Medicare News and Research

RSS

Appeals court reverses conviction of drug sales rep who talked about off-label uses

In a case that could have broad ramifications for the pharmaceutical industry, a federal appeals court on Monday threw out the conviction of a sales representative who sold a drug for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The judges said that the ban on so-called off-label marketing violated the representative's freedom of speech.

5 Dec 2012

Study: Medicare pay may cause hospices to discourage enrollment of high-cost patients

Many hospices may be discouraging enrollment for the highest cost treatments, and Medicare's way of paying them may be part of the problem, a new study finds.

5 Dec 2012

Study calls for reform of Medicare reimbursement rates and hospice eligibility requirements

In the first national survey of enrollment policies at hospices, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Yale University have found that the vast majority of hospices in the United States have at least one enrollment policy that could restrict access for terminally ill Medicare patients with high-cost medical needs.

5 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: David Brooks' formula to avoid Cliff; Krugman says control costs, don't cut coverage

Republicans should go to the White House and say they are willing to see top tax rates go up to 36 percent or 37 percent and they are willing to forgo a debt-ceiling fight for this year.

5 Dec 2012

Roe, Gingrey to lead GOP doctors caucus

Meanwhile, The Hill reports that House Republicans are likely to embrace the same Medicare cuts that GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had assailed President Barack Obama over, but which are likely to be included again in the House Republican budget. And Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., is getting encouragement to head the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

4 Dec 2012

Scheduled Medicare doctor pay cut could be just a few weeks away

Medscape and The Connecticut Mirror covered the looming 26.5 percent cut, mandated by the SGR law.

4 Dec 2012

Leapfrog Group names Kaiser Permanente among 2012 Top Hospitals

Seventeen Kaiser Permanente hospitals – 10 in Northern California and seven in Southern California – have been named 2012 "Top Hospitals" by the Leapfrog Group, an honor that rewards medical centers for their outstanding success in areas such as reducing infection rates, safety practices, mortality rates for common procedures and measures of efficiency.

4 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Disputing Obama's and GOP's commitment to cutting spending and avoiding fiscal cliff

President Obama has said he wants to reform entitlements eventually, someday, after Republicans raise taxes. Republicans want the President to sign on to serious reform now as part of any deal, since AARP and the left will kill anything that isn't passed immediately. Given the political difficulty of reforming entitlements, Republicans are right to try to get Mr. Obama's fingerprints on such a deal this year.

4 Dec 2012

Roundup: Iowa Gov. proposes insurance premium hike for state workers; Mental health care fund questioned in Calif.

Proposition 63, which voters approved in 2004, was touted as a way to address serious mental illnesses in California, but in the years since, critics -- including some of the original supporters -- have argued that it has gone off the rails in its implementation.

3 Dec 2012

Diabetes tests: an interview with Dr. Danielle Stowasser

Diabetes is a serious condition that causes high levels of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which are lifelong conditions, and gestational diabetes, which only occurs in women during pregnancy.

3 Dec 2012

Hospice Compassus publicly reveals patient quality data

Hospice Compassus, a Nashville, Tenn.-based company that operates a nationwide network of hospice programs, has become the first hospice provider in the U.S. to publicly reveal patient quality data.

3 Dec 2012

'Fiscal Cliff' talks morphing into high-stakes game of political chicken

White House negotiators and GOP lawmakers remain at odds over a deficit-reduction plan with only weeks to go before automatic spending cuts and tax increases are triggered.

3 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 3, 2012

For years, King/Drew provided emergency, trauma and inpatient care to residents from throughout South Los Angeles. After a series of medical errors resulted in patient deaths, Los Angeles County closed it in 2007. County officials promised the community a better, safer new medical center in a few years.

3 Dec 2012

Fiscal cliff: Dems, GOP sparring publicly over entitlement cuts, including Medicare

President Barack Obama is ready to entertain Republican proposals for spending cuts, but GOP lawmakers must first commit to higher tax rates on the rich and specify what additional spending cuts they want in a deal to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. "The ball really is with them now," Geithner, one of the president's chief negotiators with Capitol Hill, said during appearances on five Sunday talk shows.

2 Dec 2012

Decoding Part D marketing and other news

Choosing a Medicare Prescription Drug plan is a tricky business. Most beneficiaries go for the cheapest monthly premium, but this can be a big mistake, especially for those with unusual or expensive medications.

1 Dec 2012

White House fiscal plan draws cool GOP response

The proposal reflects Democratic priorities, focusing on stimulus spending and unspecified spending cuts this year, and legislation in 2013 that would cut as much as $400 billion from Medicare and other government entitlement programs over the next decade in exchange for $1.6 trillion in tax increases.

1 Dec 2012

Fiscal crisis, thoughts of sequestration cause provider angst

If the "fiscal cliff's" scheduled cuts take effect, physicians will face a 2 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements. Separately, however, they also are confronting a 27 percent pay cut as a result of the failure to fix the Medicare physician payment formula.

1 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Fighting to a draw on Medicare; A coming era of austerity

Since Nov. 6, Republicans have, for perfectly understandable reasons, expressed their deep disappointment with the election results. But even in defeat something significant and positive occurred: Republicans fought Democrats to a draw on the issue of Medicare.

1 Dec 2012

GAO: Medicaid payment information late, inconsistent

The Government Accountability Office's report examined two Medicaid databases.

1 Dec 2012

State highlights: Ruling on privatizing Fla. prison care expected soon; 7-year antitrust suit settled in Fla.; Calif. insurers seek rate hikes

A Florida judge quoted from Sherlock Holmes and conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Thursday as he questioned the state's plan to privatize prison health care services.

30 Nov 2012

Medicare News and Research

Appeals court reverses conviction of drug sales rep who talked about off-label uses

Study: Medicare pay may cause hospices to discourage enrollment of high-cost patients

Study calls for reform of Medicare reimbursement rates and hospice eligibility requirements

Viewpoints: David Brooks' formula to avoid Cliff; Krugman says control costs, don't cut coverage

Roe, Gingrey to lead GOP doctors caucus

Scheduled Medicare doctor pay cut could be just a few weeks away

Leapfrog Group names Kaiser Permanente among 2012 Top Hospitals

Viewpoints: Disputing Obama's and GOP's commitment to cutting spending and avoiding fiscal cliff

Roundup: Iowa Gov. proposes insurance premium hike for state workers; Mental health care fund questioned in Calif.

Diabetes tests: an interview with Dr. Danielle Stowasser

Hospice Compassus publicly reveals patient quality data

'Fiscal Cliff' talks morphing into high-stakes game of political chicken

First Edition: December 3, 2012

Fiscal cliff: Dems, GOP sparring publicly over entitlement cuts, including Medicare

Decoding Part D marketing and other news

White House fiscal plan draws cool GOP response

Fiscal crisis, thoughts of sequestration cause provider angst

Viewpoints: Fighting to a draw on Medicare; A coming era of austerity

GAO: Medicaid payment information late, inconsistent

State highlights: Ruling on privatizing Fla. prison care expected soon; 7-year antitrust suit settled in Fla.; Calif. insurers seek rate hikes

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) eBook

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

Latest News