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In fight over Medicare payments, the hospital lobby shows its strength

In the battle to control health care costs, hospitals are deploying their political power to protect their bottom lines.

13 Feb 2024

Compensation is key to fixing primary care shortage

Money talks. The United States faces a serious shortage of primary care physicians for many reasons, but one, in particular, is inescapable: compensation.

16 Nov 2023

Biden administration’s limit on drug industry middlemen backfires, pharmacists say

The Biden administration's first major step toward imposing limits on the pharmacy benefit managers who act as the drug industry's price negotiators is backfiring, pharmacists say.

15 Nov 2023

Hospitals ask Congress to delay ACA Medicaid funding cuts — for the 14th time

It has become as familiar a sight in Washington as the cherry blossoms in spring: lobbyists from the nation's hospitals descending on the Capitol to ask lawmakers to postpone billions in Medicaid funding cuts prescribed by the Affordable Care Act — cuts industry leaders agreed to years ago.

25 Jul 2023

Overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans exceed $75 billion annually, new analysis warns

Enrollment in the Medicare Advantage program – which allows Medicare beneficiaries to get their health care through plans administered by private insurance companies – has been growing so rapidly that it has recently surpassed enrollment in traditional Medicare.

13 Jun 2023

After staying away during pandemic, doctors return to lobby Congress

Dr. Timothy McAvoy, an internist from Waukesha, Wisconsin, held his infant granddaughter Tuesday while standing in the Longworth House Office Building, waiting to talk to a congressional aide about increasing Medicare pay for doctors.

17 Feb 2023

Medicare pay cuts will hurt seniors’ care, doctors argue

Doctors are urging Congress to call off cuts scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 in the reimbursements they receive from Medicare.

20 Dec 2022

Hospices have become big business for private equity firms, raising concerns about end-of-life care

Hospice care, once provided primarily by nonprofit agencies, has seen a remarkable shift over the past decade, with more than two-thirds of hospices nationwide now operating as for-profit entities.

29 Jul 2022

100 million people in America are saddled with health care debt

Elizabeth Woodruff drained her retirement account and took on three jobs after she and her husband were sued for nearly $10,000 by the New York hospital where his infected leg was amputated.

16 Jun 2022

Private equity ownership of nursing homes triggers Capitol Hill questions — and a GAO probe

In his State of the Union address last month, President Joe Biden focused attention on how private equity ownership of nursing homes can affect residents' health.

13 Apr 2022

Medicare Advantage plans send pals to seniors’ homes for companionship — and profits

Widowed and usually living alone, Gloria Bailey walks with a cane after two knee replacement surgeries and needs help with housekeeping.

15 Mar 2022

Few acute care hospitals escaped readmissions penalties

Preventable rehospitalization of the nation's older adults has proved a persistent health and financial challenge for the U.S., costing Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

4 Nov 2021

Medicare punishes 2,499 hospitals for high readmissions

The federal government's effort to penalize hospitals for excessive patient readmissions is ending its first decade with Medicare cutting payments to nearly half the nation's hospitals.

28 Oct 2021

Democrats’ plans to expand Medicare benefits put pinch on advantage plans’ funding

"Did you think we wouldn't notice?" an older woman says, speaking into the camera. "You thought you could sneak this through?" an older man later adds. Others warn that Washington is "messing with" their Medicare Advantage health coverage and trying to raise their premiums.

28 Oct 2021

Advocating full reimbursement for care provided by nurse practitioners

The current Medicare reimbursement policy for nurse practitioners (NPs) allows NPs to directly bill Medicare for services that they perform, but they are reimbursed at only 85% of the physician rate.

16 Jun 2021

Covid was a tipping point for telehealth. If some have their way, Virtual visits are here to stay.

As the covid crisis wanes and life approaches normal across the U.S., health industry leaders and many patient advocates are pushing Congress and the Biden administration to preserve the pandemic-fueled expansion of telehealth that has transformed how millions of Americans see the doctor.

7 Jun 2021