Medicare News and Research

RSS

First Edition: January 20, 2012

Today's headlines include dispatches detailing how health care played in last night's S.C. GOP presidential primary debate.

20 Jan 2012

House panel gives nod to CLASS Act repeal legislation

The House Ways and Means Committee approved legislation that would eliminate the health law's Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act. Though the Obama administration stopped the program's implementation last year, many Republicans still want to remove it from the books.

20 Jan 2012

Study finds older women can wait up to 15 years to repeat bone scans

Bone loss and osteoporosis develop so slowly in most women whose bones test normal at age 65 that many can safely wait as long as 15 years before having a second bone density test, researchers report in a new study. … Medicare pays for a bone density test every two years and many doctors have assumed that is the ideal interval, although national guidelines recommend them only at "regular intervals."

20 Jan 2012

Longer looks: Explaining Medicare's 'premium support'

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration convened a committee of medical experts to weigh new evidence concerning the potential dangers of drospirenone, a synthetic hormone contained in popular birth control pills including Bayer AG's Yaz and Yasmin. ... the committee concluded by a four-vote margin that the benefits of drugs with drospirenone outweigh the risks.

20 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Health care and the federal deficit; Doctors reassessing health law

We don't have a generalized overspending problem. We have a humongous health-care problem. … Try to ignore the current shallowness in American politics, if you can, and assume that the federal budget deficit will be among the major issues of the 2012 campaign. It certainly should be, for while everyone wants a lower deficit, the two parties have starkly different visions of how to get there.

20 Jan 2012

Roundup: State lawmakers urge deficit reduction

On Wednesday, the National Conference of State Legislatures, which represents lawmakers from across the country, sent President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a letter urging them to "examine all possible avenues for deficit reduction, including discretionary spending, entitlement reform and revenue-related options."

20 Jan 2012

New book focuses on improving care for chronic diseases

Why does health care need to be redesigned? First - the current system is broken. It costs too much, and too often yields little value for patients and society. Second - it's fixable. The editors and authors of Great Health Care - Making It Happen are convinced of it.

20 Jan 2012

Testing for osteoporosis – how often?

A new study shows that many women who get screened for osteoporosis may not need it. It suggests that the current guidelines result in too many unnecessary tests, increasing costs and sometimes spurring unnecessary treatment.

19 Jan 2012

New AACN Practice Alert on catheter-associated urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections account for nearly 40 percent of hospital-acquired infections in acute care hospitals, triggering increased hospital costs and higher patient morbidity and mortality rates. Compounding the toll of these infections, Medicaid, Medicare and many other payers no longer reimburse costs related to treatment because of their presumed preventability.

19 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 19, 2012

Today's headlines include news about a health exchange progress report from the White House and the latest activity on the GOP presidential primary campaign trail.

19 Jan 2012

Extending payroll tax cut tops Congressional to-do list

A quick deal on this legislative challenge could result in a short-term Medicare "doc fix" and raises red flags for hospitals, which fear reimbursements could be cut.

19 Jan 2012

Hawaii surgeons successfully implant FDA-approved eye telescope for AMD

A team of surgeons from Hawaii, Dr. Michael Bennett of Retina Institute of Hawaii and Dr. Michael McMann of McMann Institute, has successfully implanted the FDA-approved eye telescope, a first in Hawaii, at one of the leading medical centers in Honolulu.

19 Jan 2012

Economic burden of job-related injuries and illnesses in the U.S.

In the first comprehensive review of its kind since 1992, a UC Davis researcher has estimated the national annual price tag of occupational injuries and illnesses at $250 billion, much higher than generally assumed.

19 Jan 2012

Watson introduces new oral contraceptive, Vestura

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Watson Pharma, Inc. has launched Vestura(TM), a generic version of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Yaz(R) oral contraceptive product.

18 Jan 2012

GOP presidential primary candidates clash in S.C. debate, on the airwaves

Republican candidate Rick Santorum is unveiling a new ad that will compare rival Mitt Romney to President Barack Obama, citing the Massachusetts health law Romney signed while governor.

18 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 18, 2012

In today's headlines, a report about the number of people in the U.S. who live in households receiving government benefits.

18 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Health care is a civil right; A Medicare strategy based on Lenin

Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy is one of progress toward a better life for every American, including equal opportunity in voting, housing, education, and employment. Reflecting on his legacy also means recognizing the steps we must take to address the inequalities that persist. Many of these involve health care. Poor and minority Americans suffer from more preventable diseases on average, lower-quality care, fewer treatment options, and less health insurance coverage.

18 Jan 2012

California single-payer system has another go before Senate committee

A proposal to institute a single-payer health care system in California has found its way to a key state Senate committee. The proposal, which would cover all Californians through a state-run health insurance program, died in the Senate Appropriations Committee in California last year.

18 Jan 2012

Ore. Governor proposes 'coordinated care organizations' to reform state's Medicaid program

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is proposing to change the state's iteration of Medicaid by ending its fee-for-service model and instituting "coordinated care organizations" to manage patients' chronic care to keep them out of hospital rooms.

18 Jan 2012

Video: Romney calls health law 'fourth entitlement'

In this Kaiser Health News video clip, taking from last night's GOP presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, front-runner Mitt Romney described his approach to Medicare, which includes charging wealthier recipients more and including 'premium supports.' He also attacked the health law, the only candidate on the stage to discuss the law. Former Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich both challenged Romney. The S.C. primary is on Saturday.

18 Jan 2012