Medicare & Medicaid

Proposed regulations released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are raising concerns that the playing field is uneven, with 87 percent of solo practitioners getting penalized and 81 percent of clinicians in large groups earning bonuses, according to some estimates.

A surging interest in Medicare Advantage among the retirement-aged population and the fast-consolidating ranks of private payers has some experts asking whether the program might be the future of Medicare overall.

Aetna expects its proposed $37 billion acquisition of Humana to close during the second half of 2016, Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini said during an investor call Thursday while commenting on the insurer's first quarter financial results.

Currently, doctors are paid for things such as tests, treatments and other procedures, but not necessarily for spending time with patients to learn more about their health or develop a treatment plan. Officials say the new payment program will change that.

Administration officials moved Thursday to improve low Medicaid enrollment for emerging prisoners, urging states to start signups before release and expand eligibility to thousands of former inmates in halfway houses near the end of their sentences.

The more flexible Quality Payment Program for physicians is aimed at reducing the reporting burden and offers financial incentives.

For the first time, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is adding Medicare claims data submitted by hospitals to quality measures posted on its consumer-based website, Nursing Home Compare.

Only 15% of Medicaid revenue to go to administrative purposes.

Hutchinson, a Republican, has backed continuing the policy with a few conservative tweaks he negotiated with the Obama administration.

In addition to payments, CMS is proposing new assessment-based quality measures, and claims-based measures for inclusion in the quality reporting program.