Medicare News and Research

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First Edition: June 24, 2014

Today's headlines include news about the latest report detailing problems at the VA.

24 Jun 2014

State highlights: Ohio managed care plans launch; Bluecross Blueshield plan faces Ore. lawsuit; N.Y. policy on unvaccinated children upheld

A selection of health policy stories from Ohio, Oregon, New York, Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, California and Minnesota.

24 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Concerns about ACOs; problems in Va. gov.'s strategy; Medicaid 'black hole'

Although Obamacare's health insurance expansion has directly provided coverage to only about 4 percent of Americans, changes embedded in the Affordable Care Act could affect many more people, and not always in good ways.

24 Jun 2014

Chicago hospitals see little change in ER visits; Calif. probes Anthem's provider lists

The Chicago Sun-Times examines the health law's effect on local emergency rooms, while the Los Angeles Times reports that state officials are investigating whether Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California violated state law by posting inaccurate provider lists.

24 Jun 2014

HHS Sec. Burwell makes management changes to Healthcare.gov

The steps are being taken in an effort to prevent a repeat of the difficulties that took place during last year's launch of the federal online insurance marketplace.

23 Jun 2014

Patient injuries mean Medicare payment penalties for some hospitals

The preliminary analysis of penalties would lower Medicare payments to these hospitals by 1 percent for a year. Elsewhere, lawmakers introduce legislation to change how hospitals that serve a large number of poor patients are affected by Medicare's penalties.

23 Jun 2014

More twists in Capitol Hill insider-trading probe

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether nonpublic information related to a 2013 announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding 2014 reimbursement rates was leaked improperly.

23 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 23, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news stories about healthcare.gov management changes.

23 Jun 2014

Premier PHC, Encompass partner to improve patient outcomes

Premier Patient Health Care and Encompass Home Health & Hospice are pleased to announce a new partnership that actively manages the quality and cost of care for patients across multiple settings, in order to meet quality benchmarks and improve patient outcomes.

21 Jun 2014

State highlights: N.Y. lawmakers deal on heroin abuse; N.Y. birth control discrimination bill; nursing home costs in Mich.

A selection of health policy stories from New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, California, Texas, Washington state, Missouri, Massachusetts and Colorado.

20 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 20, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a new poll of showing a majority of those signing up for marketplace plans had been uninsured before and the Obama administration's decision to extend marriage benefits, including family leave, to same-sex couples.

20 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: The cost of a VA fix; Virginia GOP 'must be so proud'; health law critics' argument backfires

The Veterans Affairs scandal has exposed a failing bureaucracy, so naturally Congress's solution is to give the same bureaucracy more money.

20 Jun 2014

Insider-trading investigation involving Capitol Hill staff and Medicare policy heats up

The Wall Street Journal reports that prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas for evidence related to whether congressional staffers provided advance information to stock traders regarding a change in health care policy.

20 Jun 2014

Administration opened marketplaces despite technology concerns, GOP senators say

In new report, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, allege the White House's delayed decisions kept health officials from meeting development deadlines for the online exchanges, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, a GAO official tells a Senate panel that the government has a flawed strategy on tech projects.

20 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 19, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the 2015 insurance premium rates are shaping up across the country and details of consumers' experiences in trying to get their new coverage.

19 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Working for benefits; fears for a pill to prevent HIV; possible Medicaid strategy for Virginia

[Economist Robert] Moffitt noted in an email that "the work incentives in the government safety net have greatly increased over the last 20 years: less welfare payments if you don't work, and much greater government payments if you do."

19 Jun 2014

State highlights: Illinois Medicaid digital shift delayed; N.C. hospitals fight cuts; heroin in New England

Alexian Brothers Health System is suspending its effort to launch a new Medicaid program, blaming the difficulty of connecting physicians using different electronic records systems. The Arlington Heights, Ill.-based health system was spearheading a so-called accountable care entity (ACE) to coordinate the care of about 46,000 patients on Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled. The ACEs are a form of managed care, one of Gov. Pat Quinn's initiatives to focus on preventative treatment to keep patients healthy and reduce health care costs (Schorsch, 6/17).

19 Jun 2014

African American women with invasive breast cancer less likely to receive invasive technique

African American women with early stage, invasive breast cancer were 12 percent less likely than Caucasian women with the same diagnosis to receive a minimally invasive technique, axillary sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, even as the procedure had become the standard of surgical practice, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

19 Jun 2014

Medicare faces cost tension with lawmakers, advocates

More than 130 lawmakers are urging the Obama administration to expand coverage for a lung-cancer test under Medicare that could cost the program billons, calling the screening important for vulnerable seniors. In a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lawmakers called for a timely decision on coverage for low-dose CT scans for older patients at higher risk of developing lung cancer. ... A CMS spokesman said the agency's decision will be based on whether the test is "reasonable and necessary," without regard to its cost to Medicare (Yen, 6/17).

19 Jun 2014

Feds join whistleblower suit against doctors' company

The Justice Department says in a lawsuit that IPC The Hospitalist Co., which assigns doctors to hospitals in 28 states, bilked Medicare and Medicaid by billing for more expensive care than was provided.

19 Jun 2014

Medicare News and Research

First Edition: June 24, 2014

State highlights: Ohio managed care plans launch; Bluecross Blueshield plan faces Ore. lawsuit; N.Y. policy on unvaccinated children upheld

Viewpoints: Concerns about ACOs; problems in Va. gov.'s strategy; Medicaid 'black hole'

Chicago hospitals see little change in ER visits; Calif. probes Anthem's provider lists

HHS Sec. Burwell makes management changes to Healthcare.gov

Patient injuries mean Medicare payment penalties for some hospitals

More twists in Capitol Hill insider-trading probe

First Edition: June 23, 2014

Premier PHC, Encompass partner to improve patient outcomes

State highlights: N.Y. lawmakers deal on heroin abuse; N.Y. birth control discrimination bill; nursing home costs in Mich.

First Edition: June 20, 2014

Viewpoints: The cost of a VA fix; Virginia GOP 'must be so proud'; health law critics' argument backfires

Insider-trading investigation involving Capitol Hill staff and Medicare policy heats up

Administration opened marketplaces despite technology concerns, GOP senators say

First Edition: June 19, 2014

Viewpoints: Working for benefits; fears for a pill to prevent HIV; possible Medicaid strategy for Virginia

State highlights: Illinois Medicaid digital shift delayed; N.C. hospitals fight cuts; heroin in New England

African American women with invasive breast cancer less likely to receive invasive technique

Medicare faces cost tension with lawmakers, advocates

Feds join whistleblower suit against doctors' company

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