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Changes in Medicare policies may hamper supply of power wheelchairs

Will power wheelchairs continue to be available to Nevada's Medicare patients following a series of federal regulatory and policy changes?

9 Nov 2010

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

Saints Medical Center is pleased to announce that Richard H. Ma, M.D, chair of its hospitalist department, has received a patent for a lightweight plastic cover for stethoscopes that will dramatically reduce hospital-acquired infections.

9 Nov 2010

CMS to review cancer vaccine, analysis shows high Medicare drug spending not correlated with better care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are conducting an unusual review to determine whether the government should pay for an expensive new vaccine for treating prostate cancer, rekindling debate over whether some therapies are too costly.

9 Nov 2010

Feds crack down on fraud by issuing new Medicaid rules, helping medical students catch fraud

The Hill Healthwatch: "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday proposed new rules for the use of private contractors that work for states to audit Medicaid payments. The Recovery Audit Contractors will function similarly to the way they do in the Medicare program, where they audit payments that may have been underpaid or overpaid, and recover overpayments or correct underpayments. … Under the new law, states must establish Medicaid RAC programs by submitting state plan amendments to CMS by December 31" (Pecquet, 11/5).

9 Nov 2010

Seniors need to check options as Medicare advantage plans change, drop out

The exodus of dozens of Medicare Advantage plans from various counties or from the state entirely is leaving 40,588 seniors across Washington to wade through charts in search of new plans.

9 Nov 2010

On health law, election postmortems continue

In an analysis in The Washington Post, Chris Cillizza asks: "How much did the health-care law passed this year have to do with Republicans winning back the House and gaining six seats in the Senate?" Polls shed a little - deeply contradictory - light on the question. A Democratic strategist argued it was a neutral issue in an election-night memo, saying only 18 percent of voters believed health care was the most important issue, and that Demcorats won those by an eight percentage point margin.

8 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 8, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include more post-mortem reports about the health law's impact on the election.

8 Nov 2010

BioSpecifics Technologies third quarter net loss increases to $0.5 million

BioSpecifics Technologies Corp., a biopharmaceutical company developing first in class collagenase-based products, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.

8 Nov 2010

Maine requests exemption from federal law, Southern Calif. hospital pays $5 million to resolve charges of false Medicare claims

Bloomberg: "Maine wants an exemption from the federal health-care law to keep a Wall Street-controlled insurer with a history of allegedly abusive practices from leaving the state. Mila Kofman, Maine's insurance superintendent, asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a three-year waiver from the law's requirement that insurers spend 80 percent of premium revenues on medical care." The

8 Nov 2010

Industry experts speculate, strategize on what election means for business and reform

The Wall Street Journal: "Health-care companies see the Republican win as a chance to chip away at aspects of Mr. Obama's health overhaul least favorable to the industry. Insurance companies, drug manufacturers and hospitals say they will press to peel away the law's new taxes on health-care companies, pass tougher medical malpractice curbs and knock down a new board that recommends Medicare spending cuts" (Adamy, 11/3).

8 Nov 2010

Medicare announces contracts for competitive bidding on equipment while docs worry about payment cuts

News outlets offer a variety of stories about Medicare, including details of a new bidding process for medical equipment and the scheduled cut in physician reimbursement.

8 Nov 2010

Teva hosts Respiratory Opportunity Meeting for financial community

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today hosted its Respiratory Opportunity Meeting for the financial community in New York, featuring in-depth presentations on Teva's current and future respiratory growth strategy.

8 Nov 2010

Party leaders stake out individual positions for new debate on health overhaul

Individual Republicans and Democrats began staking out their positions on the health overhaul quickly after the elections.

8 Nov 2010

Risk pools, drug prices and other issues in health law implementation

A health law program that directs $5 billion for coverage of otherwise uninsurable people through state-run high-risk insurance pools has attracted only 8,011 people according to health department enrollment figures, The New York Times reports. That's a paucity compared to the hundreds of thousands of people government actuaries predicted would flock to the program causing it to run out of money too early.

8 Nov 2010

Sandata announces patent for new caregiver location monitoring solution

Sandata Technologies, LLC, a leading national provider of information technology solutions to the home healthcare industry, today announced that on November 16, 2010, the US Patent and Trademark Office will issue US Patent Number 7835955, "Time and/or Attendance System Using Synchronized Code," an innovative new caregiver location monitoring solution aimed at reducing home healthcare fraud and abuse.

8 Nov 2010

Medicaid pooled trusts keep seniors out of nursing homes

The New York Times reports on Medicaid pooled trusts: "[T]here is a little-known way for some people in certain states to receive home care through Medicaid, without requiring them to impoverish themselves first. Here's how it works: a federal law established in 1993 allows disabled people to put their monthly income or assets — above the amounts Medicaid allows them to keep — into a special type of pooled trust.

8 Nov 2010

Home health, other Medicare providers face pay cuts

Home health providers face Medicare payment cuts next year. Gentiva Health Services and Amedisys are among the providers of at-home health care to receive lower Medicare payments next year under U.S. government changes to the program.

8 Nov 2010

AHRQ grants $34 million to prevent healthcare-associated infections

HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today announced the award of $34 million for projects focused on preventing one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States - healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This new funding will help improve the quality of care delivered to patients and expand the fight against HAIs in hospitals, ambulatory care settings, end-stage renal disease facilities and long-term care facilities.

8 Nov 2010

What's next for health law? Repeal efforts, 'compromise,' congressional conflict

Health on the Hill features Mary Agnes Carey and Marilyn Werber Serafini talking about the GOP gains, what they mean for state implementation to health reform and what possibilities there are for major changes being made to the health law.

8 Nov 2010

Research Roundup: Basing insurance on results, not cost; Americans skeptical of public health efforts; seniors' comprehensive care

Copayment Reductions Generate Greater Medication Adherence In Targeted Patients. As health care costs have increased, some patients have sought to save money by cutting down on their medications.

8 Nov 2010

Medicare News and Research

Changes in Medicare policies may hamper supply of power wheelchairs

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

CMS to review cancer vaccine, analysis shows high Medicare drug spending not correlated with better care

Feds crack down on fraud by issuing new Medicaid rules, helping medical students catch fraud

Seniors need to check options as Medicare advantage plans change, drop out

On health law, election postmortems continue

First Edition: November 8, 2010

BioSpecifics Technologies third quarter net loss increases to $0.5 million

Maine requests exemption from federal law, Southern Calif. hospital pays $5 million to resolve charges of false Medicare claims

Industry experts speculate, strategize on what election means for business and reform

Medicare announces contracts for competitive bidding on equipment while docs worry about payment cuts

Teva hosts Respiratory Opportunity Meeting for financial community

Party leaders stake out individual positions for new debate on health overhaul

Risk pools, drug prices and other issues in health law implementation

Sandata announces patent for new caregiver location monitoring solution

Medicaid pooled trusts keep seniors out of nursing homes

Home health, other Medicare providers face pay cuts

AHRQ grants $34 million to prevent healthcare-associated infections

What's next for health law? Repeal efforts, 'compromise,' congressional conflict

Research Roundup: Basing insurance on results, not cost; Americans skeptical of public health efforts; seniors' comprehensive care

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