Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Hhs.gov: July 26, 2012 Washington – Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the launch of a ground-breaking partnership among the federal government, State officials, several leading private health insurance organizations, and other health care anti-fraud groups to prevent health care fraud. This voluntary, collaborative arrangement uniting public […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Healthaffairs.org: 7/24/12. The growth in the use of advanced imaging for Medicare beneficiaries decelerated in 2006 and 2007, ending a decade of growth that had exceeded 6 percent annually. The slowdown raises three questions. Did the slowdown in growth of imaging under Medicare persist and extend to the non-Medicare insured? What factors caused the slowdown? Was […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Fierceemr.com: July 23, 2012 | By Marla Durben Hirsch The Garden City, N.Y.-based accounting firm Figliozzi and Company, acting on behalf of CMS, has started to send letters to providers requesting them to submit documentation to support their attestation that they have met the Meaningful Use requirements. According to Ober Kaler, the auditor is asking for four types […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Better use of home health has potential to reduce rehospitalization rates across all episode types Prnewswire.com: 7/23/12. WASHINGTON, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A comprehensive analysis of Medicare claims data demonstrates that Medicare payments more than double when the beneficiary’s care includes at least one hospital visit. The Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (the Alliance) today […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Healthcarefinancenews.com: July 23, 2012 | Erin McCann, Contributing Editor WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is making available up to $275 million to states to help them develop and test improvements to their healthcare systems that would bolster healthcare quality and reduce expenditures. The State Innovation Models initiative, which is made […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Kaiserhealthnews.org: By Jordan Rau, KHN Staff Writer, JUL 19, 2012 This story was produced in collaboration with The nation’s hospitals are making little headway in reducing the frequency at which patients are readmitted despite a campaign by the government and the threat of financial penalties, according to Medicare data released Thursday. The government and health policy experts consider frequent […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Content.healthaffairs.org: 7/18/12. The experiences of people covered by Medicare and those with private employer insurance can help inform policy debates over the federal budget deficit, Medicare’s affordability, and the expansion of private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. This article provides evidence that people with employer-sponsored coverage were more likely than Medicare beneficiaries to forgo […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Reuters.com: By Genevra Pittman, NEW YORK | Mon Jul 16, 2012 4:40pm EDT Under upcoming changes in Medicare and Medicaid payment policies, hospitals largely treating the poor and uninsured may be hit extra hard if patients continue to rate their experiences there lower than at other hospitals, according to a new study. So-called safety-net hospitals take in a lot […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Monday, July 23rd, 2012
Cms.gov: Monday, July 09, 2012 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that as of July 1, 88[i] new Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) began serving 1.2 million people with Medicare in 40 States and Washington, D.C. ACOs are organizations formed by groups of doctors and other health care providers that have agreed to […]
Posted by National Health Index
Medicare News
Monday, July 23rd, 2012
The commission tells Congress that ACOs and payment bundling could prove flexible enough to move the system away from the downsides of fee for service. Aama-assn.org: By CHARLES FIEGL, amednews staff. July 9, 2012. Washington Physicians must be given flexibility in how they participate in new Medicare payment models for care coordination efforts to be successful, according to a new […]
