Reimbursement
A federal judge ruled last week to block California's plan to cut Medicaid payments to hospitals by 10 percent.
Contrary to federal law, CMS accepted $15.1 million in gross drug costs for prescriptions written by excluded providers from 2006 to 2008 under the Medicare Part D program, according to a recent report from the Office of Inspector General.
In the past decade, most states have turned Medicaid over to private plans with hopes they could control costs and improve care. Nearly half of the 60 million people in the government program for the poor are now in the managed care plans run by insurance giants such as UnitedHealthcare and Aetna.
Up to 10,000 Medicare patients with chronic conditions will be able to get most of the care they need at home under a new demonstration project developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The pilot is underpinned by the use of information technology.
On Jan. 5, CMS will host a teleconference for physician-based and rural accountable care organizations (ACOs) planning on applying to participate in the Shared Savings Program.
The Greater Houston Health Information Exchange (GHHIE) is now operational after two physician groups successfully exchanged secure clinical messages via the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's Direct Project Protocol service.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday the award of more than $296 million to 23 states that have exceeded target enrollment under the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which insures children 0-17 who live in a low-income household.
CMS will host a teleconference open door forum on Jan. 5 for physician-based and rural accountable care organizations (ACOs) that plan on participating in the Shared Savings Program.
The organization developing Maryland's health insurance exchange delivered recommendations to the governor and state legislature to support its operations, bringing the state another step closer to one-stop shopping for health coverage in 2014.
The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), has identified 20 portable X-ray suppliers with "questionable billing patterns," according to a report issued Tuesday.