Insurers And Medicare Agree On Measures Tracking Doctors’ Quality
The first set of measures focus on seven types of care, including for hearts and cancer. The metrics will be integrated into formulas that determine physicians’ pay.
Medicare
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Some Dialysis Patients Give Medicare Failing Grade On Ambulance Trial
A Medicare trial aimed at averting billing fraud and waste in nonemergency ambulance service in eight states is drawing complaints from patients’ families and ambulance companies.
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Buying Supplemental Insurance Can Be Hard For Younger Medicare Beneficiaries
Congress left it to states to determine whether private Medigap plans are sold to the more than 9 million disabled people younger than 65 who qualify for Medicare. The result: rules vary across the country.
By Susan Jaffe -
Surprise! Here’s Another Bill For That ‘Paramedic Response’
California cities increasingly are billing patients for paramedic services that they say were not covered by insurers. One 85-year-old woman took on city hall.
By Anna Gorman -
Fueled By Health Law, ‘Concierge Medicine’ Reaches New Markets
Doctors, insurers and others are kick-starting experiments to broaden access to direct primary care, a service long associated with only wealthy Americans.
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Telenovelas, Spanish Website Seek To Inform Hispanics About Kidney Donations
The website Infórmate offers resources and information to help dispel cultural myths that may keep Latinos from becoming live kidney donors.
By Fran Kritz -
Feds Funding Effort To Tie Medical Services To Social Needs
The goal is to improve health and potentially reduce spending.
By Julie Rovner -
Medicare Payment Changes Lead More Men To Get Screening Colonoscopies
The health law waived Medicare’s Part B deductible and dropped the 20 percent copayment for the preventive tests.
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Baby Boomers Set Another Trend: More Golden Years In Poorer Health
Medicare faces sharp cost increases as more baby boomers reach 65, and their life expectancies grow, as well as their chronic conditions, say researchers at the University of Southern California.
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Medicare Penalizes 758 Hospitals For Safety Incidents
More than half of these hospitals were also punished last year as the government tries to leverage taxpayer money to improve the quality of care.
By Jordan Rau -
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California To Revamp Addiction Treatment For Medicaid Recipients
Through what’s known as a drug waiver, state officials will have new spending flexibility as they try to improve outcomes and reduce social and financial costs of people with substance abuse disorders.
By Anna Gorman -
Mom Left Me Money, But Does Uncle Sam Get It As Repayment For My Subsidy?
KHN’s consumer columnist answers questions about the effects a change of income can have on an individual’s subsidy for insurance premiums and dental care for Medicare beneficiaries.
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End Of Medicare Bonus Program Will Cut Pay To Primary Care Doctors
A 10 percent bump in pay, a health law provision that sunsets at the end of the year, was designed to help balance the reimbursement levels between primary care providers and specialists.
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Fewer Medicare-Subsidized Drug Plans Means Less Choice For Low-Income Seniors
The number of Medicare plans that cover medications with a subsidy provided for low-income beneficiaries is declining in 2016 by 20 percent.
By Susan Jaffe -
Medicaid Denies Nearly Half Of Requests For Hepatitis C Drugs: Study
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that Medicaid turned down requests for new expensive drugs to treat hepatitis C 46 percent of the time, while private insurers barred them 10 percent and Medicare 5 percent.
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Survey: Low-Income Elderly Reject Calif. Managed Care Experiment For Fear Of Change
About 47 percent opt out of California’s “dual eligibles” program serving Medicare and Medicaid patients, in part because they fear losing their doctors, a survey finds. But once enrolled in the pilot program, most stay.
By Anna Gorman -
Seniors Who Don’t Consider Switching Drug Plans May Face Steep Price Rise
For beneficiaries, staying in their current plans could prove costly so advocates urge them to check out the alternatives.
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Dementia Also Takes Toll On Unpaid Caregivers, Study Shows
The research shows 77 percent of those with dementia receive routine help with household tasks or personal care such as bathing and dressing. Only 20 percent of the 33 million people without dementia received similar help.
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Don’t Just Renew Your Medicare Plan. Shopping Around Can Save Money.
Enrollment for private Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans begins Oct. 15 and consumer advocates urge seniors to check out prices to find the best deals.
By Susan Jaffe