Medicare News and Research

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34 percent of all Medicare Part D enrollees select Medicare Advantage plans for 2009

More than nine million people, or 34 percent of all Medicare Part D enrollees, currently receive their prescription drug benefit through Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD plans), says new analysis by Avalere Health.

24 Feb 2009

Racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening persist

Colorectal cancer screening among patients with Medicare coverage is increasing, but a persistent gap remains between whites - who are screened most frequently - and all other racial and ethnic groups, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis and the University of Washington.

20 Feb 2009

Opportunities for the health system in a sick economy

With the interim report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission published yesterday the time for implementing reform could hardly be better.

18 Feb 2009

White patients benefit more than blacks in surviving surgical complications at teaching hospitals

Elderly patients who undergo surgery at teaching-intensive hospitals have better survival rates than at nonteaching hospitals, but these better survival rates apparently occur in white patients, not black patients.

17 Feb 2009

VAP cholesterol test helps find link between a rare gene mutation and heart protection

Using the VAP Cholesterol Test from Atherotech, Inc., University of Maryland researchers have found an association between a rare gene mutation and heart protection.

17 Feb 2009

Survival after surgical complications appears better at teaching hospitals for whites but not blacks

Survival after surgery appears higher at teaching hospitals than at non-teaching hospitals, but this benefit is experienced by white patients and not black patients, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.

17 Feb 2009

Doctors' resources for off-label prescribing may be incomplete, unclear

The resources doctors use to get important information about indications and reimbursement for use of cancer drugs off-label may be out-of-date and incomplete, according to a study led by researchers in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Feb 2009

Race and ethnicity affect use of hospice services among patients with advanced cancer

Race and ethnicity appear to have an effect on whether a patient with terminal cancer uses hospice care services, according to a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

10 Feb 2009

Most seniors have drug coverage, study shows

More than 90 percent of Americans age 65 and older have prescription drug coverage today, compared to 76 percent who were covered in 2004, according to a University of Michigan analysis.

10 Feb 2009

Most coordinated care programs for Medicare beneficiaries do not show benefit

Only 2 of 15 Medicare programs designed to improve care and costs for patients with chronic illnesses resulted in reduced hospital admissions, and none of the programs generated net savings, according to a study in the February 11 issue of JAMA.

10 Feb 2009

A happy hospital makes for happy patients

Imagine a hospital where morale is high, employee turnover is low and patient call buttons rarely go unanswered---and if they do, you can call the hospital's CEO.

9 Feb 2009

Emergency physicians question antibiotic guidelines for pneumonia

A new study from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center that assessed emergency physicians understanding of time-based, antibiotic treatment guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) found that more than half believed they prescribed antibiotics needlessly in order to comply with guidelines.

8 Feb 2009

Seniors in Medicare's doughnut hole decrease use of meds

Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D who reached a gap in health care coverage known as the "doughnut hole" were much less likely to use prescription drugs than those with an employer-based plan, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study.

3 Feb 2009

The state of America's health care is poor

"The state of America's health care is poor," Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), reported today at the annual State of the Nation's Health Care briefing.

2 Feb 2009

Top hospitals have 27 percent lower mortality: Annual HealthGrades study

Medicare patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide across the most common Medicare diagnoses and procedures are 27 percent less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

29 Jan 2009

Easing regulations does not mean lower quality of cardiac care

States that dropped regulations overseeing the performance of two common heart procedures showed no increase in death rates, according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Rice University and Duke University Medical Center.

29 Jan 2009

Healthcare among public's top priorities for economic stimulus

The public ranks action on health care highly as part of efforts to stem the impact of the economic recession and also views reforming health care as one of the top priorities for President-elect Obama and Congress, according to a new national survey conducted by researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

19 Jan 2009

Eli Lilly to pay $1.415 billion for off-label promotion of Zyprexa

American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company today agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.415 billion for promoting its drug Zyprexa for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice announced today.

19 Jan 2009

Pap test procedure facts

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center shares important information about the cervical cancer screening exam, the Pap test.

7 Jan 2009

Carotid endarterectomy provides better short-term results than carotid artery stenting in patients with carotid artery disease

Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) yields better short-term results than carotid artery stenting (CAS) in patients with carotid artery disease, according to a 30-day outcomes report from the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vascular Registry for Carotid Procedures, published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery, by the Society for Vascular Surgery.

5 Jan 2009