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Minn. House's exchange bill faces challenges with Senate and Governor

The plan to create a state insurance marketplace includes some abortion restrictions that are expected to meet resistance.

7 Mar 2013

Obama reaches out to rank-and-file Republicans to make deal

Though the Obama administration and congressional Republicans are working to minimize the pinch of the sequester's short-term spending cuts, both sides are preparing for another Medicare battle.

7 Mar 2013

Ryan's Medicare plan said to back away from age cutoff

News organizations report that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is expected to exempt people 55 years old and older from his Medicare overhaul - despite his personal preference to raise that age to 56.

7 Mar 2013

Feds to kick off campaign to reach uninsured in July

Politico reports that the Obama administration will begin a pitch to enroll the uninsured beginning in July.

7 Mar 2013

Technology aids, such as electronic alerts, may help prevent missed diagnoses

But the authors of the analysis of past studies on electronic-based patient safety efforts say few of those studies have tracked direct improvements to patient health, Reuters reports.

7 Mar 2013

Emerging healthcare policy aims at reducing preventable hospital readmissions

Reducing preventable hospital readmissions is a cornerstone of emerging healthcare policy. The U.S. government has developed payment policies that will decrease payments to hospitals with excess patient readmission levels, for example.

7 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Doctors, nurses not reaping same health care 'bonanzas' as other providers; House GOP spending plan doesn't solve budget problems

When I followed the money trail in Time magazine's story "A Bitter Pill" behind the drugs, medical devices or CT scan equipment that the patients or their insurance companies were billed for, the profit margins for the hospitals that supplied them, as high as they were, were eclipsed by the margins of the manufacturers that sold them to the hospitals.

6 Mar 2013

Improved bariatric surgery outcomes not due to restricted Medicare coverage

Substantial improvements in perioperative outcomes of bariatric surgery over the past decade are not attributable to a restriction in Medicare coverage to patients receiving the weight loss operation at centers of excellence, report researchers.

6 Mar 2013

After sequester, what comes next?

News outlets report that the next step for some GOP lawmakers will revolve around a budget plan that will end deficits by 2023. Along those lines, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has suggested a change in his Medicare plan.

6 Mar 2013

Activists, lawmakers wrestle with Medicaid expansion

This aspect of the health law is a hot topic in Texas, Florida, California and Missouri -- among other places.

6 Mar 2013

Explaining the factors behind health care spending's modest increases

USA Today analyzes this trend and details some of the reasons that could be driving it.

6 Mar 2013

Inspector General finds unclear definition, enforcement of 'conflict of interest' may alter Medicare coverage decisions

Deciding which drugs will be covered by Medicare can influence huge amounts of spending, but government officials do little to police conflict of interest among doctors and pharmacists who make those decisions, federal investigators said Monday.

6 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Disappointing 'surprises' in health law; Cuts in graduate medical training threatens physician supply; Va. can afford Medicaid expansion

The proposed 2.3 percent reduction in (Medicare Advantage plan) payments, which comes on top of cuts already scheduled under the Affordable Care Act, pays no mind to the potential impact on quality of care throughout the program. These cuts will apply to all plans no matter the value they bring in providing quality care to beneficiaries or offering innovative solutions that could ultimately be scaled and applied to the broader program.

5 Mar 2013

Health law implementation largely untouched by automatic spending cuts

The Associated Press reports that only a small fraction of the overhaul's funding is subject to the sequester's cuts. Meanwhile, the Obama administration indicates that insurers will have to report rate increases no matter how small and offers rules to clarify other provisions.

5 Mar 2013

Commission urges big changes in Medicare doctor pay, including the elimination of fee-for-service approach

The panel, the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform, released a dozen recommendations to ultimately change how physicians are paid.

5 Mar 2013

Hospital costs under microscope

An article that appeared in Time Magazine, "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us," has fueled a new round of discussions about health care cost excesses -- especially in the hospital setting.

5 Mar 2013

Automatic budget cuts lead Republicans to sharpen focus on Medicare cost-cutting plans

With the deadline for averting sequestration having come and gone, lawmakers and the White House are jockeying for position in the next round of budget battles.

5 Mar 2013

Medicare patients enrolled in hospice receive better care at lower cost

Medicare patients who enrolled in hospice received better care at a significantly lower cost to the government than those who did not use the Medicare hospice benefit.

5 Mar 2013

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

For the first time in more than 20 years, there was a decrease in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs — primarily pills people take to treat more common diseases such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure — according to new data released today by Express Scripts.

5 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Daschle, Frist urge Senate to confirm CMS chief; 'Insane' incentives in health law; Medicaid does better job than private insurance so why change it?

Imagine a large company operating for seven years without a CEO. A company with a product that accounts for more than 15 percent of our nation's gross domestic product. A company implementing the largest national effort at reform since its creation. A company set to gain an additional 30 million customers in the next year. Unfathomable.

4 Mar 2013

Medicare News and Research

Minn. House's exchange bill faces challenges with Senate and Governor

Obama reaches out to rank-and-file Republicans to make deal

Ryan's Medicare plan said to back away from age cutoff

Feds to kick off campaign to reach uninsured in July

Technology aids, such as electronic alerts, may help prevent missed diagnoses

Emerging healthcare policy aims at reducing preventable hospital readmissions

Viewpoints: Doctors, nurses not reaping same health care 'bonanzas' as other providers; House GOP spending plan doesn't solve budget problems

Improved bariatric surgery outcomes not due to restricted Medicare coverage

After sequester, what comes next?

Activists, lawmakers wrestle with Medicaid expansion

Explaining the factors behind health care spending's modest increases

Inspector General finds unclear definition, enforcement of 'conflict of interest' may alter Medicare coverage decisions

Viewpoints: Disappointing 'surprises' in health law; Cuts in graduate medical training threatens physician supply; Va. can afford Medicaid expansion

Health law implementation largely untouched by automatic spending cuts

Commission urges big changes in Medicare doctor pay, including the elimination of fee-for-service approach

Hospital costs under microscope

Automatic budget cuts lead Republicans to sharpen focus on Medicare cost-cutting plans

Medicare patients enrolled in hospice receive better care at lower cost

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

Viewpoints: Daschle, Frist urge Senate to confirm CMS chief; 'Insane' incentives in health law; Medicaid does better job than private insurance so why change it?

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