HEALTH CARRIAGE HILL ISSUES NOT ON WEB NURSING HOME DATA CAN BE HARD TO GET Nursing homes
Medicare’s Web site is silent on the recent problems at Carriage Hill nursing home
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Archive for May, 2007
B.C. autism group visits Halifax, pushes for treatment funding across Canada
DARTMOUTH, N.S. (CP) – A British Columbia-based organization pushing to have costly treatments for autistic children covered under medicare has taken its fight to the East Coast.
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City may change retiree health benefits
Some Medicare-eligible retirees from the city of Jackson are worried about how they’ll pay for prescription drugs after July 1. Through June 30, the city will fund a self-insured prescription-drug benefit for 46 former workers, which includes all city retirees except police and fire personnel.
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Rep. Stark Says Private Medicare Advantage Fee-for-Service Plans At ‘Top’ Of His List For Reductions In Medicare …
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on Tuesday held a hearing on private Medicare Advantage fee-for-service plans, and subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) said that the plans top his list for proposed reductions in Medicare reimbursements to fund an expansion of SCHIP, CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article]
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CMS Proposes Reforms Of Compliance Requirements For Medicare Advantage Plans – Provisions Extend To Part D Prescription …
To further safeguard Medicare beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare and medicaid services (CMS) today proposed strengthening its current oversight requirements and penalties for Medicare advantage plans and Part D prescription drug plans. [click link for full article]
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Medicare To Expand Coverage Of Ultrasound Diagnostic Procedures, USA
The Centers for Medicare & medicaid services (CMS) announced today a decision to provide coverage for Doppler monitoring of cardiac output in certain settings. CMS has determined that the current evidence is adequate to revise its longstanding Ultrasound Diagnostic Procedures National coverage Determination and remove the past noncoverage of this diagnostic test in these settings. [...]
CMS To Post Online First Broad Comparison Of Hospital Mortality Rates For Heart Attack, Heart Failure In Medicare …
CMS in June will post the first broad comparison of hospital mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure in Medicare beneficiaries on the Hospital Compare Web site, USA Today reports. Hospital mortality rates currently “are among the best-kept secrets in American medicine” and remain “closely guarded,” according to USA Today. [click link for full [...]
Congress, AMA, Advocates All Targeting Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service Plans
May 24, 2007 – The spotlight in Congress and in Medicare advocacy circles is increasing the focus on problems in the Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service Plans.
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Statement On Congressional Actions That Would Put An End To Medicare Private Health Plans’ Abusive Marketing Practices, …
Statement by Robert M. [click link for full article]
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Understanding of Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service Gained from New Report
May 24, 2007 – A timely new report from the Center for Medicare Advocacy describes the Medicare Advantage Fee-for-Service Plans, the rules and regulations in which they operate and compares these to those for other Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
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Hospital Death Rates for Heart Attack, Failure in Medicare Patients to be Published by CMS
May 24, 2007 – CMS in June will post the first broad comparison of hospital mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure in Medicare beneficiaries on the Hospital Compare Web site, USA Today reports.
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Private Fee-For-Service Plans Serve As Growth Engine for Medicare Advantage Market
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 24 /PRNewswire/ — HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of healthcare market intelligence, reports that health plans see private fee-for-service (pffs) as a key method for growth in the Medicare Advantage space without having to spend money to build a network.
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CMS Officials Discuss Benefits Of Private Medicare Advantage Fee-for-Service Plans In Advance Of House Committee …
CMS officials on Monday held a press briefing to provide information about private Medicare Advantage fee-for-service plans in advance of a House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing on the plans scheduled for Tuesday, CongressDaily reports. [click link for full article]
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CQ’s Carey Discusses Report On Medicare Marketing Practices, FY 2008 Budget, Medical Device User Fee Act
Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, examines a Congressional report on marketing and sales practices by agents of some private Medicare fee-for-service plans, a fiscal year 2008 budget resolution that includes an additional $50 billion for SCHIP and a House panel hearing on reautho [click link for full article]
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XLHealth’s Care Improvement Plus Teams Up With Outcomes Pharmaceutical Healthcare to Improve Medication Compliance …
Among Medicare beneficiaries, medication compliance issues lead to approximately 10 percent of total hospital admissions, 33 percent of heart failure hospital admissions, and 22 percent of all nursing home admissions.
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