GAO exposes flaws in CMS approval of DME suppliers
Medicare is doing a poor job in screening suppliers of durable medical equipment, having failed to identify two fake suppliers in a recent test set up by a government agency. In a test of the system earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office set up two fictitious durable medical equipment companies, using fabricated names and bank accounts. The GAO said the companies were approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services even though they had no clients or inventory. Some industry experts suggest that roughly $1 billion of the $10 billion in annual Medicare payments the government makes for medical equipment are later deemed improper.
Foundation adds $10M to loan pool for Calif. clinics
With a state budget crisis threatening the ability of community health centers to deliver services, the California HealthCare Foundation is chipping in $10 million to a low-interest loan pool designed to ensure clinics are able to provide uninterrupted care. A recent survey by the California Primary Care Association, the statewide representative of more than 700 community clinics and health centers, found that six in 10 clinics have less than a 30-day cash reserve on hand.
Physicians get medicare incentives for quality
Physician groups participating in the Physician Group Practice Demonstration have earned $16.7 million in incentive payments for improving the quality of care delivered to chronic disease patients. The 10 groups earned the incentive payments under the CMS demonstration that rewards healthcare providers for improving health outcomes and coordinating the overall healthcare needs of Medicare patients with congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus.
Economy forces Americans to cut medical spending
A recent survey suggests that many Americans have cut back on medical care spending to save money. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a voluntary organization based in Kansas City, Mo., said the survey revealed that 22 percent of U.S. consumers say they have reduced the number of times they see the doctor as a result of today’s economy. Eleven percent of consumers say they have even cut back the number of prescription drugs they take or the dosage of those medications to make the prescription last longer.