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States awarded over $296M for ensuring more children have health coverage

More than $296 million was awarded to states for ensuring more children have health coverage, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

29 Dec 2011

GOP struggles to find replacement plan for health law

More than a year after Republicans first pledged to "repeal and replace" President Obama's new health-care law, the GOP is still struggling to answer a basic question. Replace it . . . with what?

29 Dec 2011

New report on shortfalls in Medicaid funding for Ohio SNFs

As skilled nursing facility (SNF) providers across Ohio face 2012, a new report reveals the depth of their financial challenges. Medicaid, the health program for low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities, underfunded Ohio SNFs by $262 million, or $14.31 per patient per day, in 2009.

26 Dec 2011

Oregon hospitals lose battle against new law; Pittsburgh hospital, insurer reach agreement

The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems lost an attempt to stop the implementation of a new law that will reduce their outpatient reimbursements by up to 50% starting January 1.

23 Dec 2011

House, Senate pass two-month extension bill

The House and Senate on Friday approved a two-month extension of the payroll-tax cut, averting an increase that would have left workers with less take-home pay next year.

23 Dec 2011

Medicare spending growth slows, but 2011 a profitable year for Medicare Advantage plans

Medicare spending growth is slowing, even as enrollment rises, The Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, several large Medicare Advantage plans turned a mighty profit in 2011, despite the volatility of the larger economy.

23 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Picking the 'right fights'; Sebelius's 'special place' in history

Republicans do need to fight for their priorities, but it helps to pick the right fights. They should return in 2012 ready to make their differences clear on taxes, health care, regulation, and how to grow an economy (12/23).

23 Dec 2011

Research roundup: Unraveling why elderly men are tested for prostate cancer; Difficulty paying medical bills

Medical Center Characteristics Associated With PSA Screenings In Elderly Veterans With Limited Life Expectancy -- Medical guidelines recommend against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings for prostate cancer in men with limited life expectancy, but studies have shown that many elderly men still get the test.

23 Dec 2011

House GOP leaders accept short-term payroll tax cut extension

In an abrupt about-face, House Republican leaders agreed Thursday to a Senate proposal to extend the payroll tax cut and avert a scheduled payment cut to Medicare doctors for two months to allow lawmakers time to hammer out a longer-term agreement after the holidays.

23 Dec 2011

GOP pauses 'doc fix' fight, averts 27 percent Medicare pay cut

The House GOP leadership's agreement to a Senate proposal averts a 27 percent paycut to doctors scheduled to take effect in January. The deal delays the cut until March 1, and lawmakers hope to hammer out an agreement on a longer-term fix to the payment formula before then.

23 Dec 2011

Investigation finds shell companies stealing millions from Medicare

Reuters reports on rampant Medicare fraud and the development of new technologies that can be used to fight it.

23 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 23, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a variety of stories about a tax plan agreement reached on Capitol Hill that will keep Medicare's doctor reimbursements from falling for two months.

23 Dec 2011

Democrats, Republicans stand their ground on 'doc fix' positions

Congressional Democratic leaders pan the idea of a stand-alone bill for Medicare physician payments, while Republicans continue to insist on a full-year fix.

23 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Republicans' 'gift' to Obama; Essential benefits rule a 'lump of coal'

One photo snapped Wednesday on Capitol Hill captured the essence of Congress in 2011. It showed a group of senior House Republicans sitting on one side of a long table, waiting for their Senate counterparts to show up for a negotiating session the House had demanded. ... What viewers should really have seen in the photo was the Republican leadership team whose miscalculations may soon cause payroll taxes to go up - and unemployment benefits to be truncated, and payment rates to Medicare doctors slashed. That's on the verge of happening.

23 Dec 2011

Senate, House at impasse on payroll tax timing

With no endgame in sight to prevent a looming payroll tax hike, President Obama and congressional leaders took turns trying to convince Americans that they were hard at work to save the tax break - even though Congress has essentially closed for the holidays. ... But finding consensus is easier said than done. Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over how to pay for the legislation.

23 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 22, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including articles on the Capitol Hill stalemate that threatens to cut Medicare payments to doctors and government efforts to keep details of a research experiment on bird flu secret.

22 Dec 2011

Federal officials extend Medicaid waiver for Mass.

The federal government on Tuesday extended a Medicaid waiver in Massachusetts, which was first implemented as part of then-Gov. Mitt Romney's healthcare overhaul. The waiver will now run through 2014. It is focused primarily on efforts to improve the cost and quality of the Medicaid program and better coordinate care. The waiver provides incentives for hospitals to improve their efforts to integrate their services.

22 Dec 2011

PolitiFact's 2011 Lie of the Year: 'Mediscare'

This marks the third year in a row that a health care claim has won this title. This time around, the Democrats take the prize for their assertions that Republicans had advanced policies to "end Medicare."

22 Dec 2011

Without resolution on payroll tax cut or 'doc fix,' congress packs up

House Republicans rejected the deal - approved by the Senate before it adjourned for the holidays - to extend the payroll tax cut. This event is the latest in a chain of ongoing congressional sagas marked by questions of what the government should fund and how it pay for it.

22 Dec 2011

Romney, Obama on the attack

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney used a TV appearance to take on rival candidate Newt Gingrich regarding a range of policy and political issues. Meanwhile, aides to President Barack Obama blasted Romney for shying away from the similarities between Massachusetts' health reforms and the 2010 health law. Negative ads also flood the Iowa airwaves.

22 Dec 2011