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White House advisers: Senate reform bill controls health costs

In a pre-Thanksgiving conference call with reporters, senior Obama administration officials praised cost controls in the Senate health reform bill.

26 Nov 2009

Prevent Health Care Fraud Act of 2009: American Association for Homecare endorses bill

The American Association for Homecare endorses the new "Prevent Health Care Fraud Act of 2009," S. 2128, which is designed to substantially improve tools and resources available to prevent fraud in Medicare. The bill was introduced by Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.).

26 Nov 2009

Senators away for holiday continue health debate at home

Senators away for the Thanksgiving holiday are continuing the health care reform debate with constituents and are facing far less vitriol than during the August recess.

25 Nov 2009

Lobbyists – including some surprise players – keep the heat on health legislation

Washington groups have lobbied Congress and the public in nearly every imaginable direction on health reform. But those groups include a few that you may not have guessed would have an interest.

25 Nov 2009

Experts call for greater crackdown on Medicare fraud

Efforts to crack down on Medicare fraud heat up while some experts say more should be done.

25 Nov 2009

Health reform financing ideas watered down, questions remain on premiums, taxes

The New York Times reports that while the Senate health bill "includes nearly every big idea that health economists and medical researchers have for slowing cost growth — as well as for improving the patchwork quality of American health care, ... many of the ideas, like the rule on Medicare reimbursement, have been at least partly neutered. A provision to punish hospitals for infecting their patients, for example, would cut payments for the related treatments by a mere 1 percent.

25 Nov 2009

Health companies' momentum may cut right through reform savings

Health companies have done better than the rest of corporate America during the past decade, MarketWatch/Seattle Times reports. While profits at the S&P 500 companies declined slightly over 10 years, "[d]ata compiled by MarketWatch show that the 52 health-care companies in the index are about to close out the decade with average profits that nearly tripled."

25 Nov 2009

Fact checks examine various health care reform claims

The Christian Science Monitor reports on four key issues - a public option, raising taxes and cutting costs, individual mandates and abortion - that may become points of major differences when expected debate begins Nov. 30 on the Senate bill. The Monitor examines how each issue is covered in both the House and the Senate bills (Chaddock, 11/24).

25 Nov 2009

AARP calls for Idaho's members of Congress to support real health care reform

As the debate over health care reform is expected to pick up in the Senate after Thanksgiving, notices of health care premium increases are hitting mailboxes across Idaho -- leaving many families wondering how they'll be able to afford the hikes. While high health care costs have left nearly 15% of Idaho without insurance, as benefits run out for the state's 67,300 jobless residents that number will jump in the coming months.

25 Nov 2009

Healthways and Physicians Health Choice agree to provide SilverSneakers Fitness Program

Healthways, Inc. and Physicians Health Choice today announced an agreement to provide the Healthways SilverSneakers® Fitness Program, the nation’s leading exercise program for older adults, to eligible Physicians Health Choice plan members in Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Arkansas beginning in January 2010.

25 Nov 2009

Results of impact of 2010 CMS Physician Fee Schedule survey released

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) has released the initial results of a survey about the impact of the 2010 CMS Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on patients and practices.

25 Nov 2009

Great Lakes Health Plan rated among Top 20 Medicaid health plans

Great Lakes Health Plan (GLHP), part of AmeriChoice, is rated among the nation’s Top 20 Medicaid health plans according to the 2009-10 U.S. News & World Report/National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) survey of “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans.”

25 Nov 2009

SBI urges Congress to exclude the USPSTF guidelines from health care legislation

Several sections of Senate health care reform legislation contain language stipulating that insurance entities such as private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid would only be required to cover services receiving a specific grade from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. Presently, this would exclude mammography services for women 40-49, would only require coverage of biennial (every other year) coverage for women 50-74, and exclude coverage for those 74 and older.

25 Nov 2009

Anthem members in Bangor and Presque Isle can now visit their physician without leaving home

Thanks to an innovative program recently developed between Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine, some Anthem members in Bangor and Presque Isle can now "visit" their physician without leaving home.

25 Nov 2009

Hospital officials report job cuts, concern about possible effects of reform

Several news outlets find that hospital executives are worried about their facilities' finances, and for a Chicago hospital the prospect of health care reform brings even more concerns.

24 Nov 2009

KHN column: Answers from Iowa

In this Kaiser Health News column, Michael L. Millenson writes about insights one could gain from paying attention to what's happening in Iowa. "The Des Moines home of the Chicago Cubs' AAA farm team boasts of being 'one of the top minor league facilities in the country.' This might also be an accurate description of the State of Iowa's political status, in which its quadrennial presidential caucuses help determine who advances to the Big Show."

24 Nov 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

If this were a presidential election year, a recent report by the Iowa Committee for Value in Healthcare would be reaping a lot of attention. Its sponsors say they know the "secret sauce" that allows Iowa to care for one of the highest percentage of "old old" in the country on modest Medicare reimbursement and yet still score near the top of the nation on a slew of quality indicators (Michael Millenson, 11/24).

24 Nov 2009

Ad audit: Congress' former fiscal expert attacks health overhaul effort

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau examines an ad advanced by the Employment Policies Institute.

24 Nov 2009

New Medicare rules on home-oxygen affect patients, businesses

The Wall Street Journal: "New Medicare rules designed to reduce waste and fraud in medical-equipment reimbursements are driving some home-oxygen suppliers out of business and leaving patients scrambling to find new providers." The rules - scheduled to go into effect January 1, apply to people "who rely on Medicare to pay for oxygen services, which relieve the symptoms of conditions such as emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

24 Nov 2009