Medicare/ Medicaid

In 2003, the federal government imposed a ban on the opening of new heart hospitals, suggesting that such facilities might be ordering heart procedures for financial rather than clinical reasons. Now, a new study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality suggests that their worries had some foundation. The study, which appears in this week's issue of the Journal of the …

Democrats looking for ways to expand children's healthcare funding are considering a new option. A commission that advises Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, has suggested that CMS stop paying private insurers more than Medicare spends when it pays for patients directly. Right now, Medicare spends about 12 percent more for Medicare managed care plans than it does when it pays providers itself, a difference of about $65 billion. Among other things, Democratic legislators …

According to a new report, Medicaid's future may be better than previously thought. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has concluded that projected growth in government revenues should support Medicaid spending for at least 40 years. This is, in part, because the program's share of national health expenditures isn't expected to grow dramatically. As of 2005, Medicaid was 16.5 percent of national health expenditures, but should only climb 2.5 percent, to 19 percent, by …

Disagreements over the future of the Louisiana healthcare system temporarily came to a halt yesterday, when Gov. Kathleen Blanco and U.S. Sen. David Vitter agreed to begin planning for a new teaching hospital in downtown New Orleans. Vitter and Blanco intend to give Louisiana State University an initial $74 million to buy land and hire architects, the first steps in the building process. Gov. Blanco expects to give LSU another $226 million in federal money, once the school has developed a …

It's beginning to look like HHS Secretary's Michael Leavitt's proposal for reforming healthcare in Louisiana is getting a big "no sale" from the state's leaders. Gov. Kathleen Blanco flatly rejected Leavitt's plan, which would involve using federal funds for the uninsured to provide health insurance for just about half the state's uninsured, calling it "an insult to our intelligence." Blanco says the plan would not pay for what Leavitt claims, as it provides no new funding, leaving a …

Taking on a very tough problem, two federal legislators have re-introduced a bill which would reward doctors who provide ED- or other emergency-related care with 10 percent Medicare pay increases. The bill also establishes a commission which would look at related issues such as overcrowding in the ED, med mal issues in providing ED-based care, and the shrinking availability of specialists willing to take call. Right now, ED physicians end up with $140,000 in uncompensated care annually, …

Well, you've got to admit that they're not going for half-measures. In a move that exceeds the ambition of many states, Democratic leaders and state Governor Chris Gregoire committed this week to bringing universal healthcare to the state within five years. Their methods will include cutting down on emergency department overuse, improving use of technology, reducing costs and expanding the state-subsidized plan which helps to cover working poor residents. By implementing these strategies, …

A new budget proposal by President Bush designed to cut Medicare spending by $65.6 billion over five years would have a particularly harsh effects on hospitals, reducing their Medicare income by $30 billion over that period, industry analysts said this week. President Bush is also proposing cutting Medicaid costs a total of $25.7 billion, including $13 billion in spending cuts and $12.7 billion intended to be generated by administrative-cost savings.

The five-year budget proposal …

CMS has let four more heart transplant centers know that they may lose Medicare and Medicaid funding in 30 days due to the low volume of transplants they've done in recent years. The hospitals include Sutter Memorial Hospital, Hartford Hospital (CT), Washington Hospital Center (Washington, DC) and BryanLGH Medical Center East (Lincoln, NE). CMS has been particularly aggressive in threatening low-end programs of late, in part after a recent investigation found that a fifth of 236 heart, …

Sure, the idea that Louisiana already has enough money to cover most low-income residents may sound good from the 50,000 foot view enjoyed by HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt. But down on the ground, things looked different to state legislators, who strongly disapprove of the idea of moving money from the state's Charity Hospital System into government-subsidized private health insurance. The legislators, who listened to Leavitt speak on Wednesday, aren't even willing to consider the idea …