Medicare News and Research

RSS

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

Coronary artery bypass grafting safe for dialysis patients

Among the two available procedures for opening blocked arteries surrounding the heart, one appears to be safer than the other for dialysis patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

30 Nov 2012

Diabetes education critical for uncontrolled high blood sugar people with cancer

When people with Type 2 diabetes are diagnosed with cancer -- a disease for which they are at higher risk -- they ignore their diabetes care to focus on cancer treatment, according to new Northwestern Medicine- research. But uncontrolled high blood sugar is more likely to kill them and impairs their immune system's ability to fight cancer.

30 Nov 2012

Several health law provisions take effect in New Year

While health exchanges and the Medicaid expansion grab most of the headlines, media outlets explore other, lesser-known provisions soon to take effect.

30 Nov 2012

Medicare, other entitlement programs key to 'fiscal cliff' deal

Politico reports that "inside the talks," a framework for addressing the "fiscal cliff" is taking shape that includes both tax increases and entitlement cuts. Other news outlets note that publicly, President Barack Obama is playing down spending cuts, while GOP leaders demand entitlement reductions but offer few specifics.

30 Nov 2012

First Edition: November 30, 2012

Today's headlines include news about the continuing partisan back and forth regarding "fiscal cliff" negotiations as well as reports on the health law's implementation.

30 Nov 2012

Republican top docs take helm of House Energy and Commerce oversight panel

In other news from the Hill, lawmakers called for stepping up the fight against Medicare fraud during a Wednesday Capitol Hill hearing.

30 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: GOP attack on Medicare, Medicaid could hurt critical programs; Will says Obama is repeating his overreach on health care

Congressional Republicans are insisting that big cuts to Medicare and Medicaid be on the table in the negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff and deficit reduction. That stance is largely a political move against two programs, which have been critical to the public welfare for the past half-century.

30 Nov 2012

EHS reports addition of 78,000 new members to Central Valley operations

EHS Medical Group reported today the addition of 78,000 new members to their Central Valley operations. The growth makes Central Valley the company's single largest region by membership outside of Los Angeles County.

30 Nov 2012

Aetna announced participation in New York State's managed long-term care program

Aetna Better Health of New York today announced its participation in New York State's managed long-term care (MLTC) program. Aetna Better Health of New York, an Aetna Medicaid company, will serve people eligible for the state program in three New York City boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens—as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

30 Nov 2012

Longer looks: Are 'pods' the solution to our long-term care crisis?; A Liver transplant in the nick of time; Pro-life activists and the abortion drop

In November 2006, when Clara Marshall began suffering from the effects of dementia, her family moved her into ... an assisted living home in Vancouver, Wash. ... just five months into her stay, Ms. Marshall, 81, was found dead in her room apparently strangled after getting her neck caught in side rails used to prevent her from rolling out of bed.

29 Nov 2012

States confront menu of Medicaid changes

A two-year payment hike for primary care doctors who treat Medicaid patients, called for by the health care law, might not happen without a struggle in Florida. Meanwhile, Kansas waits to hear back from the feds on its proposal to change Medicaid, and New Hampshire officials seek more money for their program.

29 Nov 2012

Party lines on entitlement programs play role in 'fiscal cliff' negotiations

Congressional leaders signal they are making progress in "fiscal cliff" talks. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., urged his party to back an immediate extension of Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 and focus on tax breaks for higher-income people later. Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, said that Medicare and other federal health care programs should be part of long-term solutions, but not a short-term deal.

29 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Republicans offer 'nonconcessions' in fiscal talks; Obama must lead Democrats to entitlement cuts

Congressional Republicans seem to think they are being flexible on taxes simply because a few of them have grudgingly admitted that some new revenues can be part of the current fiscal negotiations. We're unimpressed. … In exchange for these nonconcessions, Republicans want vast cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and other programs that benefit the middle class and the poor.

29 Nov 2012

Medicare News and Research

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

Coronary artery bypass grafting safe for dialysis patients

Diabetes education critical for uncontrolled high blood sugar people with cancer

Several health law provisions take effect in New Year

Medicare, other entitlement programs key to 'fiscal cliff' deal

First Edition: November 30, 2012

Republican top docs take helm of House Energy and Commerce oversight panel

Viewpoints: GOP attack on Medicare, Medicaid could hurt critical programs; Will says Obama is repeating his overreach on health care

EHS reports addition of 78,000 new members to Central Valley operations

Aetna announced participation in New York State's managed long-term care program

Longer looks: Are 'pods' the solution to our long-term care crisis?; A Liver transplant in the nick of time; Pro-life activists and the abortion drop

States confront menu of Medicaid changes

Party lines on entitlement programs play role in 'fiscal cliff' negotiations

Viewpoints: Republicans offer 'nonconcessions' in fiscal talks; Obama must lead Democrats to entitlement cuts

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

Latest News