Medicare News Blog - Care About Medicare http://www.medicarenews.net A news blog on all things Medicare. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:02:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Medicare Web Site Confounds Many Seniors http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-web-site-confounds-many-seniors-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-web-site-confounds-many-seniors-08-2008.htm#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:02:14 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-web-site-confounds-many-seniors-08-2008.htm TUESDAY, Aug. 19 — A majority of seniors who visit the Medicare Web site find getting the information they need a frustrating experience, University of Miami researchers report.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-web-site-confounds-many-seniors-08-2008.htm/feed Health care panel at WSU pushes for system overhaul http://www.medicarenews.net/health-care-panel-at-wsu-pushes-for-system-overhaul-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/health-care-panel-at-wsu-pushes-for-system-overhaul-08-2008.htm#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:27:04 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/health-care-panel-at-wsu-pushes-for-system-overhaul-08-2008.htm Branding it a new civil rights movement, U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Detroit, and a group of local health care providers and advocates pushed to transform the nation’s tiered health care system into a single-payer, “Medicare for all” system during a discussion at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine on Monday.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/health-care-panel-at-wsu-pushes-for-system-overhaul-08-2008.htm/feed Montefiore’s CMO and Health Hero Network Create Partnership to Move Health Care Into the Home in the Bronx http://www.medicarenews.net/montefiores-cmo-and-health-hero-network-create-partnership-to-move-health-care-into-the-home-in-the-bronx-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/montefiores-cmo-and-health-hero-network-create-partnership-to-move-health-care-into-the-home-in-the-bronx-08-2008.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:05:00 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/montefiores-cmo-and-health-hero-network-create-partnership-to-move-health-care-into-the-home-in-the-bronx-08-2008.htm CMO, the Care Management Company — a subsidiary of Montefiore, a health-care system that serves over 400,000 individuals in the Bronx, New York — has chosen Health Hero Network as a provider of home telehealth technology services for CMO’s care- and disease-management programs, including its CareGuidance Medicare demonstration. Health Hero Network is a subsidiary of the Bosch Group, a…

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/montefiores-cmo-and-health-hero-network-create-partnership-to-move-health-care-into-the-home-in-the-bronx-08-2008.htm/feed Medicare Could Save Lives, Dollars by Providing Seniors Nicotine Patches, Hotline http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-save-lives-dollars-by-providing-seniors-nicotine-patches-hotline-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-save-lives-dollars-by-providing-seniors-nicotine-patches-hotline-08-2008.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:55:57 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-save-lives-dollars-by-providing-seniors-nicotine-patches-hotline-08-2008.htm Aug. 18, 2008 - Medicare could possibly save the lives of many senior citizens and save the government some money in health care costs by providing nicotine patches and a telephone hotline to seniors who want to quit smoking.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-save-lives-dollars-by-providing-seniors-nicotine-patches-hotline-08-2008.htm/feed Hospital Health Information Management Directors Comment on Recovery Audit Contractor http://www.medicarenews.net/hospital-health-information-management-directors-comment-on-recovery-audit-contractor-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/hospital-health-information-management-directors-comment-on-recovery-audit-contractor-08-2008.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:57:00 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/hospital-health-information-management-directors-comment-on-recovery-audit-contractor-08-2008.htm MINNEAPOLIS—-Ninety-two percent of hospital Health Information Management directors are familiar with the Centers for Medicare and medicaid services Recovery audit Contractor program, but few expect it to have a positive financial effect on their facility, according to an independent national survey completed last month on behalf of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/hospital-health-information-management-directors-comment-on-recovery-audit-contractor-08-2008.htm/feed Lower Medicare Part D Costs Than Expected In 2009, USA http://www.medicarenews.net/lower-medicare-part-d-costs-than-expected-in-2009-usa-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/lower-medicare-part-d-costs-than-expected-in-2009-usa-08-2008.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:16:31 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/lower-medicare-part-d-costs-than-expected-in-2009-usa-08-2008.htm As Medicare’s Part D prescription drug program enters its fourth year, beneficiary satisfaction rates remain high, program costs remain lower than originally expected, and Medicare prescription drug plan bids reflect Nationwide drug price trends, the Centers for Medicare & medicaid services announced.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/lower-medicare-part-d-costs-than-expected-in-2009-usa-08-2008.htm/feed Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Monthly Premiums To Increase By 12% To $28 In 2009 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-prescription-drug-benefit-monthly-premiums-to-increase-by-12-to-28-in-2009-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-prescription-drug-benefit-monthly-premiums-to-increase-by-12-to-28-in-2009-08-2008.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:13:10 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-prescription-drug-benefit-monthly-premiums-to-increase-by-12-to-28-in-2009-08-2008.htm Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems on Thursday said that average Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums would be $28 per month in 2009, an increase of 12% over this year’s monthly premium, CQ HealthBeat reports. The increase equals $3 per month. Federal analysts in 2003 estimated that average monthly premiums in 2009 would be $44.12.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-prescription-drug-benefit-monthly-premiums-to-increase-by-12-to-28-in-2009-08-2008.htm/feed Medicare Support Pays Off for Senior Smokers Trying to Quit http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-support-pays-off-for-senior-smokers-trying-to-quit-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-support-pays-off-for-senior-smokers-trying-to-quit-08-2008.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:31:14 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-support-pays-off-for-senior-smokers-trying-to-quit-08-2008.htm New research suggests that Medicare could help seniors stop smoking by providing nicotine patches and a telephone hotline to those who want to quit. Older people can benefit from quitting, even if they have smoked for decades.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-support-pays-off-for-senior-smokers-trying-to-quit-08-2008.htm/feed Aussies favour public funded health http://www.medicarenews.net/aussies-favour-public-funded-health-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/aussies-favour-public-funded-health-08-2008.htm#comments Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:02:21 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/aussies-favour-public-funded-health-08-2008.htm Australians trust their family doctor, approve of the Medicare system and overwhelmingly favour healthcare funded by the public purse, a survey shows.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/aussies-favour-public-funded-health-08-2008.htm/feed Physician Groups Enhance Quality of Care, Generate Savings for Medicare, and Earn Incentives Under CMS Demonstration … http://www.medicarenews.net/physician-groups-enhance-quality-of-care-generate-savings-for-medicare-and-earn-incentives-under-cms-demonstration-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/physician-groups-enhance-quality-of-care-generate-savings-for-medicare-and-earn-incentives-under-cms-demonstration-08-2008.htm#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:16:14 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/physician-groups-enhance-quality-of-care-generate-savings-for-medicare-and-earn-incentives-under-cms-demonstration-08-2008.htm On August 14, Centers for Medicare & medicaid services hosted a teleconference featuring medical groups that are participating in the demonstration.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/physician-groups-enhance-quality-of-care-generate-savings-for-medicare-and-earn-incentives-under-cms-demonstration-08-2008.htm/feed Medicare Could Lower Long-Term Costs, Avoid Physician Fee Cuts By Reducing Hospital Readmissions, Opinion Piece Says http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-lower-long-term-costs-avoid-physician-fee-cuts-by-reducing-hospital-readmissions-opinion-piece-says-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-lower-long-term-costs-avoid-physician-fee-cuts-by-reducing-hospital-readmissions-opinion-piece-says-08-2008.htm#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:13:26 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-lower-long-term-costs-avoid-physician-fee-cuts-by-reducing-hospital-readmissions-opinion-piece-says-08-2008.htm Reducing hospital readmissions by Medicare beneficiaries could play a large role in reducing program spending enough to avoid cutting physician fees, Robert Pozen, a trustee of the Commonwealth Fund, and Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the fund, write in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

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]]> http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-could-lower-long-term-costs-avoid-physician-fee-cuts-by-reducing-hospital-readmissions-opinion-piece-says-08-2008.htm/feed Medicare Premium Withholding From Social Security Payments Still Problematic, GAO Report Finds http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-premium-withholding-from-social-security-payments-still-problematic-gao-report-finds-08-2008.htm http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-premium-withholding-from-social-security-payments-still-problematic-gao-report-finds-08-2008.htm#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:13:30 +0000 http://www.medicarenews.net/medicare-premium-withholding-from-social-security-payments-still-problematic-gao-report-finds-08-2008.htm Some Medicare beneficiaries still are having incorrect amounts withheld from their Social Security checks for Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums, but the programs have made significant improvements since 2006 in matching their databases to deduct the correct amounts, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, CQ HealthBeat reports.

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