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Fraud and billing mistakes cost Medicare — and taxpayers — tens of billions last year

Federal health officials made more than $16 billion in improper payments to private Medicare Advantage health plans last year and need to crack down on billing errors by the insurers, a top congressional auditor testified Wednesday.

19 Jul 2017

Congress squares off over drug pricing and a controversial drug discount program

House Democrats are calling foul on Republican assertions that cuts to a little-known discount drug program will eventually reduce skyrocketing drug prices.

18 Jul 2017

Urgent hospitalizations linked to increased rate of cognitive decline in older adults

Emergency and urgent hospitalizations are associated with an increased rate of cognitive decline in older adults, report researchers at Rush University Medical Center.

17 Jul 2017

Millions more uninsured could impact health of those with insurance, too

Much has been written lately about how individuals' health could suffer if they lose insurance under the health proposals circulating in the U.S. House and Senate.

14 Jul 2017

Medical transportation provider accused of disserving L.A.’s frail patients

Some days, the drivers showed up late to take Julian Myers to and from dialysis. Other days, they didn't come at all. When that happened, Myers, who has end-stage kidney disease, scrambled to find a ride.

14 Jul 2017

Medicare’s financial outlook slightly improved, trustees say

The Trump administration said Thursday that the financial outlook for Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund improved in the past year due to health costs rising more slowly than expected and predictions that enrollees will use hospital services less often.

13 Jul 2017

Transgender health care targeted in crusade to undo ACA

Solorah Singleton has been waiting years for breast augmentation. She doesn't want to jinx it now, but the Philadelphia resident thinks it's finally within reach.

13 Jul 2017

ASTRO releases updated insurance coverage recommendations for proton beam therapy to treat cancer

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has issued an update to its recommendations for medical insurance coverage regarding the use of proton beam therapy to treat cancer.

13 Jul 2017

Nursing homes move into the insurance business

Around the country, a handful of nursing home companies have begun selling their own private Medicare insurance policies, pledging close coordination and promising to give clinicians more authority to decide what treatments they will cover for each patient.

13 Jul 2017

In Texas, people with mental illness find work helping peers

Recovery coaches and peer mentors — known in Alcoholics Anonymous as “sponsors” — have for decades helped those addicted to alcohol or drugs.

13 Jul 2017

Senators grill top Indian health officials about Trump budget

Leaders of the Indian Health Service struggled Wednesday at a Senate hearing to defend the Trump administration's plans to slash funding to the agency, which is reeling from quality of care problems at several of its hospitals, a doctor shortage and facilities showing their age.

13 Jul 2017

Whichever way ‘repeal and replace’ blows, pharma is due for windfall

The pharmaceutical industry could see windfall profits from a little-noticed tweak to the insurance market tucked into the Trump administration's draft executive order on drug prices, experts say.

12 Jul 2017

Double-booked: When surgeons operate on two patients at once

The controversial practice has been standard in many teaching hospitals for decades, its safety and ethics largely unquestioned and its existence unknown to those most affected: people undergoing surgery.

12 Jul 2017

Mayo Clinic researchers describe medical costs of falls in adults with transfemoral amputation

In a new study published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International, Mayo Clinic researchers describe the direct medical costs of falls in adults with a transfemoral amputation.

11 Jul 2017

New program gives free legal help to families for health-related issues

Chicago families with kids who have complicated medical conditions now have easier access to legal help, thanks to a new partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago and Legal Council for Health Justice.

11 Jul 2017

Analysis compares rates, costs of hospital readmissions across all ages and insurance types

Short-term hospital readmissions – or readmissions within 30 days – are common, costly and a substantial contributor to health care utilization.

10 Jul 2017

Senate GOP bill aims to add psych beds; squeeze on Medicaid signals their undoing

A little-discussed provision in the Senate health care bill is designed to boost the number of hospital beds for psychiatric care, providing a long-sought victory for mental health advocates.

10 Jul 2017

Study explores how hospitalized older adults make decisions about choosing skilled nursing facilities

More than 20 percent of all hospitalized older adults who use Medicare will be admitted to a skilled nursing facility following a stay in the hospital.

7 Jul 2017

Inferior vena cava filters may be overused in managed care populations, study suggests

Humana Inc. today announced research findings that suggest inferior vena cava (IVC) filters may be overused in managed care populations, and that filters may not always be removed after they are no longer needed.

6 Jul 2017

As seniors get sicker, they’re more likely to drop Medicare Advantage plans

When Sol Shipotow enrolled in a new Medicare Advantage health plan earlier this year, he expected to keep the doctor who treats his serious eye condition.

6 Jul 2017

Medicare News and Research

Fraud and billing mistakes cost Medicare — and taxpayers — tens of billions last year

Congress squares off over drug pricing and a controversial drug discount program

Urgent hospitalizations linked to increased rate of cognitive decline in older adults

Millions more uninsured could impact health of those with insurance, too

Medical transportation provider accused of disserving L.A.’s frail patients

Medicare’s financial outlook slightly improved, trustees say

Transgender health care targeted in crusade to undo ACA

ASTRO releases updated insurance coverage recommendations for proton beam therapy to treat cancer

Nursing homes move into the insurance business

In Texas, people with mental illness find work helping peers

Senators grill top Indian health officials about Trump budget

Whichever way ‘repeal and replace’ blows, pharma is due for windfall

Double-booked: When surgeons operate on two patients at once

Mayo Clinic researchers describe medical costs of falls in adults with transfemoral amputation

New program gives free legal help to families for health-related issues

Analysis compares rates, costs of hospital readmissions across all ages and insurance types

Senate GOP bill aims to add psych beds; squeeze on Medicaid signals their undoing

Study explores how hospitalized older adults make decisions about choosing skilled nursing facilities

Inferior vena cava filters may be overused in managed care populations, study suggests

As seniors get sicker, they’re more likely to drop Medicare Advantage plans

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