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Longer looks: Politicians play Whac-A-Mole with Medicare

Seven years later Robert was still mentally impaired and his personality far different than before the accident, but he knew his family, knew he had had a brain injury that upended their lives, and asked lots of questions. He carried with him at all times a reporter's notebook, in which he had written the information most important to him: his daughters' ages - 9 and 11 - and that he has "known my honey" 18 years.

13 Jan 2012

Study: Medicare Advantage Plans with perks like gym memberships attract healthier seniors

A new study, which was published by the New England Journal of Medicine, found 35.3 percent of new enrollees in a fitness membership benefit plan reported "excellent" or "very good" health, compared with 29.1 percent in the group without the gym membership benefit.

13 Jan 2012

ACO news: Cigna, Weill Cornell docs join forces; Pediatric ACO concept falls through the cracks

Yet even as the latest accountable care organization effort is announced, it appears that plans have stalled to create a Medicaid children's version of ACOs.

13 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Recession's effect on health spending; The flaws in raising Medicare eligibility age

Health care spending in the United States increased at the slowest rate in half a century in 2009 and 2010. ... That looks like good news after decades of soaring health care spending that outpaced economic growth. The hitch: the main factor was the recession that left millions of Americans unemployed, uninsured, short of income, and unable or unwilling to spend money on health care.

13 Jan 2012

Hospital lobbyists prepare push against doc-owned facilities; SGR 'dilemma' could play into efforts to pass a 'doc fix'

A provision to loosen restriction on physician-owned hospitals found its way into the December tax extension bill, making the national hospital lobby wary that it may be included in the House-Senate negotiations for a long-term compromise. Meanwhile, as always, efforts to repeal Medicare's SGR are complicated.

13 Jan 2012

Implementation efforts continue at the state level

In Virginia, Democratic lawmakers are pushing a proposal to establish a state-based exchange. These legislators see their plan, which is built on the argument that state action would keep the federal government from being involved, will draw support from others regardless of their feelings about the health law itself. Meanwhile, Montana's high-risk insurance pool is running out of cash.

12 Jan 2012

Raising Medicare's eligibility age would save money, but also shift costs

A new Congressional Budget Office estimate found the federal government could save $148 billion over 10 years by gradually increasing the Medicare age to 67.

12 Jan 2012

Medicaid cuts have patient advocates, states considering their options

Stateline reports that new federal rules that limit state options for cutting Medicaid have moved health care providers and patient advocates nearer to testing the legality of the cuts in court. In the meantime, Medicaid cuts and restructuring remain in play in dwindling state budgets as Oregon, Ohio and Kansas look for ways to save money in the state-federal health care program for the poor.

12 Jan 2012

House Dems urge GOP to go back to work on payroll tax break, 'doc fix'

The problem continues to be how to pay for the solutions. Meanwhile, Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif., a high-ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced he will not seek another congressional term. He has been a strong opponent of the administration's health overhaul.

12 Jan 2012

Geisinger announces it will not hire smokers

Also in hospital news, a Denver Hospital will pay $6.3 Million to settle overbilling allegations and officials at the University of Louisville Hospital look to Kentucky's governor for a financial plan.

12 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Slowing health care growth; Competing views of Romney

The headline is that health care spending grew at only 3.9 percent in 2010 - just .1 percent more than the rate of growth in 2009. Combine the numbers from 2009 and 2010 and we're looking at the slowest two-year rate of growth since the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began keeping tabs on these numbers 51 years ago.

12 Jan 2012

Study finds home-visit program could keep diabetes patients out of the hospital

A special Medicare program that stresses home health visits for patients with chronic diseases helped keep diabetes patients out of the hospital and may have lowered costs using time-honored prevention methods, researchers reported on Monday.

11 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 11, 2012

In today's headlines, the 26 states opposed to the health law have filed their Supreme Court arguments against the measure's Medicaid expansion.

11 Jan 2012

Prevalence of cirrhosis may climb among older Americans

Older patients with cirrhosis have significant functional disability, require twice the amount of informal caregiving, and contribute added strain on the health care system, according to U-M research published in Hepatology.

11 Jan 2012

Study reveals need for improvements in decision-making process for breast cancer surgery patients

According to the results of a new study published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, many early-stage breast cancer survivors lacked knowledge about their disease and were not meaningfully involved in treatment discussions or asked their preferences regarding the approach to treatment.

11 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Renewing the call for a public option; Keep all justices on health law case

In Washington, the three major health insurers - Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield and Group Health Cooperative - are sitting on a total of more than $2.4 billion above and beyond what they expect to ever pay out in claims.

11 Jan 2012

Health Affairs assesses real-world lifestyle interventions to help prevent diabetes

An Emory University study published in the January issue of Health Affairs assesses real-world lifestyle interventions to help delay or prevent the costly chronic disease that affects nearly 26 million Americans.

11 Jan 2012

In New Hampshire, Romney's comments draw fire from rivals

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is under the microscope for his comments during a campaign appearance in which he said he liked "being able to fire people." Romney made the comments while he was talking about why he wants people to be able to choose their own health insurance.

11 Jan 2012

2010 health spending grew slowly

This slowing of health spending brought the rate of growth in line with that of the U.S. economy. The Obama administration pointed to the new figures as evidence that the health law isn't making health care more expensive.

11 Jan 2012

Cirrhosis burden expected to climb in frail population

New research shows that older Americans with cirrhosis have significantly worse health status and greater functional disability compared to those without this potentially deadly disease. In fact, findings now published in Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that elderly patients with cirrhosis require twice the amount of informal caregiving and contribute added strain on the health care system. Given the increase in obesity and aging of those with hepatitis C (HCV), researchers expect the prevalence of cirrhosis to climb in this frail population.

10 Jan 2012

Medicare News and Research

Longer looks: Politicians play Whac-A-Mole with Medicare

Study: Medicare Advantage Plans with perks like gym memberships attract healthier seniors

ACO news: Cigna, Weill Cornell docs join forces; Pediatric ACO concept falls through the cracks

Viewpoints: Recession's effect on health spending; The flaws in raising Medicare eligibility age

Hospital lobbyists prepare push against doc-owned facilities; SGR 'dilemma' could play into efforts to pass a 'doc fix'

Implementation efforts continue at the state level

Raising Medicare's eligibility age would save money, but also shift costs

Medicaid cuts have patient advocates, states considering their options

House Dems urge GOP to go back to work on payroll tax break, 'doc fix'

Geisinger announces it will not hire smokers

Viewpoints: Slowing health care growth; Competing views of Romney

Study finds home-visit program could keep diabetes patients out of the hospital

First Edition: January 11, 2012

Prevalence of cirrhosis may climb among older Americans

Study reveals need for improvements in decision-making process for breast cancer surgery patients

Viewpoints: Renewing the call for a public option; Keep all justices on health law case

Health Affairs assesses real-world lifestyle interventions to help prevent diabetes

In New Hampshire, Romney's comments draw fire from rivals

2010 health spending grew slowly

Cirrhosis burden expected to climb in frail population

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