Medicare News and Research

RSS

Ancillary costs associated with use of Alzheimer's drug aducanumab could add pressure on Medicare

A UCLA-led cost analysis of the controversial new Alzheimer's disease drug aducanumab shows that ancillary care services, such as additional MRIs and neurologist visits to monitor the potential brain swelling and bleeding associated with the medication, account for nearly 20% of total Medicare costs related to the drug, or $6,564 per patient per year.

25 Jan 2022

With a vaccine mandate looming, nursing homes face more staffing problems

Jamie Smith, a staffing agency nurse who loves end-of-life care, said she has been warmly welcomed by staffers and residents at Frontier Health & Rehabilitation in this conservative St. Louis suburb.

25 Jan 2022

New payment system may drive changes in practice patterns across the specialty of urology

Medicare's new merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) may drive new changes in practice patterns across the specialty of urology, suggests a study in Urology Practice®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA).

25 Jan 2022

Study finds a sharp dip in access to care for poorer Americans during the pandemic

Americans' use of common outpatient health services dipped sharply at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, then rebounded to near-normal levels by the end of 2020, only to decline again during the second surge in January–February 2021, according to a new UCLA-led study.

24 Jan 2022

Why Medicare doesn’t pay for rapid at-home covid tests

What group is especially vulnerable to the ravages of covid-19 even if fully vaccinated and boosted? Seniors. And who will have an especially tough time getting free at-home covid tests under the Biden administration's plan? Yes, seniors.

24 Jan 2022

Biden administration’s rapid-test rollout doesn’t easily reach those who need it most

In the past week, the Biden administration launched two programs that aim to get rapid covid tests into the hands of every American. But the design of both efforts disadvantages people who already face the greatest barriers to testing.

20 Jan 2022

Families complain as states require covid testing for nursing home visits

As covid-19 cases rise again in nursing homes, a few states have begun requiring visitors to present proof that they're not infected before entering facilities, stoking frustration and dismay among family members.

20 Jan 2022

HHS proposal for marketplace plans carries a hefty dose of consumer caution

Some insurance brokers are enrolling people into Affordable Care Act health plans without their consent, perhaps for the commissions, a move that could put consumers in danger of owing back the subsidies connected with the coverage. The damage could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

19 Jan 2022

5 things you should know about ‘free’ at-home covid tests

Americans keep hearing that it is important to test frequently for covid-19 at home. But just try to find an "at-home" rapid covid test in a store and at a price that makes frequent tests affordable.

19 Jan 2022

Officials struggle to regulate pop-up covid testing sites — and warn patients to beware

In recent months, mobile covid-19 testing tents and vans have sprouted on urban sidewalks and street curbs as demand has skyrocketed in response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant.

18 Jan 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing with drug prices

Medicare officials have preliminarily decided to restrict reimbursement for Aduhelm, the controversial Alzheimer's drug, to only patients participating in approved clinical trials.

13 Jan 2022

Justices block broad worker vaccine requirement, allow health worker mandate to proceed

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a key Biden administration covid-19 initiative — putting a stop, for now, to a rule requiring businesses with more than 100 workers to either mandate that employees be vaccinated against covid or wear masks and undergo weekly testing.

13 Jan 2022

Vaccine mandate may have little impact on health care staffing levels

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing challenges to a Biden administration vaccine mandate that requires eligible employees in Medicare or Medicaid-funded facilities to get vaccinated or receive an exemption.

12 Jan 2022

Black-owned hospice seeks to bring greater ease in dying to Black families

This time, it didn’t take much persuading for Mary Murphy to embrace home hospice. When her mother was dying from Alzheimer’s disease in 2020, she had been reluctant until she saw what a help it was. So when her husband, Willie, neared the end of his life, she embraced hospice again.

10 Jan 2022

Supreme Court weighs Biden’s workplace vaccine requirements

The Supreme Court on Friday took up one of the most contentious issues of the covid-19 pandemic, hearing a series of cases challenging the Biden administration's authority to require workers to get a covid vaccine or be tested for the virus regularly.

7 Jan 2022

As covid hits nursing homes’ finances, town residents fight to save Alzheimer’s facility

Marvin Querry, 86, was on his tractor, planting rye on his 770-acre western Missouri farm, when the call came in early November.

4 Jan 2022

Record number of Americans sign up for ACA health insurance

A record 13.6 million Americans have signed up for health coverage for 2022 on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, with nearly a month remaining to enroll in most states, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.

23 Dec 2021

Deep roots help this Chicago pharmacist avoid creating another drugstore desert

Del-Kar Pharmacy in the North Lawndale neighborhood has had a front-row seat to history. Martin Luther King Jr. bought his daily newspaper there when he lived in Chicago in the late 1960s.

23 Dec 2021

As patients fell ill with covid inside hospitals, government oversight fell short

One by one, the nurses taking care of actress Judi Evans at Riverside Community Hospital kept calling out sick.

23 Dec 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin blows up Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dashed the hopes of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats for passage of the giant "Build Back Better" bill before the end of the year, when he announced his opposition to the measure in an interview on "Fox News Sunday."

22 Dec 2021

Medicare News and Research

Ancillary costs associated with use of Alzheimer's drug aducanumab could add pressure on Medicare

With a vaccine mandate looming, nursing homes face more staffing problems

New payment system may drive changes in practice patterns across the specialty of urology

Study finds a sharp dip in access to care for poorer Americans during the pandemic

Why Medicare doesn’t pay for rapid at-home covid tests

Biden administration’s rapid-test rollout doesn’t easily reach those who need it most

Families complain as states require covid testing for nursing home visits

HHS proposal for marketplace plans carries a hefty dose of consumer caution

5 things you should know about ‘free’ at-home covid tests

Officials struggle to regulate pop-up covid testing sites — and warn patients to beware

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing with drug prices

Justices block broad worker vaccine requirement, allow health worker mandate to proceed

Vaccine mandate may have little impact on health care staffing levels

Black-owned hospice seeks to bring greater ease in dying to Black families

Supreme Court weighs Biden’s workplace vaccine requirements

As covid hits nursing homes’ finances, town residents fight to save Alzheimer’s facility

Record number of Americans sign up for ACA health insurance

Deep roots help this Chicago pharmacist avoid creating another drugstore desert

As patients fell ill with covid inside hospitals, government oversight fell short

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin blows up Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’

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