Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Content.healthaffairs.org: August 1, 2012 Safety-net hospitals, which include urban hospitals serving large numbers of low-income, uninsured, and otherwise vulnerable populations, have historically faced greater financial strains than hospitals that serve more affluent populations. These strains can affect hospitals’ quality of care, perhaps resulting in worse outcomes that are commonly used as indicators of care quality—mortality and […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Content.healthaffairs.org: August 2012 Because traditional Medicare leaves substantial gaps in coverage, many people obtain supplemental coverage to limit their exposure to out-of-pocket costs. However, some Medicare beneficiaries may not be well equipped to navigate the complex supplemental coverage landscape successfully because of their lower cognitive ability or numeracy—that is, the ability to work with numbers. We […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Rwjf.org: July 31, 2012 At a time of high federal budget deficits and unsustainable growth in health care costs, there is general agreement on the need to eliminate unnecessary spending in health care—and among the leading candidates are fraud and abuse. Despite ongoing, concerted efforts, making meaningful inroads has not been easy. “Fraud” refers to illegal […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Hhs.gov: August 6, 2012 Coverage improves and out-of-pocket savings grow as a result of the health care law Average basic premiums for Medicare prescription drug plans are projected to remain constant in 2013, Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius announced today. The average 2013 monthly premium for basic prescription drug coverage is expected to […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Chron.com/: 8/2/12 The nation’s top health care inspector is calling for a Medicaremoratorium on new home health care agencies in Texas, where the largest number of companies are filing dubious claims, according to a report obtained by the Houston Chronicle. Nearly 40 percent of all home health care agencies or HHAs with suspicious billings came from Texas, according […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Gao.gov: 8/1/12 In its November 2011 report, CMS presented three options for removing SSNs from Medicare cards. One option would truncate the SSN so that only the last four digits would appear on the card. However, the full SSN would continue to be used by both beneficiaries and providers for all Medicare business transactions. The other […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Gao.gov: July 25, 2012 Our March 2012 review found that the CMS Office of the Actuary’s (OACT) estimated cost of the demonstration exceeds $8 billion over 10 years. About $5.34 billion of this estimate is attributed to quality bonus payments more generous than those prescribed in PPACA, specifically to (1) higher bonuses for 4-star and 5-star […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Onlinelibrary.wiley.com: 7/20/12 Hospital care for blacks is concentrated among a small number of hospitals and whether they have worse outcomes across common medical conditions is unknown. Data Source We used the 2007 100% Medicare file to calculate 30- and 90-day mortality rates for white and black patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Hhs.gov: July 30, 2012 Today, we mark the 47th anniversary of the signing of Medicare and Medicaid into law, a promise we made to older Americans and the most vulnerable of our citizens that they will have the medical care they need to live healthier lives. For our elderly, the pledge reflects the acknowledgement that after contributing […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Federalregister.gov: 07/30/2012 Medicare Program; Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule, DME Face to Face Encounters, Elimination of the Requirement for Termination of Non-Random Prepayment Complex Medical Review and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2013; Hospital Outpatient Prospective and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; Electronic Reporting Pilot; Inpatient […]
