Medicare News and Research

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5% of MRSA patients in U.S. died

One of every 20 (or 5 percent) of the roughly 368,600 patients treated in U.S. hospitals in 2005 for Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, died, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

25 Oct 2007

The financial burdens of overweight and obesity among elderly Americans

What many Americans eat and how little they exercise could wind up costing them - and American taxpayers - some serious money. Moreover, the overweight and obese may lose months from their lifespans.

24 Oct 2007

Spending more for lung cancer treatment did not substantially increase patients' lives

A new study finds that survival for elderly patients with lung cancer has changed little despite large increases in healthcare expenditures for lung cancer treatment.

22 Oct 2007

Endobronchial valve improves quality of life in emphysema patients

Emphysema patients whose lungs are implanted with a pencil eraser-sized, one-way endobronchial valve experience significantly improved measures of lung function and report better quality of life, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researcher Frank C. Sciurba, M.D., reported today at CHEST 2007, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

22 Oct 2007

Early intervention dramatically improves outcomes for new dialysis patients

A program of education, close medical follow-up, and self-empowerment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) newly starting dialysis, reduces complications and improves outcomes - including significant reductions in mortality and hospitalization rates, reports a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

19 Oct 2007

Comparing public and private health insurance

The Manhattan Institute has released a new report by senior fellow Benjamin Zycher, entitled "Comparing Public and Private Health Insurance: Would a Single-Payer System Save Enough to Cover the Uninsured?" In it, Zycher dispels a common misconception regarding single-payer health insurance.

19 Oct 2007

Elderly Medicare, Medicaid patients not receiving quality care

If the care received by vulnerable older people concurrently enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid was evaluated on a grading scale, it would squeak by with a barely passing mark, a new UCLA study has found.

18 Oct 2007

Use of NSAIDs underreported

Patients underreported their use of common but potentially dangerous over-the-counter pain medications known as NSAIDs, according to research presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.

16 Oct 2007

Mortality rates 71 percent lower at top-rated hospitals

Patients have on average a 71 percent lower chance of dying at the nation's top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed in the tenth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, issued today by HealthGrades, the healthcare ratings company.

16 Oct 2007

Health-care costs of NSAIDs injury

16 Oct 2007

Patients perceived cancer care unaffected by lower Medicare reimbursements

Patients perceive no significant change in the quality of care for cancer since the United States' government passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) according to a study published in the November 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

9 Oct 2007

Federal jury in Miami convicts company owner of Direct Nursing Assistance Inc

A federal jury in Miami has convicted the owner and operator of Direct Nursing Assistance Inc. of Medicare fraud, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced today.

4 Oct 2007

AACAP reaction to S-CHIP Veto

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry strongly urges Congress to override President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (H.R. 976) act.

4 Oct 2007

Major gender gap in use of life-saving heart device

Women who might have benefited from the use of an implantable heart monitor following a cardiac arrest were far less likely than men to have one prescribed, according to experts at the Duke University Medical Center.

3 Oct 2007

Doctor involved in HIV infusion therapy scam sentenced to 18 months

A doctor involved in a $7 million HIV infusion therapy scheme to defraud Medicare has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, seven months home confinement, and three years supervised release, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced today.

3 Oct 2007

Colonoscopy most effective screening option for colon cancer

According to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), colonoscopy remains the most effective screening option for colorectal cancer.

3 Oct 2007

Average premiums for stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans will increase by 8.7%

Medicare beneficiaries have the ability to switch prescription drug plans, or enroll in the program for the first time, between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31 (Zhang, Wall Street Journal, 9/29). According to CMS spokesperson Tony Salters, about 10% to 15% of Medicare beneficiaries will switch prescription drug plans during the enrollment period (Moos, Dallas Morning News, 9/29).

2 Oct 2007

Medicare part B premiums to increase by 3.1% in 2008 to $96.40 per month

CMS on Monday announced that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers physician visits and outpatient hospital care, will increase by $2.90, or 3.1%, to $96.40 in 2008 -- the smallest increase since 2000, when the premium remained the same, the New York Times reports.

2 Oct 2007

New York announces funds for hospitals to be closed or merged

The 23 hospitals and seven nursing homes in New York state that will be closed or merged with other facilities will receive more than $360 million to pay for legal costs associated with the closures and to pay debts, state health officials said, the New York Times reports (Kershaw, New York Times, 9/29).

2 Oct 2007

Wilmot Cancer Center adds gastrointestinal, brain cancer experts

Three specialists in gastrointestinal and brain cancers recently joined the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center to meet the growing need in the Rochester and Upstate New York region.

1 Oct 2007