Policy and Legislation
The CMS/Premier healthcare alliance Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) project served as a test-bed for various provisions in the healthcare reform law.
New Hampshire has one of the oldest populations in the country. New Hampshire Public Radio recently hosted a newscast in which guests shared how Medicare's 'silver tsunami' could not only be economically devastating to the Granite State, but to the future of the healthcare structure.
Representatives of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are estimating the SNF sector will potentially lay off 20,000 employees, will forgo the creation of 20,000 new jobs and will alter employee benefits as a result of the Medicare payment cuts that took effect on Oct. 1.
Doctors can and often do prescribe medications for different purposes than what the FDA has approved them for. But drug companies face tight restrictions on communicating with physicians about these so-called “off-label” uses.
HMS Holdings Corp. announced Monday that it will acquire HealthDataInsights, the Medicare recovery audit contractor for Region D, for approximately $400 million.
So far this year, more than 2.2 million people with Medicare have saved more than $1.2 billion on their prescriptions, for an average of $550 per person, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday.
A much-anticipated report from the Institute of Medicine providing guidance to the Department of Health and Human Services on how to define essential health benefits came down squarely on the side of controlling the costs of providing those benefits with an emphasis on benefits that are effective and provide high value.
The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) enables frail Medicare beneficiaries still in their homes to access medical and social services in the community.
It is believed that in its deliberations on how to reduce the federal deficit, the Joint Selection Committee on Deficit Reduction is considering permanently fixing the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Many within the medical community have vigorously urged the super committee and Congress to repeal the SGR, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to recommend a repeal to Congress.
The application fee for providers to enroll in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program has been set for calendar year 2012. The fee has increased to $523 from $505.