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Low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have trouble getting medications in January 2007

Some pharmacists and advocates have raised concerns that many low-income Medicare beneficiaries "will again have trouble getting medications next month, as they did in January of this year," when the Medicare prescription drug benefit began, the New York Times reports.

5 Dec 2006

Medicare prescription drug benefit cost almost $13B less in 2006 than expected

The Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost $30 billion in 2006, a 30% decrease from a previous estimate of $43 billion, according to CMS, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Freking, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/29).

2 Dec 2006

Pataki and Spitzer endorse commission's recommendations to overhaul New York State health care system

New York Gov. George Pataki (R) and Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer (D) on Wednesday endorsed a report recommending nine hospital closures and the reconfiguration of 48 additional hospitals in the state, Long Island Newsday reports (Clancy, Long Island Newsday, 11/30).

2 Dec 2006

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Incoming House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that the federal government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Dec 2006

Hospital-acquired infections in most cases are the result of poor hygiene

Hospital-acquired infections in most cases are the result of poor hygiene within the facilities and not of how sick patients were at the time of admission, according to three studies published on Monday in the American Journal of Medical Quality, the Washington Post reports.

23 Nov 2006

Quality of life for dementia patients improved by occupational therapy

According to researchers in the Netherlands, occupational therapy improves the quality of life for dementia patients and their carers.

20 Nov 2006

Bush Administration says it opposes Democrats' plan to allow Government to negotiate Medicare drug prices

The Bush administration will oppose any attempts by congressional Democrats to pass legislation that would authorize the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, the New York Times reports.

13 Nov 2006

Drug industry concerned about California Law allowing State to seek drug discounts

A new California law set to take effect in January 2007 "provides a glimpse of the type of government price controls the drug industry fears," the Boston Globe reports.

13 Nov 2006

Fewer Colorado residents enroll in HMOs, hospital profits increase

Fewer Colorado residents enrolled in HMO plans in 2005, but Denver-area hospitals "enjoyed their strongest profits in recent memory," according to findings released Friday from the Colorado Managed Care Review 2006, the Denver Post reports.

13 Nov 2006

Congress to focus on labor-HHS, other unfinished appropriations Bills during Lame-Duck session

Congress likely will focus on the fiscal year 2007 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill and other unfinished spending bills during a lame-duck session that began on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

13 Nov 2006

Majority of Medicare beneficiaries satisfied with prescription drug plans

Three-fourths of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the prescription drug benefit are satisfied with their plans, according to a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive poll, Wall Street Journal Online reports.

8 Nov 2006

Problems with billing for Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums persist

About 50,000 of the 4.7 million Medicare beneficiaries who opted to have their Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums automatically withdrawn from their Social Security checks still are having incorrect amounts deducted, CMS officials said, USA Today reports.

8 Nov 2006

Black Medicare beneficiaries "fare worse" than white beneficiaries

Black Medicare beneficiaries "fare worse" than white beneficiaries "even when they belong to the same health plan," an indication that health care disparities "cannot be attributed to individual, inferior doctors," according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Boston Globe reports.

26 Oct 2006

Big pharma contributes millions to Republican congressional campaigns in close races

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how pharmaceutical companies are "pouring millions of dollars" into congressional campaigns in close races, "giving some Republicans a financial edge."

26 Oct 2006

Washington, D.C., hospital house call program provides care for elderly residents

A program developed by the geriatric department of Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., hopes to reduce health care costs by providing house calls to elderly residents, the Washington Times reports.

26 Oct 2006

PBM Medco Health Solutions agrees to settle Medicare fraud, kickback allegations for $155 million

Medco Health Solutions, the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager, on Monday agreed to pay $155 million to settle fraud allegations brought by the federal government and several former company employees, the Newark Star-Ledger reports (Silverman, Newark Star-Ledger, 10/24).

24 Oct 2006

Use of subcutaneous injections of Epogen for dialysis patients could save Medicare $537 million annually

Administering the anti-anemia drug Epogen to kidney dialysis patients by subcutaneous injections rather than intravenously could save the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the Boston Globe reports.

24 Oct 2006

Sen. Grassley seeks funding extension for hospitals to ensure Medicare reimbursements reflect local wages

Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday said that during the lame-duck session of Congress he will seek a six-month extension of a provision -- Section 508 of the 2003 Medicare law -- that allows reclassification of certain hospitals into different geographic regions for the application of the wage index to receive higher reimbursements, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Oct 2006

Democrats should 'stand up strongly' for principles, columnist writes

If the Democrats gain control of at least one chamber of Congress, "the best thing that [they] can do, not just for their party and their country, but for the cause of bipartisanship, is ... stand up strongly for their principles," columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

23 Oct 2006

Medicare cuts to wheelchair reimbursements prompt opposition from lawmakers, suppliers

Lawmakers from several states recently criticized Medicare cuts that will change reimbursement rates for power wheelchairs, the AP/Columbia State reports.

22 Oct 2006

Medicare News and Research

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have trouble getting medications in January 2007

Medicare prescription drug benefit cost almost $13B less in 2006 than expected

Pataki and Spitzer endorse commission's recommendations to overhaul New York State health care system

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Hospital-acquired infections in most cases are the result of poor hygiene

Quality of life for dementia patients improved by occupational therapy

Bush Administration says it opposes Democrats' plan to allow Government to negotiate Medicare drug prices

Drug industry concerned about California Law allowing State to seek drug discounts

Fewer Colorado residents enroll in HMOs, hospital profits increase

Congress to focus on labor-HHS, other unfinished appropriations Bills during Lame-Duck session

Majority of Medicare beneficiaries satisfied with prescription drug plans

Problems with billing for Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums persist

Black Medicare beneficiaries "fare worse" than white beneficiaries

Big pharma contributes millions to Republican congressional campaigns in close races

Washington, D.C., hospital house call program provides care for elderly residents

PBM Medco Health Solutions agrees to settle Medicare fraud, kickback allegations for $155 million

Use of subcutaneous injections of Epogen for dialysis patients could save Medicare $537 million annually

Sen. Grassley seeks funding extension for hospitals to ensure Medicare reimbursements reflect local wages

Democrats should 'stand up strongly' for principles, columnist writes

Medicare cuts to wheelchair reimbursements prompt opposition from lawmakers, suppliers

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