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Viewpoints: Health spending driving U.S. recovery; time to get rid of the insurance middle man

Here is the most interesting fact about the economy that you've never heard: Without health-care spending, the rest of the economy is barely producing more than it did in late 2007, just before the start of the Great Recession.

23 Aug 2013

Report finds number of doctors accepting Medicare patients is up

The number of physicians accepting new Medicare patients rose by one-third between 2007 and 2011 and is now higher than the number of physicians accepting new private insurance patients, according to a Department of Health and Human Services report obtained by USA TODAY. In 2007, about 925,000 doctors billed Medicare for their services. In 2011, that number had risen to 1.25 million, according to the report by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (Kennedy, 8/22).

23 Aug 2013

Political hijinx surround government shutdown threat, push to defund health law

News outlets report on the possible mid-term election impact of the GOP push to shut down the government if the health law receives funding.

23 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 22, 2013

Today's headlines include news reports about how summer politics are shaking out around the health law's implementation.

22 Aug 2013

Study looks at cost benefits of knee replacement surgery relative to societal, economic savings

The full impact of knee replacement surgery on both patients' lives and on society includes significant overall cost savings, according to a new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

22 Aug 2013

USA Today probe finds thousands of docs practicing despite misconduct

Also, a study finds that Medicare patients leaving the hospital can't always remember what was wrong with them and how to follow up.

22 Aug 2013

Generic, therapeutic drug substitutions can help lower Medicare costs

Therapeutic drug substitutions have the potential to double or even triple annual cost savings compared with savings achieved with generic substitutions, according to O. Kenrik Duru and colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles.

22 Aug 2013

State insurance exchanges go for flashy (or not) branding

New York named its health exchange, complete with new logo and ad. In Idaho, the GOP governor, a vocal opponent of the health law, lauds his state's insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, Florida officials express concerns about the federal exchange's "navigator" concept.

22 Aug 2013

Virginia's Medicaid panel meets, but covers little new ground

During a Monday planning meeting, a Virginia Medicaid policymaking panel examined what other states are doing in terms of expanding the program. Hundreds of conservative activists who oppose this health law provision rallied at the state capitol.

21 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Republican patient takes GOP health message to task; the deadlines the administration has missed

In recent months, President Obama and his subordinates have waived or delayed a number of Obamacare's notable features, such as the law's employer mandate, and its procedures for protecting taxpayers from fraud and identity theft.

21 Aug 2013

State highlights: Mental health contract raised costs in La., audit says

A selection of health policy stories from California, Louisiana and the District of Columbia.

21 Aug 2013

Sebelius urges Texas leaders to pitch plan to cover poor

Speaking in Texas, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said it was up to state leaders to propose alternative ways to expand health coverage to the poor.

21 Aug 2013

Keeping NYC hospitals open becomes new issue in mayoral race

NYC's hospitals have become a big issue in the city's mayoral race. In the meantime, New York state health officials have posted a plethora of data online about the state's hospitals and doctors.

21 Aug 2013

GAO: Postal health plan could add to retired workers' costs, impact Medicare

The proposal to opt out of the federal health plan would save billions of dollars but could bring uncertainties for employees.

21 Aug 2013

More patients suffer from complications after cancer surgery, but only few die

While more patients in the U.S. are suffering from complications such as blood clots and infections after major cancer surgery, fewer are dying from their operations.

20 Aug 2013

State highlights: Fort Worth to move retirees into Medicare advantage plans; Calif. preps Medi-Cal cuts; Calif. bill would help provide medical interpreters

A selection of health policy stories from Texas, California, Maryland, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois and Oklahoma.

20 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: GOP trapped between angry base and reality of health law; small businesses 'scrambling;' competing views of Medicaid expansion in Va.

Recent political reporting suggests that Republican leaders are in a state of high anxiety, trapped between an angry base that still views Obamacare as the moral equivalent of slavery and the reality that health reform is the law of the land and is going to happen (Paul Krugman, 8/18).

20 Aug 2013

Docs prescribe more radiation if they have financial interest in it; Medicare's new e-prescribing ayment spurs use

Doctors who have a financial interest in prescribing radiation treatment do it more, a congressional study says. In the meantime, new Medicare payment incentives drive a rise in e-prescribing.

20 Aug 2013

Insurers seek clarity on who's responsible if consumers who receive subsidies don't pay their share

Insurance officials are asking the Obama administration to make clear who is responsible financially if people who get federal subsidies to buy health insurance don't pay their premiums.

20 Aug 2013

Full-time workers more likely to get kidney transplants

People in end-stage kidney failure in need of a kidney transplant are much less likely to be placed on a waiting list for a new kidney or to actually receive a new kidney once on the list if they are unemployed or work part time, according to new collaborative research from the University of New Hampshire.

20 Aug 2013

Medicare News and Research

Viewpoints: Health spending driving U.S. recovery; time to get rid of the insurance middle man

Report finds number of doctors accepting Medicare patients is up

Political hijinx surround government shutdown threat, push to defund health law

First Edition: August 22, 2013

Study looks at cost benefits of knee replacement surgery relative to societal, economic savings

USA Today probe finds thousands of docs practicing despite misconduct

Generic, therapeutic drug substitutions can help lower Medicare costs

State insurance exchanges go for flashy (or not) branding

Virginia's Medicaid panel meets, but covers little new ground

Viewpoints: Republican patient takes GOP health message to task; the deadlines the administration has missed

State highlights: Mental health contract raised costs in La., audit says

Sebelius urges Texas leaders to pitch plan to cover poor

Keeping NYC hospitals open becomes new issue in mayoral race

GAO: Postal health plan could add to retired workers' costs, impact Medicare

More patients suffer from complications after cancer surgery, but only few die

State highlights: Fort Worth to move retirees into Medicare advantage plans; Calif. preps Medi-Cal cuts; Calif. bill would help provide medical interpreters

Viewpoints: GOP trapped between angry base and reality of health law; small businesses 'scrambling;' competing views of Medicaid expansion in Va.

Docs prescribe more radiation if they have financial interest in it; Medicare's new e-prescribing ayment spurs use

Insurers seek clarity on who's responsible if consumers who receive subsidies don't pay their share

Full-time workers more likely to get kidney transplants

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