Policy and Legislation
Republicans are expected to put repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to a vote on Wednesday. Proving yet again that Kabuki is alive and well in Washington, D.C. Which makes what is about to unfold in Congress relatively straightforward to predict with a reasonable degree of confidence.
The Minnesota Medical Association has asked Medica to delay the January 19 release of its individual physician rating program, known as the Premium Designation Program.
Healthcare reform could close the gap between recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, charged by the government to review clinical preventive health services for older adults, and Medicare coverage for those services, according to a new study.
Blue Shield of California has announced it will work with an outside actuarial firm to examine its proposed rate increase for 194,000 individual members, some of whom would see their rates increase by as much as 59 percent.
Medicare coverage for home care visits has a checkered history. The original rationale for including home care in Medicare was straightforward and compelling: it's much cheaper, healthier and pleasant for a patient to be at home receiving skilled care than to stay in a hospital for lack of enough support in the home environment.
Hospitals hiring physicians as employees and primary care physicians receiving financial incentives for patients who do well are among the 2010 healthcare trends cited in a new industry report from staffing firm Jackson & Coker.
CMS has announced final federal share disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments for FY 2009 and the preliminary allotments for FY 2011.
Paul LePage, Maine's new Republican governor, has submitted a supplemental budget to the Legislature that includes paying back nearly $250 million owed to hospitals for overdue Medicaid charges.
In comments submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance expressed concerns that a proposed rule for Medicare Part C and Part D plans for short-cycle dispensing of medications in long-term care settings would cost money, not save it as intended.
The drug shortage situation in the U.S. is something every person in America should be aware of, because depending on your health and the drug you may need, you may be out of luck. Can this really be happening in America? Yes!