Robin Hood To Rescue Of Rural Hospitals? New Math Promised On Medicare Payments
A proposed adjustment to the wage index, used in setting a hospital’s Medicare reimbursement payments, could be a lifeline for some rural facilities.
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A proposed adjustment to the wage index, used in setting a hospital’s Medicare reimbursement payments, could be a lifeline for some rural facilities.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
In its latest update to the Nursing Home Compare website, the government gave 1,638 homes its lowest star rating for staffing — one star on its five-star scale. Most were downgraded because payroll records reported no registered-nurse hours at all for at least four days.
Use this tool to see staffing levels at skilled nursing homes in the U.S.
Under the rule that took effect this year, Medicare will lower payments for clinic visits performed at hospital-owned facilities to a rate that is equivalent to what it pays an independent doctor. Federal officials expect the move will save the government $380 million this year.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Work helps make people healthier, CMS chief Seema Verma said in approving Utah’s waiver request to tie government health benefits to employment or volunteer work. But Judge James Boasberg has said that isn’t the goal of Medicaid.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
The U.S. government claimed that turning American medical charts into electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the system is an unholy mess. Inside a digital revolution that took a bad turn.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Inspectors are citing nursing facilities for violating health and safety more often than during the Obama administration. But the average fine is nearly a third lower than it was before President Donald Trump took office.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched this month the “What’s Covered” app, designed to provide yes-or-no answers about what services are covered under traditional Medicare. KHN took it for a test drive with real consumers.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Utah’s proposal to limit federal and state funding on Medicaid is a radical change. Anti-poverty advocates are concerned that caps could limit how many people are enrolled and restrict services. They also worry other states would adopt a similar plan.
Political fights over health care continue to flare. In Utah, angry voters say lawmakers are disregarding their wishes by trying to limit the scope of a ballot referendum that expanded Medicaid.
State health officials say several factors, including the improved economy, are behind the 7 percent drop last year in Missouri and 9 percent reduction in Tennessee of Medicaid recipients. But advocates for the poor are worried the states’ efforts to weed out residents who are improperly enrolled has led to people mistakenly forced off the rolls.
Health was a featured player in President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address. The president set goals to bring down prescription drug prices, end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and cure childhood cancer, among other things. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN senior correspondent Phil Galewitz about the current “Bill of the Month” feature.
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