Panel Urges Crackdown On Medicare’s Use Of Imaging
Congressional advisory group recommends that doctors who order a lot of MRIs, CT scans and other such procedures be forced to get prior approval.
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Congressional advisory group recommends that doctors who order a lot of MRIs, CT scans and other such procedures be forced to get prior approval.
Embattled CMS administrator says partnering with providers will improve care and reduce costs.
Even critics of managed care are warming to the idea of including nearly 400,000 seniors and disabled person now receiving health care through the traditional Medi-Cal program. The shift to managed care begins today and will be phased in.
Even as some Republicans distance themselves from the House-passed budget that would fundamentally change the Medicare program, the conservative seniors group 60 Plus' celebrity spokesman Pat Boone is boosting the plan.
Kaiser Family Foundation survey finds about 60 percent of Americans want Congress to keep Medicaid in its current form.
Mark Parkinson, head of the largest nursing home lobby, says some nursing homes will be hurt by the law's requirement to offer workers insurance but they still favor the overhaul to bring health care costs under control.
Howard Gleckman wonders how society will provide care to the frail elderly people who rely on the program and account for one-third of its budget.
Martha Roherty, who represents officials running state programs, says that "things that allow people to keep their family members at home longer" are often being cut.
The outlook for the federal health insurance program that, as of last year, covered 47.5 million elderly and disabled Americans is a dramatic shift from last summer.
About 14 percent of elderly nursing homes residents receives a so-called atypical antipsychotic medicine despite an increased risk of death when the medicines are used to manage dementia in older people.
Why do seniors receive Medicare benefits totaling more than twice what they pay in to the system?
This year, seniors enrolled in Medicare no longer have to pay for more than a dozen tests and services to prevent disease thanks to the health law. Many, however, aren't lining up for mammograms or colonoscopies though free wellness checks are luring many.
Too few resources are available to handle the predicted explosion in the number of elderly, says Mark Parkinson, head of the largest nursing home lobby.
A program in St. Louis is giving hospice patients one more way to say goodbye to their loved ones - using a series of volunteers trained to help them tell their stories.
Providers criticize health law requirement targeted at curbing wasteful spending.
The health law provides a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs and 7 percent for generics once beneficiaries reach the doughnut hole.
Some patient advocates, as well as the nursing home industry, object to using managed care for such vulnerable patients, but health plans say they can provide quality services while holding down costs.
In 2011 many new provisions of the health law kick in, providing benefits for many and potential new costs for some others.
The new health law adds coverage for an annual checkup, but in the past beneficiaries have not shown great interest in the "wellness exams" offered when they first qualify for Medicare.
Democrats and Republicans may spend the next two years fighting about what to jettison or retain in the new health law. If these battles are resolved, we'll be back to address another looming challenge: long-term care. It's best that this happen sooner rather than later.
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