Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Dismisses Clinical Labs' Challenge To A Multibillion-Dollar Medicare Reimbursement Cut
Modern Healthcare: Labs Lose Challenge To Multi-Billion Medicare Cut
A group of clinical laboratories on Friday lost their legal challenge to a multibillion-dollar Medicare reimbursement cut. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed the complaint Friday, saying the laboratories can't challenge the lost reimbursement funding in court. ...The labs expect to lose $670 million this year after the CMS changed its pay rates to match private payer rates for the tests. The cut will equal $4 billion over 10 years. (Dickson, 9/24)
CBS News: Medicare Open Enrollment Period Dates 2019: Beware Of These Two Major Traps That Could Cost You Thousands
What's good about reaching age 65? For one thing, many older workers celebrate attaining Medicare eligibility, since they can obtain much-needed health insurance without worrying about exclusions for pre-existing conditions. But if you're not savvy about Medicare, you could fall into several traps that can cost you thousands in uncovered medical expenses. (Vernon, 9/24)
And in other news —
Miami Herald: They Steal From Medicare And Flee The U.S., But Sometimes Return
Orlando Bustabad is your typical Medicare crook: As the ringleader of a Miami-Dade pharmacy racket, he submitted $10 million in bogus bills to the taxpayer-funded program and pocketed a small fortune. ...But before his scheduled sentencing to 14 years in prison, Bustabad fled Miami for Mexico. On the lam for nearly a year, he decided to return last month to face justice. By the standards of Medicare fraud fugitives, his return wasn’t that unusual, according to the FBI. (Weaver, 9/24)
