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Fiscal cliff boosts clinical data registries, but cuts some health care payments

CQ HealthBeat reports on a provision of the fiscal cliff law intended to encourage physicians to submit data to registries that could be a tool to promote better quality care. The Medicare NewsGroup analyzes another provision that changes how payments are calculated for end stage renal disease drugs.

11 Jan 2013

Report: U.S. could save $2T over a decade by encouraging cost-effective care

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund says the federal government could save $2 trillion on health care costs over a decade it if accelerates provider adoption of more-effective care.

11 Jan 2013

HHS inspector general: Still not many Medicare Advantage fraud probes despite big 2007 investigation

HHS says there aren't many investigations into fraud and abuse perpetrated by the nation's Medicare Advantage providers despite recent investigations that concluded four plans got nearly $600 million more in payment than they should have in 2007.

11 Jan 2013

Capitol Hill health policy news: Fact-checking Pelosi on Medicare; Senior GOP health adviser to leave House; Redefining rural doctor access

We are reluctant to re-litigate the rhetoric of the 2012 presidential campaign, but this comment by Rep. Nancy Pelosi about the House GOP budget jumped out at us. We had frequently written during the campaign about the misleading claim by Mitt Romney that President Obama had gutted more than $700 billion from Medicare to fund Obamacare.

11 Jan 2013

Roundup: Advocates watching Calif. budget for Medi-Cal cuts; Mich. AG to appeal same-sex health benefits ruling; Kansas city seeks to extend health care tax

Brown's proposed budget will outline his plans for expanding health coverage under the new federal health care law, which is set to require increased coverage beginning in January 2014. The law will put hundreds of thousands of new enrollees into California's public insurance program, but the governor has raised concerns about what that will cost.

11 Jan 2013

Longer looks: A key Hagel mission is to cut military health costs; Medical lessons from a mother's death; How they price - and how we pay for -a $300,000 medicine

As David Brooks and Paul Wolfowitz and many others have shown, it's easy to frame our messy fiscal conundrum in these simple terms of guns vs. butter, or rather, guns vs grandma's buttery-yellow, super-pricey heart medication.

11 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Rove says GOP unlikely to make much 'structural change' to entitlements; Roe anniversary and fading public understanding; Fast food workers' health insurance

As a matter of policy, rather than politics, it is no more sensible to draw the line at $620 billion in additional revenue over the next decade than to insist, as have some Democrats, that Medicare and Social Security remain untouched. The country's structural deficit poses too large a threat to future prosperity, and there is no politically or fiscally realistic scenario under which entitlement cuts alone can solve the problem.

11 Jan 2013

Former CMS head Berwick eyes run for Mass. governor

The former director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was a lightning rod for debate in Congress after Republicans accused him of supporting health care rationing, but he remains a respected health care expert.

11 Jan 2013

KHN analyzes regional variations in Medicare quality payment program

Fort Wayne, Ind., fared the best among the major health care markets, the analysis finds. Meanwhile, a new study of a plan to tie Medicare's payments to the quality of doctors' services suggests many physicians may face penalties.

11 Jan 2013

Medicare spends about as much screening for breast cancer as treating it -- $1B annually

Medicare spends $1 billion annually on breast cancer screening, a new study has found. Another report, this one from UnitedHealth, says changes to how the government coordinates patient care could save half a trillion dollars over a decade.

11 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: 'Accepted wisdom' about cutting entitlements disputed; Profit motive doesn't lead to good health care

It has become accepted economic wisdom that the only way to get control over America's looming budget deficits is to "reform entitlements." The accepted wisdom is wrong. ... Medicare and Medicaid costs are projected to soar. But here again, look closely and you'll see neither is really the problem. The underlying problem is the soaring cost of health care overall, combined with the aging of the boomer generation.

9 Jan 2013

First Edition: January 9, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Ankita Rao reports: "While most health-related deals on sites like Groupon and Living Social are for cosmetic procedures like Botox, providers also offer everyday medical, vision and dental services. Health and medical deals make up about 5 to 10 percent of the online coupon industry, according to Unaiz Kabani, data product manager at Yipit, a service that aggregates companies' daily deals"

9 Jan 2013

High court turns away challenge to Obama administration stem cell policy

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving Medicaid and malpractice awards. In addition, the justices rejected an appeal from Social Security recipients who don't want Medicare benefits.

9 Jan 2013

Report: U.S. health spending grew at record slow pace for third consecutive year

The country's health care bill tallied $2.7 trillion, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Some indicators, though, suggest the slowed growth may not last.

9 Jan 2013

Brown University receives Irene Diamond Fund gift to launch major initiative on healthy aging

Brown University's Program in Public Health has received a gift from the Irene Diamond Fund to launch a major initiative on healthy aging.

9 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Health care and the 'crushing federal debt;' Optimism about 'grand bargain;' Iowa's premium increase request

The largest issue America will face in 2013 is health care. And it will only get larger. As the national conversation changes, we'll find that by year-end we're talking about it all the time, whether the ostensible topic is politics, government, the economy, our jobs, or our families. Health care will be the unavoidable topic. Medicare and Medicaid are the biggest element of our most serious national problem: crushing federal debt.

9 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Fla. Gov. fears Medicaid expansion as Idaho, Missouri and Colorado wrestle with issue ; Few acceptable options for improving Medicare

Twenty-three states, most led by Republican officials, have declared that they will not set up their own health insurance exchanges to help individuals and small businesses find affordable coverage. ... Residents of states where political leaders seem bent on frustrating or sabotaging the health care reforms might well be better off with a federally run exchange.

8 Jan 2013

Medicare News and Research

Fiscal cliff boosts clinical data registries, but cuts some health care payments

Report: U.S. could save $2T over a decade by encouraging cost-effective care

HHS inspector general: Still not many Medicare Advantage fraud probes despite big 2007 investigation

Capitol Hill health policy news: Fact-checking Pelosi on Medicare; Senior GOP health adviser to leave House; Redefining rural doctor access

Roundup: Advocates watching Calif. budget for Medi-Cal cuts; Mich. AG to appeal same-sex health benefits ruling; Kansas city seeks to extend health care tax

Longer looks: A key Hagel mission is to cut military health costs; Medical lessons from a mother's death; How they price - and how we pay for -a $300,000 medicine

Viewpoints: Rove says GOP unlikely to make much 'structural change' to entitlements; Roe anniversary and fading public understanding; Fast food workers' health insurance

Former CMS head Berwick eyes run for Mass. governor

KHN analyzes regional variations in Medicare quality payment program

Medicare spends about as much screening for breast cancer as treating it -- $1B annually

Viewpoints: 'Accepted wisdom' about cutting entitlements disputed; Profit motive doesn't lead to good health care

First Edition: January 9, 2013

High court turns away challenge to Obama administration stem cell policy

Report: U.S. health spending grew at record slow pace for third consecutive year

Brown University receives Irene Diamond Fund gift to launch major initiative on healthy aging

Viewpoints: Health care and the 'crushing federal debt;' Optimism about 'grand bargain;' Iowa's premium increase request

Viewpoints: Fla. Gov. fears Medicaid expansion as Idaho, Missouri and Colorado wrestle with issue ; Few acceptable options for improving Medicare

Cost-ineffective drug prescribing practices revealed

State roundup: Mo. lawmakers look to cap malpractice awards

New study shows only few healthcare providers meet PQRS requirements

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

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