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Lawmakers are close again to delaying a 25 percent cut in reimbursement to doctors who serve Medicare patients. It’s the fifth time this year Congress has faced down the cuts, which could have dire consequences for the program if enacted.
Lawmakers have a tentative deal to stop scheduled Medicare physician payments for one year. Meanwhile, in Texas a new study shows that the state would lose $15 billion of federal funds in one year if it left the Medicaid program.
Already facing a record budget shortfall, Texas has received more bad news: The portion of state Medicaid costs paid by the federal government is about to drop.
Maryland hospitals and regulators are teaming up in an experimental payment plan to reduce unnecessary admissions while improving patient care.
McAllen, Tex. spends more on Medicare patients than almost any other part of the country. But a new study contradicts the assumption that McAllen, Texas doctors over-treat everyone.
Adults need vaccines to protect against serious diseases, including shingles, pneumonia and hepatitis. The health reform law, with its emphasis on prevention, will expand coverage to improve vaccination rates, currently too low.
A ruling is expected this month from a Republican-appointed judge on the heart of the new health law – the mandate to buy insurance. It could illustrate the growing prevalence of party-line judging in this country.
The project, designed to aid research into costs and trends, will collect claims filed by federal workers and others. OPM says privacy will be paramount, but some advocates are worried.
A new survey from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) finds doctors aren’t actually following through on threats to drop seniors from their patient rosters – at least not yet.
Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, is making a “paradigm shift” in his division to focus more on care-at-home cases.
A ruling is expected this month from a Republican-appointed judge on the heart of the new health law – the mandate to buy insurance. It could illustrate the growing prevalence of party-line judging in this country.
The new health law appears to threaten the future of many health insurance brokers, but they say the service they provide is worth the money.
One of the bigger debates raging in health policy circles at the moment is about the value of “mini-med” plans.
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its long-awaited report on recommendations to cope with the national debt, now and into the future, “The Moment of Truth.” Seven of the 66 pages concerned health care spending, especially focusing on Medicare.
The upper chamber’s recent consideration of legislation to repeal a small revenue-raising provision within the health overhaul offers insights into why a more sweeping repeal effort would be a very difficult task.
New documents reveal that the drug industry’s chief lobbyists, PhRMA, raised and spent at least $101.2 million in 2009 during the contentious health care debate.
Controlling Medicare costs is key to conquering the deficit, experts say, but there are few cost-containment measures that are politically viable.
For years, the state paid private providers who care for people with disabilities to handle their clients’ case management. But an 11th-hour change inserted into the budget last session stripped them of that responsibility, giving it instead to quasi-governmental Mental Retardation Authorities – and potentially creating a conflict of interest.
As Congress resumed its lame duck session, the House passed a one-month extension of a Medicare physician payment “fix” that would stop scheduled cuts for another month. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected a repeal of the so-called “1099” tax reporting provision in the health law that requires that businesses file a form for any purchase of goods or services worth more than $600.
As Congress resumed its lame duck session, the House passed a one-month extension of a Medicare physician payment “fix” that would stop scheduled cuts for another month. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected a repeal of the so-called “1099” tax reporting provision in the health law that requires that businesses file a form for any purchase of goods or services worth more than $600.
