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CVS Caremark, Dovetail Health partner to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions

Industry research finds that one in five seniors are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, representing a prevalent and costly issue for health plan sponsors. Moreover, it is estimated that nearly 70 percent of adverse health events that take place after hospital discharge are related to medication management issues.

29 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 29, 2011

In today's headlines, reports that a Supreme Court ruling on the 2010 health law is now likely before the 2012 presidential election.

29 Sep 2011

Costs of premiums for employer-provided health insurance jump

A study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average annual premium for family coverage was 9 percent higher in 2011 than in the previous year. Although many benefit analysts say the federal health law's requirements played only a small part in the rise, the results could provide political fodder for the law's supporters and opponents.

29 Sep 2011

ACOs: Will feds be ready for the start date?

Health care stakeholders and lobbyists are increasingly convinced that CMS will not make the Jan. 1 deadline for launching the flagship accountable care organization program mandated by the Affordable Care Act as release of the final rule slips later into the fall.

29 Sep 2011

National Partnership for Women & Families, ACP commend Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the National Partnership for Women & Families joined today to commend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the announcement of the new Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative.

29 Sep 2011

Hospitals fall short in efforts to curb readmissions

A Dartmouth Atlas report that studied Medicare beneficiaries concluded that hospital readmission rates are largely static. Facilities will face financial penalities next year if they do not improve their statistics.

29 Sep 2011

Debt panel operates in secret, eyes 'dual eligibles' as possible source of savings

The 'super committee' is taking a look at proposals to reduce spending on this population, which qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid and is made up of the sickest and poorest American citizens. In the background, the New York Times examines what congressional "short-term fixes" say about the legislative body.

29 Sep 2011

WSJ: Federal judge advances medical records case

The lawsuit, brought by the newspaper's publisher, seeks to overturn an injunction that keeps the public from being able to see Medicare billing records. In related news, The Fiscal Times examines Medicare waste and improper payments.

29 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Blocking, replacing health law; a doc's HPV advice; County wellness plan working

Too often, the Republican Party health-care agenda seems to consist of incanting "repeal and replace" and then to stop thinking - if the thinking ever begins at all. Certainly the current Presidential field is saying little beyond promising to repeal ObamaCare, but in the nick of time Paul Ryan has provided some intellectual guidance in an important speech yesterday at Stanford's Hoover Institution. he said "we cannot simply revert to the status quo."

29 Sep 2011

Capsules: N.C. insurer invests $15M in docs' health IT; HHS offers new push for coordinated care

Now on Capsules, Christian Torres writes about a new federal coordinated care initiative: If the Department of Health and Human Services has its way, hundreds of physician practices will follow the money and take up a coordinated model of health care.

29 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 28, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about the costs of employer insurance plans and the final installment of KHN's "Building Ambitions" series about children's hospitals.

28 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Lots of advice for super committee on Medicare, Medicaid

Obama partisans, you must consider at least two, possibly mixed results - a politically risky legal battle on the individual mandate in the middle of a presidential campaign, and added insurance that Obama administration lawyers will see the case through its final appeal.

28 Sep 2011

Perry, Romney continue in GOP primary spotlight

News outlets report on the ongoing sparring between the two candidates and on Perry's health policy record as Texas governor. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann points to her rivals' positions on issues including health care and says Republicans should not settle for a moderate candidate. Also, NPR flashes back to GOP candidate Herman Cain's 1994 debate performance. And, on the other side of the political spectrum, The Associated Press reports that Democrats are shifting their campaign message away from the health law and toward Medicare.

28 Sep 2011

With significant health care dollars at stake, interest groups focus on 'super committee'

Health care groups have started flooding the super committee with appeals to protect their sliver of federal health care programs. Because the panel's mandate is to find at least $1.2 trillion in debt-reduction over the next decade, Medicare and Medicaid are prime targets. Together, those two government insurance programs account for nearly one-quarter of all federal spending.

28 Sep 2011

Older patients who undergo carotid stenting from less experienced physicians have higher death risk

Preventing a stroke by placing a stent in the carotid artery, a major artery of the head and neck, is a procedure that's skyrocketing in the United States, but the outcomes can be deadly if older patients are not in the right hands.

28 Sep 2011

Specialty groups: We shouldn't have to pay to fix Medicare's physician payment formula

Doctors shouldn't have to foot the bill if Congress comes up with a new way to set their Medicare payments, a group of medical specialties said Monday. There are few policies - if any - that are more important to doctors' organizations than a permanent repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.

28 Sep 2011

Roundup: Conn.'s new insurance commissioner getting noticed; Miami-Dade County fires consulting firm over health care issue

Checking his watch, Thomas B. Leonardi worked quickly through his dense defense of this nation's state-by-state approach to insurance regulation. This small New England state generates more insurance business than all but a half-dozen nations. He sided with consumer advocates in March at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, helping to delay a federal regulation designed to protect fees for health insurance brokers. Advocates said the regulation would have driven up the costs of insurance to consumers.

28 Sep 2011

Healthcare becoming an overdrive model feel half of the primary physicians

In a new poll of primary care physicians, nearly half of them said their patients received too much medical care and more than a quarter said they were practicing more aggressively than they'd like to. This could mean ordering more tests, prescribing more drugs or diagnosing people with diseases, although they would never have experienced any symptoms. On the other hand, just six percent of doctors believed their patients were getting too little care.

27 Sep 2011

Campaign gears up against fake plastic surgeons

A public safety campaign called, “White Coat Deception,” by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons is moving against doctors who provide care beyond their specialties.

27 Sep 2011

Hospital for Special Surgery establishes HSS Spine & Sport in Jupiter, Florida

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation, announced the establishment of HSS Spine & Sport in Jupiter, Florida. This first HSS expansion beyond the New York region is a direct response to patient and physician demand.

27 Sep 2011

Medicare News and Research

CVS Caremark, Dovetail Health partner to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions

First Edition: September 29, 2011

Costs of premiums for employer-provided health insurance jump

ACOs: Will feds be ready for the start date?

National Partnership for Women & Families, ACP commend Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

Hospitals fall short in efforts to curb readmissions

Debt panel operates in secret, eyes 'dual eligibles' as possible source of savings

WSJ: Federal judge advances medical records case

Viewpoints: Blocking, replacing health law; a doc's HPV advice; County wellness plan working

Capsules: N.C. insurer invests $15M in docs' health IT; HHS offers new push for coordinated care

First Edition: September 28, 2011

Viewpoints: Lots of advice for super committee on Medicare, Medicaid

Perry, Romney continue in GOP primary spotlight

With significant health care dollars at stake, interest groups focus on 'super committee'

Older patients who undergo carotid stenting from less experienced physicians have higher death risk

Specialty groups: We shouldn't have to pay to fix Medicare's physician payment formula

Roundup: Conn.'s new insurance commissioner getting noticed; Miami-Dade County fires consulting firm over health care issue

Healthcare becoming an overdrive model feel half of the primary physicians

Campaign gears up against fake plastic surgeons

Hospital for Special Surgery establishes HSS Spine & Sport in Jupiter, Florida

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