Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) on Wednesday introduced companion bills (S 1218 and H 2034) that would allow U.S. residents younger than age 65 to enroll in Medicare, CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article] Read the rest: [...]
U.S. Medicare Monday proposed a $690 million increase in payments to nursing homes. Read the rest: Read more here…
April 30, 2007 – The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined how insurers are working to stop the proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage payments. As part of its lobbying campaign, America’s Health Insurance Plans on Monday is scheduled to introduce a “minority advisory committee” — made up of more than 30 black, Hispanic and Asian-American [...]
March 30, 2007 – The Capitol seems to be awash with Medicare legislation. Read the rest: Read more here…
Government health care policy-makers met last week to discuss ways to expand incentives for health care providers to use telemedicine applications and systems. Members of the American Health Information Community (AHIC)’s chronic care workgroup met to try to remove rules that allow providers of remote health care to be reimbursed by Medicare only if they [...]
House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Wednesday announced that by July he plans to introduce legislation to reduce Medicare reimbursements for private Medicare Advantage plans to help fund other health care proposals, CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article] Read the rest: Read more here…
This week data was updated on following Medicare.gov tools:Medicare Options Compare Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder
April 30, 2007 – Senior citizens and disabled Americans discover a host of problems, including unanticipated costs and barriers to getting care, when they get sick and need care through their Medicare private health plans, according to a new report from the Medicare Rights Center. Read the rest: Read more here…
Amedisys, Inc. , one of America’s leading home health nursing companies, commented today on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services home health PPS refinement and rate update. Read the rest: Read more here…
Two newspapers on Thursday published editorials related to a study released Monday by the board of trustees for Medicare and Social Security that found the Medicare hospital trust fund will become insolvent by 2019, one year later than estimated in 2006. According to the report, Medicare expenditures in 2006 totaled $408 billion and accounted for [...]
AARC (American Association for Respiratory Care) has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on home sleep testing, urging CMS to assure the competency of those individuals who will be administering the test. CMS is in the process of determining if Medicare should revise its current policy on sleep diagnostic testing. [...]
A bipartisan group of senators recently introduced legislation (S 1164) that would expand reimbursements for colorectal cancer screening, CQ HealthBeat reports. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), would set reimbursements for colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic tests at levels similar to what Medicare paid in 1997, when the benefit originally was enacted. [click [...]
Dear Harry: I was ill last fall and had to go to a hospital. I cannot afford health insurance, and I am too young to be covered by Medicare. I got my bill for $800. I called the hospital and asked if I could pay the debt at the rate of $40 per month. The [...]
By Guy Boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Apr. 29–The end of the SeniorCare program this year would mean a small windfall for the 23 companies that sell Medicare prescription drug plans in Wisconsin. Read the rest: Read more here…
The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc., (the Center), convened a working conference in January 2007 that designed a model for resolving Medicare beneficiaries‘ complaints about quality of care. Sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund, with assistance from AARP, the conference provided a forum for key stakeholders to discuss concerns and develop a blueprint for change. [click [...]