CBO Projects Lower Medicare and Medicaid Costs
Reduced costs for medical services and labor have trimmed the 10-year projected cost of Medicare and Medicaid by $89 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. Medicare spending is projected to drop by $49 billion — or less than 1 percent — from 2015 and 2024, while Medicaid spending is expected to drop by $40 […]
Operator? Business, Insurer Take On End-of-Life Issues By Phone
Fear keeps many patients and doctors from talking to each other about end-of-life care. One company, hired by insurers, has made a rather unusual business fostering those conversations.
In Study, Questions About Who Should Perform In-Office Surgeries
A study of Medicare billing found that many dermatology procedures were done by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Government Streamlining Medicare Coverage For Cancer Test
FDA and Medicare officials conduct a parallel review of a new screening test for colorectal cancer and that could bring the test to beneficiaries six months faster.
For Aging Inmates, Care Outside Prison Walls
As the number of elderly inmates needing long-term care rises, some states are looking for alternatives beyond prison walls.
First Look At Medicare Quality Incentive Program Finds Little Benefit
One of Medicare’s attempts to improve medical quality –by rewarding or penalizing hospitals — did not lead to improvements in the first nine months of the program, a study has found. The quality program, known as Hospital Value-Based Purchasing, is a pillar of the federal health law’s campaign to use the government’s financial muscle to […]
Medicare Experiment Could Signal Sea Change For Hospice
What happens when hospice patients can keep getting life-extending treatment? Palliative care expert Diane Meier discusses the new program.
Good News For Boomers: Medicare’s Hospital Trust Fund Appears Flush Until 2030
But the fund that pays disability benefits needs help fast.
Advocacy Groups Say Medicare Should Negotiate With Drugmakers
Medicare could save billions if Congress overcame its reluctance to anger the drug industry and allowed the program to demand rebates or negotiate prices, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said Wednesday. He added that’s something polls show many Americans support. Expensive new blockbuster drugs, such as a $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C treatment called Sovaldi, highlight the need to […]
Medicare Testing Payment Options That Could End Observation Care Penalties
The pilot projects underway at hospitals eliminate the requirement that seniors must be admitted for three days before they qualify for nursing home coverage.
Medicare Modifies Controversial Hospice Drug Rule
In response to strong criticism, Medicare officials are modifying rules intended to prevent the agency from paying twice for the same prescriptions for seniors receiving hospice care. Under the rules that took effect in May, hospice patients or their families could not fill prescriptions through their Part D drug plans until first confirming that the prescriptions […]
Letters To The Editor: A New Medical Convenience; ‘Copper Plans’ And Other Coverage Issues
Letters to the Editor is a regular feature in which readers comment on KHN original stories.
A Reader Asks: Does Selling Your House Affect Eligibility For Assisted Living?
KHN’s consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers this question.
Putting The Home In A Nursing Home
LaVrene Norton’s firm specializes in helping retirement communities and nursing homes train staff and design their residencies to fit the “household model.”
CMS May Soften Paperwork Requirements For Home Health Care
This KHN story can be republished for free. (details) Doctors may not have to write a narrative summary for patients needing home health care if a proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is finalized. For Medicare to pay for a home health visit, which includes physical therapy, speech therapy and skilled […]
Study: Hospitals Using Electronic Medical Records Not Bilking Medicare
In 2012, Medicare was rocked by allegations hospitals were systematically overcharging the government program by misusing electronic medical records. A study published Tuesday disputes that.
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.
