Policy and Legislation
A bill introduced in the House this week by Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.) and Joe Heck, MD, (R-Nev.) has once again raised hopes that the sustainable growth rate formula (SGR) payment model for Medicare can finally be repealed.
President Barack Obama re-nominated Marilyn Tavenner on Thursday to be permanent administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She has been serving as acting administrator since December 2011, when Donald Berwick, MD, stepped down.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will develop a new records system aimed at facilitating quality reporting for long-term hospital care, according to Wednesday's Federal Register.
An online clinic launched in 2010 by non-profit HMO HealthPartners for the diagnosis and treatment of 40 simple medical conditions showed an average savings of $88 per episode over care in a traditional setting, providing hope for the future of online medical care.
The growth rate of healthcare spending has continued to be slow reported the Congressional Budget Office Tuesday, but the rising cost of healthcare is still a threat to the country's future economic well being.
New research finds that many seniors who switch from their HMO-style Medicare Advantage plan to traditional Medicare have higher levels of significant health problems, fueling concerns that the private plans cater to more profitable, healthy beneficiaries but don't provide the most attractive care for the very ill.
It's been a long time coming, but late Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the final rule for the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
Leaders of healthcare policy encouraged the industry to speed up the rate of change during a keynote address at the National Health Policy Conference Monday in Washington, D.C.
I was only a little bit surprised to read The Doctor’s Office as Union Shop, which blames the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for ushering in “a potentially radical factor in the transformation of health care –the doctor as union worker.”
Carolyn Clancy, MD, will step down as director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) after 10 years leading the organization.