Medicare News and Research

RSS

Brains on Bikes raises funds for brain cancer research and support

Anne Feeley, a 55-year-old mother and brain cancer survivor, began a 3,781-mile ride across the country today to raise money and awareness for brain cancer research and support.

12 Apr 2010

High OOP costs discouraging many cancer patients from filling prescriptions

A new study presented today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 22nd Annual Meeting finds that one in six cancer patients with high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs abandons their medication. The study by Prime Therapeutics (Prime), a thought leader in pharmacy benefit management, found patients with an OOP cost greater than $200 were at least three times more likely to not fill their prescription than those with OOP costs of $100 or less.

12 Apr 2010

Medical clinic for the sole purpose of committing Medicare fraud

Miami residents Jose and Denisse Martinez were each sentenced today to three years in prison for their role in running a Canton, Mich.,-based drug infusion clinic designed to defraud Medicare, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS). U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts also ordered Jose and Denisse Martinez to pay $649,000 in restitution, jointly with co-defendants, and to each serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms.

12 Apr 2010

Patients receiving medications in 90-day supplies less likely to have adherence problems: Study

A new study presented today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 22nd Annual Meeting by Prime Therapeutics, a thought-leader in pharmacy benefit management, provides new evidence to support an easy, low-cost way to help keep patients with chronic conditions on their medications: provide them with a three-month drug supply.

12 Apr 2010

Health Alliance Medical Plans licenses Thomson Reuters Treatment Cost Calculator

Health Alliance Medical Plans, a provider-sponsored health insurer in the Midwest, has licensed Thomson Reuters Treatment Cost Calculator, an application that tells health plan members how much they will pay out-of-pocket for upcoming healthcare services.

12 Apr 2010

Three in ten women use letrozole to treat infertility: Study

About three in ten patients using letrozole (Femara), a common medication for treating breast cancer, are likely taking the medication to treat infertility, according to a new study presented today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 22nd Annual Meeting in San Diego by Prime Therapeutics, a thought leader in pharmacy benefit management.

12 Apr 2010

Medicare Supplement changes with introduction of Modernized Medicare Supplement Plans

Medicare Supplement, the insurance millions of seniors buy to help cover their out-of-pocket medical expenses, is undergoing dramatic changes with the introduction of Modernized Medicare Supplement Plans, which become effective June 1, 2010.

12 Apr 2010

Aetna faces Medicare sanctions

Health insurer Aetna announced Friday it will suspend "marketing to and enrollment of new members to its Medicare plans for the elderly because of sanctions imposed by the U.S. government," Reuters reports.

12 Apr 2010

Massachusetts Health Connector renews contract to serve Commonwealth Care members

Centene Corporation today announced that the Massachusetts Health Connector has renewed its contract with Celtic Group's subsidiary, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, to serve Commonwealth Care members, effective July 1, 2010.

9 Apr 2010

List of MCEG's Annual Top Ten issues

Likely to be the first professional healthcare group to meet immediately after healthcare reform legislation passed, the Managed Care Executive Group held its annual forum in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida last week.

9 Apr 2010

Free Medicare education seminars for Hispanic-American seniors

This month, UnitedHealthcare will offer two free Medicare education seminars aimed at helping Hispanic-American seniors understand the basics of Medicare. Following the seminar, seniors are encouraged to take a free Zumba Gold class, a Latin-infused fitness program that blends the rhythms of merengue, salsa, cumbia, rumba, and tango.

9 Apr 2010

Research roundup: The effects of health IT, doctor-owned treatment centers, long-term care issues

Physician-Ownership Of Ambulatory Surgery Centers Linked To Higher Volume Of Surgeries - The authors analyzed data from Florida, using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's State Ambulatory Surgery Databases, revealing "a significant association between physician-ownership of surgicenters and greater use" of certain outpatient procedures.

9 Apr 2010

New CMS dashboard powered by MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy® Incorporated, a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence software, today announced that the new information dashboard recently launched by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is powered by MicroStrategy.

9 Apr 2010

Hospitalists shape the future of American healthcare system

On March 21, 2010, Congress passed the most comprehensive healthcare reform bill since the formation of Medicare. While a monumental achievement, the bill leaves much of the critical work of healthcare reform unfinished, according to a new editorial by Dr. Robert Wachter, Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and past president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, in the April issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

9 Apr 2010

BIBA Research's TAVI report to be released

BIBA Research, the UK-based market research specialists for the medical technology industry, announced today that the latest findings from their Transcatheter Heart Valve report will be released on 26 April. The report covers the data period January-March 2010 and is part of BIBA Research's long-established European Cardiovascular Monitor.

9 Apr 2010

Increase in delaying retirement likely to gain speed: RAND study

An unprecedented upturn in the number of older Americans who delay retirement is likely to continue and even accelerate over the next two decades, a trend that should help ease the financial challenges facing both Social Security and Medicare, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

9 Apr 2010

Nurses for Medicare expresses disappointment against implementation of user fees for medical visits

Nurses for Medicare expressed its disappointment at the Quebec government's decision to implement user fees for medical visits. In addition to a new health tax that does not vary according to income, the recent Quebec budget calls for patients to pay a $25 fee for each visit.

9 Apr 2010

Ten loopholes and problem areas in new federal health reform law

Consumer Watchdog called on President Obama and Congress in a letter sent today to fix ten problem areas in the new federal health reform law that, if not addressed, will be exploited by health insurers and drug companies looking to charge more for less health care.

9 Apr 2010

AmericanEHR Partners Program introduced to help medical practitioners compare EHR systems

A collaboration developing a new Web site to help medical practitioners compare electronic health records systems was announced today by its founding partners, the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies.

9 Apr 2010

New CMS web site shines light on Medicare spending

A new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site is making more claims data available to the public, Modern Healthcare reports. The so-called "CMS Dashboard" reveals Medicare spending for the top 25 conditions in hospitals, and allows users to compare spending by state, conditions by spending and to review the top-10-spending states for each condition. Medicare Advantage patients are not included in the data set (Evans, 4/7).

9 Apr 2010

Medicare News and Research

Brains on Bikes raises funds for brain cancer research and support

High OOP costs discouraging many cancer patients from filling prescriptions

Medical clinic for the sole purpose of committing Medicare fraud

Patients receiving medications in 90-day supplies less likely to have adherence problems: Study

Health Alliance Medical Plans licenses Thomson Reuters Treatment Cost Calculator

Three in ten women use letrozole to treat infertility: Study

Medicare Supplement changes with introduction of Modernized Medicare Supplement Plans

Aetna faces Medicare sanctions

Massachusetts Health Connector renews contract to serve Commonwealth Care members

List of MCEG's Annual Top Ten issues

Free Medicare education seminars for Hispanic-American seniors

Research roundup: The effects of health IT, doctor-owned treatment centers, long-term care issues

New CMS dashboard powered by MicroStrategy

Hospitalists shape the future of American healthcare system

BIBA Research's TAVI report to be released

Increase in delaying retirement likely to gain speed: RAND study

Nurses for Medicare expresses disappointment against implementation of user fees for medical visits

Ten loopholes and problem areas in new federal health reform law

AmericanEHR Partners Program introduced to help medical practitioners compare EHR systems

New CMS web site shines light on Medicare spending

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Latest News