medicare reimbursement
Hospitals win back $666M from Medicare
In a deal that marks one of the largest settlements ever paid by the federal government to healthcare providers, CMS has agreed to pay out $666 million to 667 hospitals that sued for back payments.... Read more...
Western PA hospitals battle for Medicare hike
A group of 34 western Pennsylvania hospitals is fighting to get a boost in Medicare reimbursement, arguing that the formula the government uses doesn't properly account for their expenses. The... Read more...
Medicare demands money back as hospice patients live longer
Historically, patients who ended up in a hospice have tended to live less than six months once curative efforts were withdrawn. Medicare reimbursement for hospice services was structured around this... Read more...
Federal mental health parity measure faces roadblocks
Federal mental health parity legislation--designed to require health plans to cover mental illnesses on an equal basis with physical illnesses--has made meaningful progress of late. However, it's... Read more...
Groups question Medicare physical therapy limits
A growing number of medical groups, and at least some legislators, are beginning to challenge Medicare's limits on reimbursement for physical therapy. Currently, Medicare covers a patient's first... Read more...
Physicians see expected 10 percent Medicare cut
Unless something dramatic happens, it appears that physicians will see Medicare reimbursement cuts of almost 10 percent in 2008 under a final rule issued yesterday by CMS. The cut is driven by the... Read more...
Dialysis firms defend anemia drug use along ethnic lines
Citing data suggesting that African-American patients need more of the drug, the kidney dialysis industry has begun to argue that limits on its use of Amgen's Epogen could harm patients. According to... Read more...
AMA promotes plan to cover the uninsured
The AMA has decided to put its stake in the ground on the issue of health reform, launching a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign promoting its approach to covering the uninsured. The trade... Read more...
Providers dished out the lobbying bucks
In actions sure to be reflected this year as well, a group of Birmingham, Ala.-based healthcare providers pulled together in 2006 to lobby for common causes, spending nearly $3 million on Washington,... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Thoracic group lobbies Congress over Medicare cuts; Aetna expands Tenet network; and much more...
> The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) may not have the clout of the AMA, but it's doing what it can on the lobbying front nonetheless. It's meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill to ask them to stop the planned 10 percent Medicare reimbursement cut. Article
> Tenet has struck a deal with Aetna which extends the Aetna network to all of the chain's 60 subsidiary-owned or operated hospitals. …
