medicare patients
ALSO NOTED: Scholastic opens on-site clinics; Colon screening rates vary by demographic; and much more...
> Publisher Scholastic has opened two on-site employee healthcare clinics. Release
> Despite improved cancer-screening coverage, colon screening rates among Medicare patients seem to rise and fall a great deal depending on the demographics of the patient. Article
> U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Finance …
... Read more...Medicare's needy struggle to get drugs
According to some advocacy groups, it looks like pharma companies aren't coming up with free prescription drugs for the needy Medicare recipients, despite a pointed congressional request eight months ago. Several pharma companies had called off their drug assistance programs for Medicare patients once Part D became effective last year. The drug makers said that they were afraid they'd be accused of violating anti-kickback rules if they kept the programs open, though CMS has since said …
... Read more...NJ sees long-term acute hospital growth
New Jersey is playing host to a growing number of long-term acute care beds, a service designed to fill the gap between standard acute care and nursing facilities. The state now has nine such hospitals, and more are planned. Nationally, there are more than 400 such hospitals currently open. These facilities, which offer no services other than extended care, target patients with serious conditions who will be hospitalized for three weeks or more. Many long-term acute care patients are on …
... Read more...IN providers protest Medicaid plan
In Indiana, doctors and hospitals are protesting a plan to transfer the state's Medicaid patients to three private insurers. Providers are vehemently resisting the change because the insurers have proposed a 30 percent cut to physician reimbursement for Medicare patients. Doctors and hospitals say that the steep cuts will force physicians to limit the number of Medicaid patients they treat, leaving a high number of indigent patients to receive expensive emergency care. Insurance company …
... Read more...Medicare funds at-home doctor visits
A three-year Medicare demonstration program in California's Northern San Joaquin Valley is bringing back an almost extinct medical practice--at-home doctor's visits. The purpose of the program is to provide medical care to chronically ill patients before their problems escalate and land them in the hospital. Though only about 5 percent of Medicare patients have multiple chronic conditions, they are the most expensive to treat and rack up an incredible 40 …
... Read more...IOM recommends P4P for Medicare
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that the federal government focus less on quantity and more on quality when it comes to treating Medicare patients. The current system reimburses doctors a set amount for performing particular medical services. The IOM finds that this system doesn't do anything to encourage doctors to administer high-quality care. Instead, the report recommends instituting a pay-for-performance system, and it even suggests how to pay for such a program. The IOM …
... Read more...A different perspective on Medicare cuts
At Spot-On, Matthew Holt has some harsh words about the AMA's opposition to the impending Medicare cuts. Last week, the AMA released a statement saying that many Americans are concerned about the impending cuts. The AMA acknowledges that most Americans aren't even aware of the cuts, but claims that when informed about them, most expressed concern about what impact the cuts will have on healthcare. Holt takes issue with the AMA's methodology. "After the pollsters told them …
... Read more...AMA addresses Medicare reimbursement cuts
In a Q&A with UPI, William Plested III, president of the AMA, discusses the impact of Medicare reimbursement rate cuts on physicians. He says that their primary concern is that physicians--particularly geriatricians--won't be able to afford taking on more elderly patients if Medicare doesn't reimburse them properly. According to an AMA study, 45 percent of physicians say the cuts will …
... Read more...Study: Fewer MDs accepting Medicaid patients
It's battling studies time. In one corner is the Center for Studying Health System Change, which is reporting that decreasing Medicaid reimbursement rates are causing providers to turn away more and more Medicaid patients. According to the Center, in the mid-1990s, 19.5 percent of doctors weren't accepting Medicaid patients; that number has climbed to 21 percent in the last several years. Physicians and health officials have previously expressed concern that doctors might be more …
... Read more...AMA criticizes reimbursement cuts
The AMA's National House Call campaign made a stop in Philadelphia yesterday, bringing attention to how the proposed Medicare cut will impact doctors serving poor and elderly patients. According to an AMA survey, 45 percent of the association's members said the cuts will force them to limit the number of Medicare patients they treat. "Physicians want to serve America's seniors. Unfortunately, drastic Medicare cuts will force physicians to make difficult practice changes," the AMA said in …
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