Latest KFF Health News Stories
Drug Makers Zero In On Diabetes Patients’ Social Media Connections
NPR reports on this social media trend.
Viewpoints: Disputing Obama’s and GOP’s Commitment To Cutting Spending And Avoiding Fiscal Cliff
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Scheduled Medicare Doctor Pay Cut Could Be Just A Few Weeks Away
Medscape and The Connecticut Mirror covered the looming 26.5 percent cut, mandated by the SGR law.
Hospital Mergers, Acquisitions And Delivery Of Care Make News
Hospitals in California, New York and across the nation deal with mergers, acquisitions, delivery of care and fines in the marketplace. In the meantime, doctors whose practices were purchased by hospital chains feel increasing pressure to meet financial goals.
State Roundup: Mental Health Care Fund Questioned In Calif.
A selection of health policy stories from Iowa, California, North Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, Michigan and Texas.
60 Minutes: HMA Pressures Doctors To Admit Patients, Defrauding Medicare
The CBS newsmagazine reported that it interviewed more than 100 current and former employees of Health Management Associates (HMA), who said they were pressured to admit patients, whether they needed hospital care or not, to increase revenues.
Psychiatrists’ Group Approves New DSM
The American Psychiatric Association’s new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will place what was called Asperger’s as part of the autism spectrum.
First Edition: December 3, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news outlets, including the latest press reports on the looming “fiscal cliff” and on how states are viewing the health law’s Medicaid expansion.
Fiscal Cliff: Dems, GOP Sparring Publicly Over Entitlement Cuts, Including Medicare
In the Sunday talk shows and via interviews with key news organizations, administration and congressional GOP leaders are talking about their must-haves in any fiscal cliff deal.
HHS Releases New Insurance Exchange Rules, Includes Controversial Surchages
The 3.5% “user fee” would apply to health plans run by the federal government in states that don’t want to operate their own exchange.
White House Fiscal Plan Draws Cool GOP Response
The proposal reflects Democratic priorities, focusing on stimulus spending and unspecified spending cuts this year, and legislation in 2013 that would cut as much as $400 billion from Medicare and other government entitlement programs over the next decade in exchange for $1.6 trillion in tax increases.
Fiscal Crisis, Threats Of Sequestration Cause Provider Angst
If the “fiscal cliff’s” scheduled cuts take effect, physicians will face a 2 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements. Separately, however, they also are confronting a 27 percent pay cut as a result of the failure to fix the Medicare physician payment formula.
Research Roundup: High Rates Of Postdischarge Complications
This week’s studies come from the Archives of Surgery, the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of Neurosurgery and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Supreme Court May Decide Gay Health Benefits Issues
The justices could consider same-sex marriage, which would affect health benefits for federal employees and possibly Medicaid.
Major Maker Of Generic Lipitor Halts Production
The New York Times reports that this action was taken by the a producer of the generic version of Lipitor until the company an figure out how glass particles may have ended up in pills distributed to the public.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled a plan outlining the U.S.’s ongoing efforts to combat AIDS around the world.
GAO: Medicaid Payment Information Late, Inconsistent
The Government Accountability Office’s report examined two Medicaid databases.
Decoding Part D Marketing And Other News
The Medicare NewsGroup examines the complexity of Part D plans.
Traveling Med Tech Indicted On New Charges Related To Hepatitis C Outbreak
The technician was indicated Wednesday in New Hampshire on 14 new charges. The outbreak involved more than 30 patients in New Hampshire while people in a number of other states also were exposed.
Viewpoints: Fighting To A Draw On Medicare; A Coming Era Of Austerity
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
