Medicare Payments news from FierceHealthcare
News
Mayo Clinic performance rating comes under scrutiny
The White House has praised the Mayo Clinic and other Midwest clinics for performance ratings, but critics argue that Mayo's low- to no-acceptance of Medicare/Medicaid skews the results. Critics say... Read more...
Doctors fight reforms cutting Medicare fees for high test, treatment volume
Doctors are up in arms over a provision in the latest version of the Senate's health reform bill, which could cut Medicare payments to physicians billing for the highest level of tests and... Read more...
Medicare labs protest proposed tax on services
Here's another idea on how to scrape together more money to fund health reform--one which hasn't shown up on your editor's radar until now. A new Senate Finance Committee proposal would increase... Read more...
A replacement for SGR in the works?
If House lawmakers have their way, the oft-criticized sustainable growth-rate equation used to calculate Medicare payments for doctors will be a thing of the past by next year, reports Modern... Read more...
Senate may add 5 percent bonus to Medicare for primary care MDs
After years of talk about the growing shortage of primary care doctors, the Senate seems to be doing something--maybe not something huge, but something--to address the problem. As part of a package... Read more...
Obama reforms may be slowed by doctor shortages
A few years ago, when Massachusetts first got rolling on its health reform plan, observers began to notice something odd. Once you got everyone insured, they all needed doctors. And once everyone had... Read more...
MedPAC says Medicare payments 'still adequate'
Now here's an assertion that might raise a few hackles. According to Glenn Hackbarth, chairman of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Medicare payments are still "adequate to cover the... Read more...
Bill would increase payments for ED physicians
A new bill being considered by Congress would take steps intended to help ease the worsening situation in the nation's hospital emergency departments, a problem only made worse by the faltering... Read more...
Trend: Huge growth in use of CT scans troubles observers
At one point, CT scans were used now and then, when doctors had few alternatives. Today, however, CT scans have become a standard method for diagnosing ordinary problems like kidney stones, frequent... Read more...
CMS: RAC program has recovered more than $1B
CMS has released a new report stating that Medicare has recovered more than $1 billion through the Recovery Audit Contractor program since 2005, with 85 percent of the money having been taken back... Read more...
