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Cardiologist provided unnecessary stent implants: investigation

In a new investigation a Senate Finance Committee has found that a former cardiologist, Mark Midei at Towson, Md.-based St. Joseph Medical Center performed 585 medically unnecessary stent implants, costing Medicare and private insurers a combined $6.6 million in fraudulent reimbursement fees. These stents are special medicated or wire tubes that are placed inside coronary arteries of the heart to prevent them from collapsing or clogging up which may lead to a hear attack.

6 Dec 2010

Seven studies on Oncotype DX breast cancer test to be presented at 33rd CTRC-AACR SABCS

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced that the company will present results from seven studies at the 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), taking place December 8-12, 2010 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

4 Dec 2010

Elimination of first month purchase option for power wheelchairs will hurt Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas

For 12 years, Gerald Sloan, owner of Progressive Medical Equipment, LLC, has provided home medical equipment to Medicare patients from his retail outlets near Kansas City and St. Louis, and he is also vice president of the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES). Today, Sloan is concerned that the elimination of the first month purchase option for Medicare beneficiaries requiring power wheelchairs will prevent patients in rural areas from receiving the mobility assistance that has been prescribed by their physicians.

4 Dec 2010

LHC Group alters 2010 guidance due to reduction in Medicare reimbursement

LHC Group, Inc., a national provider of home health and hospice services, announced today that the Company is adjusting its full year earnings per share outlook for 2010 solely due to the 4.89% reduction to Medicare reimbursement that was outlined in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for Calendar Year 2011, which was released on November 3, 2010, following the Company's third quarter earnings call.

4 Dec 2010

Decrease in physician reimbursement leads to decline in AST usage for prostate cancer

The use of androgen suppression therapy (AST) in prostate cancer for low-risk cases declined following a decrease in physician reimbursement, according to a study published online TK in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. However, the indicated use of AST for metastatic disease in the palliative setting did not decline in the same period.

4 Dec 2010

Clarient extends pending offer, files amendment to Solicitation/Recommendation Statement

Clarient, Inc. announced today the extension of the current pending offer by Crane Merger Sub, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric Company to acquire all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company.

4 Dec 2010

Debt panel members vote today; Some say recommendations will shape future efforts to reduce health costs

News outlets report that as the presidential debt commission plans to vote today, the final recommendations could shape the debate on how budgeteers treat Medicare, Medicaid and health care costs in the future -- regardless of the vote tally.

4 Dec 2010

Minnesota pilot project seeks to save Medicare money by addressing readmission rates; MedPac offers draft payment recommendations

Last February, Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina set out to try to reduce readmissions for Medicare patients as part of a pilot project with UCare, a small Minnesota health plan. The result: The 30-day readmission rate dropped by 44 percent. ... It's one way, experts say, that Medicare hopes to save billions of dollars (Lerner, 12/2).

4 Dec 2010

OpEds: Positions on Fiscal Commission; Reinhardt on Medicare; Defeating diabetes

As a member of this bipartisan commission and co-author of the Conrad-Gregg Bipartisan Fiscal Task Force legislation the panel is based on, I hope this plan will be supported. ... Unfortunately, significant health-care savings are missing from the plan; this is an issue that will have to be addressed soon.

4 Dec 2010

New article questions role of amenities in hospital care

From hotel-style room service to massage therapy to magnificent views, hospitals are increasingly touting their luxury services in a bid to gain market share, especially those in competitive urban markets. An important new article, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, raises crucial questions about the role of amenities in hospital care, explaining that how we decide to value the patient experience can have a significant effect on health care costs.

3 Dec 2010

Obama praised for enhanced health care reform for Alzheimer's community

According to the Society of Actuaries, the leading cause of U.S. long-term care claims is Alzheimer's, the brain disease that renders over 5 million Americans unable to handle all the acts of daily living unaided. Who cares? Evidently President Obama does, having written a pro-active column in the Fall, 2010, issue of care ADvantage, published by the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

3 Dec 2010

More Coloradans lose Medicare Advantage plans, Missouri lawmakers push for doctor's order to buy common cold and allergy meds

The Denver Post: "Nearly 14,000 Coloradans are losing their form of Medicare Advantage plans next year and will need to choose new options, creating a hardship for 1,700 rural Medicare members who won't find similar plans left on the table. Medicare Advantage carriers such as Humana, Anthem, Secure Horizons and MVP dropped some Medicare Advantage plans in Colorado. … The dropped carriers affect 13,936 beneficiaries in Colorado, including 3,832 in the Denver metro area" (Booth, 12/2).

3 Dec 2010

Justice Department offers expedited antitrust review for ACOs

Bloomberg: "Sharis Pozen, chief of staff of the [Justice] Department's antitrust division, told a House judiciary subcommittee" that "[t]he department intends to offer whatever guidance and clarity may be needed to ensure that providers pursue beneficial integrated ACOs without running afoul of the antitrust laws."

3 Dec 2010

Health costs: Employer-sponsored insurance premiums rise 41%

Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increased an average of 41 percent across states from 2003 to 2009, more than three times faster than median incomes, and Maryland's rise was among the highest, at 50%, according to a report to be released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.

3 Dec 2010

Teva comments on Lovenox’s patent infringement lawsuit

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. commented today on the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sandoz Inc.

3 Dec 2010

Medicare beneficiaries will need significant savings to cover health insurance costs in retirement

The Hill's Healthwatch blog: "Medicare beneficiaries of retirement age will need upwards of nearly $150,000 in savings to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses in order to have a 50-50 chance of being financially secure in retirement, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

3 Dec 2010

Debt panel proposals target health costs

A White House-appointed commission's deficit-taming proposals would affect every corner of society. Workers with solid coverage on the job, seniors, drug companies, trial lawyers, hospitals, doctors, state governments and federal employees would all feel the effects.

3 Dec 2010

In spite of health care law, patients may still pay for preventive care

Minnesota Public Radio: In principal, the new federal healthcare law "requires insurers to cover preventive care — including colonoscopies, mammograms and immunizations at no cost to the patient — no co-pays, no deductibles." The aim is to encourage people to get preventive care before they develop conditions that are more costly to treat, and while "Medicare will begin covering these tests 100 percent on January 1st ... for other plans there are myriad exceptions.

3 Dec 2010

Text from KHN: Fiscal commission's recommendations on health care spending

Kaiser Health News provides excerpts of the fiscal commission's opening remarks and recommendations related to health

2 Dec 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Preventing hospital errors; myths about the reform law; Medicare and the independent payment advisory board

Greenbay Press Gazette: No matter what happens with health care reform, the principles we've been discussing the past few months still hold true. Health care systems should continue to focus on quality and cost.

2 Dec 2010

Medicare News and Research

Cardiologist provided unnecessary stent implants: investigation

Seven studies on Oncotype DX breast cancer test to be presented at 33rd CTRC-AACR SABCS

Elimination of first month purchase option for power wheelchairs will hurt Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas

LHC Group alters 2010 guidance due to reduction in Medicare reimbursement

Decrease in physician reimbursement leads to decline in AST usage for prostate cancer

Clarient extends pending offer, files amendment to Solicitation/Recommendation Statement

Debt panel members vote today; Some say recommendations will shape future efforts to reduce health costs

Minnesota pilot project seeks to save Medicare money by addressing readmission rates; MedPac offers draft payment recommendations

OpEds: Positions on Fiscal Commission; Reinhardt on Medicare; Defeating diabetes

New article questions role of amenities in hospital care

Obama praised for enhanced health care reform for Alzheimer's community

More Coloradans lose Medicare Advantage plans, Missouri lawmakers push for doctor's order to buy common cold and allergy meds

Justice Department offers expedited antitrust review for ACOs

Health costs: Employer-sponsored insurance premiums rise 41%

Teva comments on Lovenox’s patent infringement lawsuit

Medicare beneficiaries will need significant savings to cover health insurance costs in retirement

Debt panel proposals target health costs

In spite of health care law, patients may still pay for preventive care

Text from KHN: Fiscal commission's recommendations on health care spending

Today's Op-Eds: Preventing hospital errors; myths about the reform law; Medicare and the independent payment advisory board

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