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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

More than 600,000 Medicare prescription drug benefit beneficiaries must apply for low-income subsidy

More than 600,000 low-income Medicare beneficiaries who were automatically enrolled in the Medicare prescription drug benefit and received a subsidy toward premium costs this year will have to apply to receive the subsidy for 2007 because their eligibility status has changed, CMS officials said on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.

22 Oct 2006

Columnist explores reasons for discrepancy in U.S., foreign health spending, related life expectancies

The answer to why many countries spend less on health care than the U.S. and have higher life expectancies is "fantastically complicated -- but also fantastically important," New York Times columnist David Leonhardt writes.

19 Oct 2006

Competition in health care industry can help reduce costs

"Choice and competition work in health care," but "most of us aren't lucky enough to have access to a market shaped by them," Robert Moffit, director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

19 Oct 2006

Louisiana residents open to reforming or eliminating charity hospital system

Seventy-two percent of Louisiana residents believe the state's health care system needs to be changed or completely rebuilt in order to provide better care to the uninsured, according to a poll released Monday by the non-partisan Council for a Better Louisiana, the AP/New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

19 Oct 2006

Racial disparities in preventive health care persist

The racial gap in preventive health care -- such as Pap tests, mammograms, and prostate and colorectal cancer screenings -- persists and might be larger than previously thought, a study published online in BMC Heath Services Research finds, the Washington Post reports.

17 Oct 2006

Hospitals reduce elderly mortality rate, though gap between best, worst hospitals in U.S. widened in 2005

Patients ages 65 and older last year were 69% less likely to die at hundreds of the best hospitals than hundreds of the worst, according to a study conducted by Colorado-based Health Grades, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

17 Oct 2006

Check out hospital rating before checking in

According to the latest study, the gap between the best and worst performing hospitals in the United States has widened by as much as 5 percent since last year.

17 Oct 2006

270,000 low-income Medicare beneficiaries in California will be assigned new prescription drug plans

About 270,000 low-income elderly and disabled Californians will automatically be assigned to new Medicare prescription drug plans Jan. 1, 2007, because four plans will no longer be available next year, the Los Angeles Times reports.

16 Oct 2006

Increased oversight, other efforts have reduced improper Medicare payment claims by $1.3B

Improved oversight and other efforts by CMS have helped reduce the rate of improper Medicare reimbursements for fee-for-service claims from 5.2% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2006 for a savings of $1.3 billion, according to agency Administrator Mark McClellan, CQ HealthBeat reports.

16 Oct 2006

U.S. consumers' health care concerns

USA Today on Monday published three articles addressing U.S. consumers' health care concerns as part of a week-long series titled "Prescription for Change," which examines possible improvements to the U.S. health care system.

16 Oct 2006

McClellan touts lower projected cost of Medicare prescription drug benefit

Mark McClellan, who left his position as CMS administrator this weekend, said he believes his greatest accomplishment during his tenure was improving quality of care in Medicare, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 10/13).

16 Oct 2006

Federal Agencies collected $1.47B in fraud from government health insurance programs in FY 2005

The Department of Justice and the HHS Office of Inspector General in a report issued this week announced that their joint Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program -- which attempts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in federal health care programs -- will collect $1.47 billion from criminal or civil cases brought during fiscal year 2005, The Hill reports.

8 Oct 2006

U.S. Court of Appeals sets January for arguments over erroneously sent Medicare premium reimbursements after holding lower court's decision

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday issued a temporary hold on an order by a lower court that CMS must inform 230,000 Medicare beneficiaries who received erroneous reimbursements of their Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums of their right to request a waiver of recovery of the funds, the Washington Post reports.

8 Oct 2006

Medicare News and Research

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

More than 600,000 Medicare prescription drug benefit beneficiaries must apply for low-income subsidy

Columnist explores reasons for discrepancy in U.S., foreign health spending, related life expectancies

Competition in health care industry can help reduce costs

Louisiana residents open to reforming or eliminating charity hospital system

Racial disparities in preventive health care persist

Hospitals reduce elderly mortality rate, though gap between best, worst hospitals in U.S. widened in 2005

Check out hospital rating before checking in

270,000 low-income Medicare beneficiaries in California will be assigned new prescription drug plans

Increased oversight, other efforts have reduced improper Medicare payment claims by $1.3B

U.S. consumers' health care concerns

McClellan touts lower projected cost of Medicare prescription drug benefit

Federal Agencies collected $1.47B in fraud from government health insurance programs in FY 2005

U.S. Court of Appeals sets January for arguments over erroneously sent Medicare premium reimbursements after holding lower court's decision

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