medicaid programs
IT key to fighting Medicare, Medicaid fraud
The Department of Health and Human Services bolstered its case for spending on health IT projects with a pair of reports which argue that a national health information network and a system of electronic health records could save taxpayers between $51 million and $181 million by preventing fraud. The first report, commissioned by the office of Health IT coordinator Dr. David Brailer, notes that automated coding software could help fight fraud significantly. The second argues that HIT …
... Read more...State, federal healthcare budgets to feel effect of Katrina
The long-term financial impact of Hurricane Katrina looks serious for state budgets and will probably affect proposed cuts to Medicaid programs. The states directly affected by the storm are not the only ones hurting, Stateline.org reports. States across the southeast are feeling the financial burden of providing healthcare and other basic services to refugees from the devastated areas. Among those considered to be significantly impacted are Florida; Texas, which has accepted the most …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: St. Jude denies ICD rumors; Docs resist increase in Medicaid co-pays; and much more...
> Doctors in the UK think equipping ambulances with a special Bluetooth-enabled brain scanner could save patients having strokes. Story
> Online matchmaking services and support groups are credited as one factor responsible for cutting the rate of new HIV infections by more than 50 percent in San Francisco. …
... Read more...Editor's Corner
This was the week that even President Bush noticed that healthcare costs have been a drag on the economy. At the moment what passes for health policy in the US is a combination of a half-hearted expansion of Medicaid programs in the states, a complex and confusing drug benefit for seniors, and the steady decline in employer-based health insurance, the source for coverage for most …
Kaiser poll shows strong support for Medicaid
New research conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds "surprisingly strong" support for state and federal Medicaid programs among Americans. That may be bad news for lawmakers looking for support as they look for ways to scale back the program. The new poll finds that while most Americans agree that Medicaid has a lot to do with the budget problems their states face, many are reluctant to support cuts. Seventy-five percent of respondents describe Medicaid as "important;" 50 …
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