn’t foot the tab for “Grandpa’s Viagra.” That leaves millions of men with no Medicare option for what we used to call impotence, except far more expensive and invasive penile implant surgery. (Span, 8/4)
The Washington Post: Long-Term Care Insurance Rates Go Up For New Federal Enrollees — With No Warning
Premiums in the long-term care insurance program for federal and military personnel, retirees and certain family members have increased, with no prior notice, for those newly purchasing coverage. The Office of Personnel Management has said that rates rose as of Aug. 1 for new enrollees in the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, which offers in-home and nursing home care benefits for those with certain physical or mental incapacities. (Yoder, 8/3)
