Report: CMS needs better oversight of programs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services needs to do a better job monitoring the billions of dollars it provides in supplemental payments through the Medicaid program, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. In addition, CMS needs to expedite efforts to issue a final rule implementing additional reporting requirements for disproportionate share hospitals, and it needs to better track and review states' supplemental payment programs, the GAO found. DATE: 07/02/08
GAO: Medicare providers owe $2B in back taxes
More than 27,000 healthcare providers who received Medicare payments in 2006 owe more than $2 billion in back taxes, according to the Government Accountability Office. The agency selected 25 Medicare providers for more in-depth investigation and found potentially criminal activity, including failure to remit payroll taxes deducted from their employees' paychecks. The GAO recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services consider issuing guidance to require Medicare contractors to screen prospective Medicare providers for unpaid taxes. DATE: 06/24/08
HHS to aid beneficiaries, providers in flooded states
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has given Medicare beneficiaries and their healthcare providers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs in flood-stricken Iowa and Indiana. HHS reports that because of flood damage to local healthcare facilities, beneficiaries have been evacuated to neighboring communities, where hospitals and nursing homes may have no healthcare records, information on current health status or even verification of the person's status as a Medicare beneficiary. DATE: 06/18/08
Report IDS need for new healthcare payment models
A recent report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute finds that two-thirds of health leaders, including government and private payers from 20 different countries, see problems with their current payment system. "The right reimbursement model is so vital to future sustainability, and it must be reimbursement that properly aligns incentives versus the current perverse incentive structures that exist today," said Tom Wong, Canadian Healthcare Services Leader for the firm. DATE: 06/26/08