Policy and Legislation
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that less than 4 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries who had coverage for at least a year reported difficulty obtaining medical care in 2008 and 2009, this despite more than two-thirds of states reporting they faced challenges in ensuring there are enough Medicaid providers to serve the growing number of beneficiaries.
A South Carolina-based hospice company has agreed to settle false claims allegations for $1.287 million, the Department of Justice announced last week.
Nearly a year after providing guidance that broadly defined essential health benefits (EHBs), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday put some meat on the bones with a detailed set of proposed rules that will determine the required components that must be offered beginning in 2014 through all non-grandfathered health plans.
In an effort to control costs and get people covered by health insurance, the Affordable Care Act offers a number of options for covering low-income people. Among those options is the Basic Health Program, which some say will save money and others say will kill health insurance exchanges.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will need to place a lot of emphasis on implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the coming year, according to the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) annual summary of management and performance challenges facing the agency, released this week.
More than half of all Medicare claims denial appeals are overturned by administrative law judges according to a recent report by the Office of Inspector General.
At a time when the nursing home industry is lobbying Congress to avoid cuts in Medicare payments, a federal watchdog agency is reporting that taxpayers overpaid nursing homes $1.5 billion.
In an effort to accelerate the development of innovative care models within their respective health systems, Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System announced earlier this week the joint formation of the Georgia Health Collaborative, the first such organization in the state.
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, say they want to avert the fiscal cliff, that toxic mix of expiring tax breaks and automatic spending reductions set to begin in January. If Republicans make concessions on taxes, Democrats and the president say, they'll move on entitlements, such as Medicare and Medicaid, as part of a larger deal to reduce the federal deficit.
Litigation or threatened litigation in the senior care space is an ever-present facet of running a senior care business. An online panel discussion on Nov. 8 addressed ways in which boards of senior care businesses can avoid, or at least manage, legal trouble.