Shares of long term care provider Kindred rose 10 percent on Tuesday after Wall Street learned that CMS plans a 4 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates in 2007. The company's stock hit a high of $27.10 before cooling yesterday. Bush administration officials were livid after it was revealed that a complete copy of an unpublished regulation was leaked to Wall Street sources four hours ahead of its scheduled release. Investors took note because the cut was far less than the previously proposed 11 percent reduction. The political daily The Hill reports that the leak is the second of a sensitive document at Medicare in the past two months. In early April, Citigroup published details on scheduled rate changes for long-term care providers drawn from a leaked report. CMS officials are vowing to put a stop to the misbehavior.
- see this article from The Hill