Policy and Legislation
The majority of the issues that three of the four Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) posted last week targeted hospitals.
The Institute of Medicine made recommendations last week for eight preventive services for women that health plans should be required to cover without a co-payment or cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act.
After the American Hospital Association released its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) report on start up costs, many health systems are rethinking how they want to structure their organization.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has released its June 2011 Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program.
A new study in the August issue of Health Affairs found that increased public health investments at the local level can produce measurable health improvements.
The latest plan to surface in the Congressional debate to raise the debt ceiling is the proposal from the recently resuscitated "Gang of Six" senators that aims to reduce the deficit by $3.7 trillion and includes significant cuts in healthcare programs.
Earlier this week, the AARP released a report that found the unpaid contributions of family caregivers in the United States in 2009 was approximately $450 billion.
Foes of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) made a big point of complaining about the length of the bill.
Jonathan Blum, deputy administrator and director for the Center of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, says most physicians recognize that U.S. healthcare is inefficient and must change, and are eager to try accountable care organizations (ACOs).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced yesterday proposed standards for the creation of Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs), new private consumer governed health insurance plans. CMS also announced rules for how CO-OPs can qualify for $3.8 billion in government loans to help start up these insurance plans.