Retooling Hospitals, One Data Point At A Time
The University of Utah improved quality and reduced costs by tracking each patient’s care.
Medicare Penalties For Hospital Infections Will Hit Alaska Hard
The four largest hospitals in Alaska are facing Medicare payment penalties for the quality of their care. Providence, Alaska Regional, Alaska Native Medical Center and Fairbanks Memorial are all in the bottom 25 percent nationally for the number of infections and serious complications patients get in their hospitals, according to data analyzed by Kaiser Health […]
More Than 750 Hospitals Face Medicare Crackdown On Patient Injuries
The 1 percent cut in payments is the latest effort by the federal government to improve hospital care.
Patient Injuries: Hospitals Most Likely To Be Penalized By Medicare
Out of all 761 hospitals that are in line to be penalized for high rates of infections and complications this fall, 175 of them are most likely to be penalized because their preliminary scores are nine or above on a scale of 1 to 10.
Methodology: How Hospital-Acquired Conditions Are Calculated
Before assessing penalties, Medicare assesses rates of infection among patients with catheters in major veins and in the bladder and eight other patient injuries, such as blood clots, bed sores and accidental falls.
Review Finds Flawed Management Of Nursing Home Inspections In Los Angeles County
Officials did not properly prioritize or track investigations, leading to delays and incomplete probes, according to a state audit.
Senators Offer Bill To Ease Readmission Penalties On Some Hospitals
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation on Thursday to make Medicare take the financial status of hospital patients into account when deciding whether to punish a hospital for too many readmissions. The bill attempts to address one of the main complaints about the readmissions program: that hospitals serving large numbers of low-income patients are […]
Insurer Begins Huge Palliative Care Program
“Person-centered care” is the buzz phrase floating around the health care industry, and a Pacific Northwest-based giant insurer thinks it has hit the mark with a new palliative care program coming this summer. Cambia Health Solutions, which includes Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield,will offer training to providers and additional benefits for policyholders: more than 2.2 million […]
Readers Ask: Are Insurance Premiums Capped? Do Doctors Have To Accept Medicare?
KHN’s consumer columnist answers inquiries from readers.
Some Costly Hospital Complications Not Tracked by Medicare, Analysis Finds
An analysis released Thursday identified dozens of potentially avoidable hospital complications that are not being tracked by the government even though some occur frequently and are expensive to treat. Premier, Inc., a consulting company that works with hospitals on improving quality, analyzed 5.5 million patient records to identify 86 common complications that occurred in the […]
PCORI, NIH Announce Plans For $30 Million Study On Falls
The nation’s largest and most intensive study of how to best prevent seniors’ injuries from falling will begin next year under a $30 million grant announced Wednesday by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the National Institutes of Health. A diverse group of 6,000 adults over age 75 or their caregivers will be recruited around […]
Medicare Could Save Billions By Scrapping Random Drug Plan Assignment
A new study finds that Medicare is spending billions of dollars more than it needs to on prescription drugs for low-income seniors and disabled beneficiaries. In 2013, an estimated 10 million people who participate in the Medicare prescription drug program, known as Part D, received government subsidies to help pay for that coverage. They account […]
Adult Foster Care Aid May Be At Risk, Advocates Say
Among those who are worried are agencies that provide adult foster care for people who can’t live on their own, because of severe mental illness or developmental disabilities.
How To Shop For Long-Term Care Insurance
One of the toughest money decisions Americans face as they age is whether to buy long-term care insurance.
‘National Dialogue’ Urged On Cost Of New Hepatitis C Drug
The outcry continues over the $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C drug made by California-based Gilead Sciences. While the drug is a significant advance over older treatments for the viral liver disease, the price set by the company “represents an abuse of market power,” said John Rother, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, which […]
Minnesota, Not Florida, Not Hawaii, Is Healthiest State For Seniors
“Minnesota Nice” might be the key to good health for seniors. America’s Health Rankings Senior Report rated Minnesota the healthiest state in the nation for adults aged 65 and over — beating out Hawaii. And that retiree and snowbird haven, Florida? It came in 28th. What could put Minnesota, which just weathered arguably the harshest winter […]
Some Colorado Doctors May Be Overcharging Medicare For Routine Visits
An analysis of newly available data may reveal fraud. But experts caution that the raw data alone could also make physicians who are doing nothing wrong look bad.
Should Medicare Pay The Same No Matter Where The Patient Gets Care?
That question was the focus of a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, and it’s an important issue in the context of the debate over ending the Medicare SGR. Mary Agnes Carey and CQ HealthBeat’s John Reichard discuss.
California Doctors Among Those Charging Medicare The Most For Office Visits
Billing data show that some doctors charge the government much more than their peers in the same specialty by deeming almost all office visits “complex.”
Medicare May Be Overpaying Hospitals For Short-Stay Patients
A congressional panel has held its first hearing on a controversial rule that governs the admission status of Medicare patients.
