Medicare payments for anemia drug too high; Feds seek fix to glitch that denies some hospitalized beneficiaries coverage for follow-up nursing home care

News outlets report on these Medicare policy developments.

The Washington Post: Medicare Overspending On Anemia Drug
The U.S. health-care system is vastly overspending for a single anemia drug because Medicare overestimates its use by hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to an analysis of federal data. The overpayment to hospitals and clinics arises because Medicare reimburses them based on estimates rather than the actual use of the drug (Whoriskey, 8/9).

Kaiser Health News: Medicare Seeks To Cut Number Of Seniors Denied Nursing Home Coverage After Hospital Stays
Concerned that a growing number of seniors have been unexpectedly forced to pay thousands of dollars for nursing home care after a stay in a hospital, Medicare has launched a pilot project to test whether relaxing its hospital payment rules could help beneficiaries (Jaffe, 8/10).