Chris Anderson
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said last week that the 10 physician group practices participating in year four of the Medicare pay-for-performance demonstration project recorded estimated savings of $38.7 million in Medicare expenditures.
Tenet Healthcare has rejected an unsolicited $3.3 billion dollar stock and cash buyout offer from Community Health Systems, saying the offer was opportunistic, undervalued the Dallas-based healthcare network and didn't adequately reflect the company's prospect for future growth.
As expected, the Senate has unanimously approved a 12-month postponement of Medicare payment cuts to physicians that were set to kick in January 1, a move widely applauded by physicians' groups and senior advocates that have desperately lobbied Capitol Hill in recent weeks.
The Senate has reached a tentative deal to delay scheduled 25 percent Medicare pay cuts to physicians for one year, a deal that is expected to cost more than $19 billion. A vote on the measure could happen as early as today.
A study by the Lewin Group, conducted for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, indicates Medicaid could save $30 billion over 10 years in pharmacy expenses by transitioning away from its current predominant fee-for-service payment model.
The number of people enrolled in either a consumer-driven health plan or high-deductible health plan reached 22 million in 2010, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.
The Commonwealth Fund reports that employer-sponsored family health insurance plans increased by 41 percent from 2003 to 2009 - more than three times the rate of increase for personal income in that same time frame.
Doctors face significant reimbursement cuts unless Congress take action.
With the relationship between President Barack Obama's administration and the health insurance industry turning sour as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act made its way through Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius turned up the heat on insurers' rate hikes.
2010 was a tough year to be a state Medicaid director.