Senate issues bill to block home health cuts
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Me.) and Robert Casey (D-Pa.) have introduced legislation to prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from making further cuts to home healthcare providers’ reimbursements. The Home Health Care Access Protection Act aims to block the 11.75 percent cuts that CMS plans to implement for home healthcare programs over the next four years. The National Association For Home Care and Hospice, in staunch opposition to the cuts, has launched a grassroots campaign urging members of Congress to take action.
DATE: 10/18/07
McCain calls healthcare costs a prominent issue
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined the ranks of presidential hopefuls who are coming up to bat on what pollsters have determined is the nation’s second most important domestic issue – healthcare. At a Des Moines Rotary Club lunch in October, McCain unveiled his healthcare platform, saying he anticipates that healthcare will be a prominent issue in the presidential election. McCain added that bringing costs under control will be pivotal in saving Medicare and Medicaid, protecting private health benefits for retirees and enabling companies to effectively compete around the world.
DATE: 10/15/07
Rate cuts nudge postal workers toward CDHP
The health plan serving the 300,000-member American Postal Workers Union is offering premium reductions to entice employee members to enroll in its consumer-driven health plan. The reduction is stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement that APWU members ratified earlier in the year. The agreement limits the amount that active postal employees will pay in premium costs when they enroll in the consumer-driven option for 2008. DATE: 09/21/07
Aetna, Ingenix to enable direct claims submissions
Aetna Inc. wants to give healthcare providers a way to connect directly to the insurer for the transmission of batch and real-time transactions. The service, called Aetna EDI Connect, will enable claims submissions without the need for clearinghouses or third-party intermediaries. Aetna has entered a five-year agreement with Ingenix, an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based health information technology company, to provide clearinghouse services as well as next-generation managed EDI services.
DATE: 09/19/07