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Many Medicare beneficiaries not receiving colorectal cancer screening

A new study finds significant underuse of colorectal cancer screening procedures among Medicare beneficiaries.

10 Dec 2007

Hypertension associated with risk for mild cognitive impairment

High blood pressure appears to be associated with an increased risk for mild cognitive impairment, a condition that involves difficulties with thinking and learning, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Dec 2007

Endocrine Society urges Congress to protect patient access to dual X-ray absorptiometry

The Endocrine Society strongly urges Congress to protect patient access to DXA (dual X-ray absorptiometry) - the leading diagnostic tool for the early detection and management of osteoporosis.

27 Nov 2007

The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes

If hospitals added one more full-time registered nurse on staff to care for patients, the number of hospital-related deaths in the United States could decrease significantly, according to a new review.

27 Nov 2007

Managing the chronic care of patients is not being captured in today's reimbursement system

Full-time physicians spend an average of one full day a week providing services for patients that are not reimbursed by Medicare, according to a new study conducted by Jeffrey Farber, MD, Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, and published the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

19 Nov 2007

Healthy food out-of-reach for many Australian families

Many families on a tight budget are struggling to fill their shopping trolleys with healthy foods, placing them at high risk of poor nutrition, including overweight and obesity, a study in Nutrition and Dietetics published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Dietitians Association of Australia has found.

19 Nov 2007

75% of Medicare beneficiaries with stand-alone prescription drug plans could face premium increases in 2008

The open enrollment period for the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit begins Thursday and continues through the end of the year, and beneficiaries should "look closely" at their plans because many of them are increasing premiums, copayments and deductibles, the Baltimore Sun reports.

12 Nov 2007

MedPAC finds uneven quality in newer Medicare Advantage plans

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission officials at a meeting on Friday expressed concern over data showing differences in quality among newer Medicare Advantage plans and increasing enrollment in private fee-for-service MA plans, CQ HealthBeat reports.

12 Nov 2007

Improving hospital safety rating tools

In a bid to clean up misleading institutional safety comparisons and go further to fix safety problems, Johns Hopkins experts are proposing standard guidelines to be used as hospital safety rating tools.

6 Nov 2007

CMS informs some low-income Medicare drug plan beneficiaries that their coverage could change

About two million low-income beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare prescription drug plans could be moved to new plans in 2008, and millions of other beneficiaries will have to change plans if they want to avoid double-digit premium increases, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

6 Nov 2007

Fewer U.S. residents purchase prescription drugs from Canada, in part because of Medicare drug benefit

Online drug sales in 2006 from Canadian pharmacies to U.S. consumers dropped about 50%, from $420 million Canadian dollars in 2005 to $211 million Canadian dollars last year, according to data from IMS Health, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

5 Nov 2007

UAW agrees on tentative contract with Ford that includes voluntary employees' beneficiary association

Negotiators for United Auto Workers and Ford Motor on Saturday reached an agreement on a tentative four-year contract that follows the pattern set by General Motors and Chrysler Group and includes the creation of a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, the New York Times reports.

5 Nov 2007

Medicare lacks tools, incentives to enforce evidence-based coverage policies

According to new research at the University of Minnesota, Medicare lacks sufficient information in most cases to apply a policy and does not have the resources or incentives to acquire the information.

2 Nov 2007

PET scan distinguishes Alzheimer's from other dementia

A PET scan (positron emission tomography) that measures uptake of sugar in the brain significantly improves the accuracy of diagnosing a type of dementia often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease, a study led by a University of Utah dementia expert has found.

2 Nov 2007

Heart attacks/pneumonia falls short of national goals

Emergency departments across the nation are failing to meet national goals in treating many heart attack and pneumonia patients, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers published in the October issue of Academic Emergency Medicine.

1 Nov 2007

Lobbyists push lawmakers to act quickly on Medicare physician payment rate fix

Physician groups are pushing members of Congress to work quickly on passing legislation to avert a 10% Medicare physician reimbursement rate cut scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 10/31).

31 Oct 2007

Pharmacies, drug wholesaler file lawsuit against Abbott over price of antiretroviral Norvir

Four pharmacy chains and one pharmaceutical wholesaler on Monday filed a lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories over the price of its antiretroviral drug Norvir, the Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Oct 2007

Efforts needed to address financial stability of entitlement programs

The "demands imposed by the retirement of millions of baby boomers will consume the federal budget and blight the prospects of the next generations" without efforts to address problems with the long-term financial stability of Medicare and other entitlement programs, columnist David Broder writes in the Washington Post.

30 Oct 2007

Government restrictions on weight loss surgeries limit access for poor, underinsured patients

Thresholds limiting bariatric surgeries to high-volume centers disproportionately restrict access for poor and underinsured patients, populations which are among the most in need of them, an analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.

30 Oct 2007

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report reports on Presidential campaigns related to health care

Forty-six percent of U.S. adults who responded to a recent survey conducted by Scripps Howard and Ohio University said that Democrats were more likely to improve access to health care than Republicans, Scripps Howard/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The survey, which included responses from 811 adults nationwide collected from Sept 24. to Oct. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

29 Oct 2007

Medicare News and Research

Many Medicare beneficiaries not receiving colorectal cancer screening

Hypertension associated with risk for mild cognitive impairment

Endocrine Society urges Congress to protect patient access to dual X-ray absorptiometry

The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes

Managing the chronic care of patients is not being captured in today's reimbursement system

Healthy food out-of-reach for many Australian families

75% of Medicare beneficiaries with stand-alone prescription drug plans could face premium increases in 2008

MedPAC finds uneven quality in newer Medicare Advantage plans

Improving hospital safety rating tools

CMS informs some low-income Medicare drug plan beneficiaries that their coverage could change

Fewer U.S. residents purchase prescription drugs from Canada, in part because of Medicare drug benefit

UAW agrees on tentative contract with Ford that includes voluntary employees' beneficiary association

Medicare lacks tools, incentives to enforce evidence-based coverage policies

PET scan distinguishes Alzheimer's from other dementia

Heart attacks/pneumonia falls short of national goals

Lobbyists push lawmakers to act quickly on Medicare physician payment rate fix

Pharmacies, drug wholesaler file lawsuit against Abbott over price of antiretroviral Norvir

Efforts needed to address financial stability of entitlement programs

Government restrictions on weight loss surgeries limit access for poor, underinsured patients

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report reports on Presidential campaigns related to health care

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