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El Lilly calls for Medicare coverage of beta-amyloid imaging agents for Alzheimer's disease

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a draft decision proposing Coverage with Evidence Development for the use of beta-amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents. Beta-amyloid imaging agents are used to evaluate patients with cognitive impairment for Alzheimer's Disease and other causes of cognitive decline.

5 Jul 2013

Viewpoints on Medicare: Advantage program offers roadmap to improving the program; Rare bipartisan support for doctor pay fix

Concern about the size and cost of Medicare is understandable. With 10,000 or so baby boomers due to reach age 65 every day for the next 18 years, Medicare enrollment is exploding, and based on our projections, by 2023 -- 10 years from now -- should reach 66 million, up from 50.3. The need to find better ways to deliver quality health care to seniors at a reasonable cost is obvious. What's interesting is that an effective way to do this already exists: the Medicare Advantage program, which some in Washington are seeking to curtail (Daniel Gorlin and John Kaplan, 7/2).

4 Jul 2013

State highlights: Docs prescribe narcotics too often, CDC chief says; Fla. hospices get close scrutiny; Calif. Medi-Cal provider rate bump delayed

The nation's top public health official on Tuesday sharply criticized the widespread treatment of aches and pains with narcotics, saying that doctors are prescribing such drugs too soon, too often and for too long -- putting patients at risk of addiction and overdose. Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that doctors are relying on these powerful drugs to treat chronic pain when physical therapy, exercise and other remedies would be safer and in many cases more effective (Girion and Glover, 7/2).

4 Jul 2013

Short on funds, HHS failed to investigate 1,200 fraud cases last year

HHS was unable to investigate 1,200 cases of suspected Medicare or Medicaid fraud last year because the watchdog agency inside the department is stretched so thin.

4 Jul 2013

Researchers develop program to reduce hospital readmissions by more than half

When a Medicare patient heads home from the hospital, the last thing they want is to be part of the revolving door of readmission that costs the healthcare industry and Medicare billions of dollars each year.

4 Jul 2013

MAXIMUS customer contact centers achieve Center of Excellence distinction

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that its New York Physician Profile and New Jersey Health Care Profile operations have been recognized as "Certified Centers of Excellence" by BenchmarkPortal.

3 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 3, 2013

Today's headlines detail the Obama administration announcement that it would delay the health law rule requiring businesses provide insurance to workers.

3 Jul 2013

Telemonitoring with pharmacist management improves and maintains BP control

An intervention that consisted of home blood pressure (BP) telemonitoring with pharmacist management resulted in improvements in BP control and decreases in BP during 12 months, compared with usual care, and improvement in BP that was maintained for 6 months following the intervention, according to a study in the July 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Jul 2013

IG report: $543 million in Medicare overpayments remain uncollected

USA Today reports that the inspector general's report noted that one of the factors keeping the government from recouping these funds was problems with a new accounting system. Meanwhile, Modern Healthcare reports that these types of overpayments are some of the most difficult to collect.

3 Jul 2013

LCS, CareSouth announce joint venture partnership in Health at Home

LCS, a national leader in senior lifestyle services and senior living community development and management, and CareSouth®, a leading regional provider of home health services, are pleased to announce a joint venture partnership in Health at Home, An LCS Company.

3 Jul 2013

Many uninsured don't know they must buy coverage next year

News outlets report on a poll finding that more than 40 percent of the uninsured are unaware they could be required to buy health coverage in 2014, while another study calculates how many young people are benefiting from the provision allowing adult children to stay on their parents' policies up to age 26.

3 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 2, 2013

Today's headlines include various reports about changes afoot in the insurance marketplace.

2 Jul 2013

Research roundup: 'Welcome-mat' effect of Medicaid expansion; Setting up shops; California's transition to Medicaid managed care

The number of people eligible for Medicaid who remain uninsured varies from state to state, according to the authors. But the federal health law is likely to increase the rate of enrollment for this group. The potential impact of this increase in Medicaid enrollment, also known as the 'welcome-mat' effect, is unclear.

2 Jul 2013

Hospitals, doctors consider changes amid Medicare hospital readmissions scrutiny

Hospitals and doctors are feeling the health care law heat as officials try to reduce readmissions and increase quality of care in the Medicare program. PBS NewsHour looks at the law's hospital readmissions penalties and Medpage Today explains what the hospitals are doing.

2 Jul 2013

Study shows that PCCs can reverse blood thinning effects of XARELTO in healthy subjects

Janssen Research & Development, LLC announced today results of an open label, single-center, parallel group study showing that a type of medication called prothrombin complex concentrates can reverse the blood thinning effects of XARELTO (rivaroxaban) in healthy subjects.

2 Jul 2013

Budget cuts likely to undermine Medicare anti-fraud efforts

Center For Public Integrity: Medicare Fraud Outrunning Enforcement Efforts Citing massive budget and staff cuts, federal officials are set to scale back or drop a host of investigations into Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse - even though cracking down on government waste and cutting health care costs have been top priorities for the Obama administration.

2 Jul 2013

NPC and George Washington SPHHS selects recipient of two-year fellowship in CER policy

The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) and the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) today announced the selection of Chuck Shih, Ph.D., as the recipient of a new two-year fellowship in comparative effectiveness research (CER) policy.

2 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 1, 2013

Today's headlines include a variety of weekend news reports, including coverage of the Obama administration's final contraceptive coverage rule as well as a range of other stories on health law implementation issues.

1 Jul 2013

MAXIMUS completes acquisition of Health Management Limited

MAXIMUS (NYSE:MMS) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Health Management Limited, an independent provider of occupational health care services in the United Kingdom.

1 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: The entitlement crisis is not over; VA needs to deal more effectively with mental health issues; Iowa gives governor new abortion duty

Americans are used to hearing that health care will bust the budget. The Congressional Budget Office projected last year that Medicare, Medicaid and other government health programs would eat up 9.6 percent to 10.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product by 2037, crowding out many other vital programs. But a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development suggests that the United States is not the only country that will struggle to contain public spending on medical care (Eduardo Porter, 6/27).

29 Jun 2013

Medicare News and Research

El Lilly calls for Medicare coverage of beta-amyloid imaging agents for Alzheimer's disease

Viewpoints on Medicare: Advantage program offers roadmap to improving the program; Rare bipartisan support for doctor pay fix

State highlights: Docs prescribe narcotics too often, CDC chief says; Fla. hospices get close scrutiny; Calif. Medi-Cal provider rate bump delayed

Short on funds, HHS failed to investigate 1,200 fraud cases last year

Researchers develop program to reduce hospital readmissions by more than half

MAXIMUS customer contact centers achieve Center of Excellence distinction

First Edition: July 3, 2013

Telemonitoring with pharmacist management improves and maintains BP control

IG report: $543 million in Medicare overpayments remain uncollected

LCS, CareSouth announce joint venture partnership in Health at Home

Many uninsured don't know they must buy coverage next year

First Edition: July 2, 2013

Research roundup: 'Welcome-mat' effect of Medicaid expansion; Setting up shops; California's transition to Medicaid managed care

Hospitals, doctors consider changes amid Medicare hospital readmissions scrutiny

Study shows that PCCs can reverse blood thinning effects of XARELTO in healthy subjects

Budget cuts likely to undermine Medicare anti-fraud efforts

NPC and George Washington SPHHS selects recipient of two-year fellowship in CER policy

First Edition: July 1, 2013

MAXIMUS completes acquisition of Health Management Limited

Viewpoints: The entitlement crisis is not over; VA needs to deal more effectively with mental health issues; Iowa gives governor new abortion duty

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