Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services news from FierceHealthcare
News
New physician self-referral rules could change hospital deals
About a year ago, CMS approved major changes to existing anti-self referral arrangements by changing the rules for the Medicare hospital inpatient PPS system. Now, as of October 1, the rules will... Read more...
Feds: Lousiana owes $362M for overpayments to its public hospitals
CMS has formally given the state of Louisiana a pretty nasty fiscal demand: The agency has told state officials that during the mid-1990s, it overpaid state-run charity hospitals for care provided to... Read more...
Feds bust dozens for Medicare scams
The feds had a red letter day for Medicare fraud busts yesterday, arresting more than 30 suspects in New York, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Texas for a range of scams including "arthritis... Read more...
Doctors delaying discharge due to lack of home health support
A new survey concludes that a lack of home health services may be yet another bottleneck in the struggle to cut down on needless patient days in the hospital. The report notes that just over half of... Read more...
RI hospitals adopting surgical safety process
Never events have always been a huge concern, but with CMS and other payers refusing to cover never-event surgeries, hospitals have even more reason to eliminate them. Now, Rhode Island hospitals are... Read more...
Patient falls challenged as no-pay events
Patients come to hospitals because they're impaired, then are given drugs that while beneficial, may impair their judgment and balance further. This makes patient falls a difficult problem to... Read more...
Medicare decides not to pay for virtual colonoscopies
CMS disappointed supporters this week when it announced that it was ending Medicare coverage for virtual colonoscopies.The procedures, known as CT colonographies, use X-ray images and software to... Read more...
Bill could lead to more False Claims prosecutions
A bill aimed primarily at fighting mortgage fraud may also end up broadening the scope of claims that can be pursued under the False Claims Act, the law under which many prosecutions for Medicare... Read more...
Insurance group pushes for P4P in reform
The primary lobbying group for the health insurance industry is hitting The Hill with plans for health reform, and one of the key features it's pushing is payment models that reward quality and... Read more...
Primary care groups issue medical home guidelines
Four primary-care organizations have released guidelines designed to help shape the growing number of tests around patient-centered medical homes. The organizations include the American College of... Read more...
