Medicine & Health articles from February 2008

Medicine & Health archives from February 2008

Feds launch long-term care planning program: more options, including in-home care, available to seniors who plan ahead.(Long-Term Care)
February 1, 2008... Ohio and Pennsylvania will join 16 other states in a federal program promoting long-term care planning, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The objective of the "Own Your Future" program is to assist Americans...

Democrats push medicaid hike for stimulus package medicaid payment to lift the economic slump.(Medicaid)
February 1, 2008... Medicaid payments could get a temporary boost it" an economic stimulus package proposal crafted by the Democrats wins President Bush's approval. This proposal is similar to the Medicaid payment plan the Bush administration approved in...

Affordable long-term care could at last be a reality: innovative move shifts the long-term care burden to feds.(Long-Term Care)
February 1, 2008... A new plan could do away with the complexities of current long-term and post-acute care systems, according to a recent article in CQ Healthbeat. This plan has special provisions for the elderly and disadvantaged and would provide them much...

Patient-centered medical home project improves diabetes outcomes: Horizon BCBS pilot program also shown to lower health care costs.(New Plans & Products)
February 1, 2008... A year-long pilot program has shown that the patient-centered medical home (PC-MH) concept of care can improve quality of care and clinical outcomes, as well as lower total health care costs, say Partners In Care (PIC) and Horizon Blue Cross...

PPS cash finally begins to flow: but how long will it take to catch up?(Prospective Payment System)
February 1, 2008... After nearly three weeks under the revised prospective payment system, home health agencies (HHAs) are starting to see their Medicare claims pay. Medicare installed the PPS software fixes Jan. 17, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...

CMS plans payment policy change for long-term care hospitals: costly cases to get extra funds.(LTCH)
February 1, 2008... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed payment rule to assure that long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) receive adequate payment and incentives for services for their Medicare beneficiaries. LTCH are hospitals...

Medicare budget debate gets rolling: early legislative developments could put HHAs at risk.(Reimbursement)
February 1, 2008... Congress can't agree on much this year, but legislators do seem to want to move forward on a fix for physicians' Medicare payment rates--and that could put Medicare reimbursement at risk. In December, Congress passed and President Bush...

North Carolina workers get $1.25 million in aid: Department of Labor awards grant to help workers pay for health insurance.(Insurance Costs)
February 1, 2008... The Department of Labor, under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reform Act of 2002, announced a $1.25 million National Emergency Grant to the state of North Carolina to help provide assistance in paying health insurance premiums to around...

Scooter store attacked in competitive bidding battle: boycotts are on the horizon.(Medical Equipment)
February 1, 2008... The fight against home medical equipment competitive bidding has taken a surprising new twist. VGM, Invacare and the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) are among the groups that in recent days have spoken...

Magellan CEO recognized among 'best in America': magazine surveyed 900 investment professionals.(Managed Care)
February 1, 2008... Steven Shulman, chairman and CEO of Magellan Health Services, is one of the best CEOs in America. That's according to Institutional Investor magazine, which added Shulman to its ranking of top CEOs in the Health Care-Managed Care sector....

Drugmakers spending billions a year on physician perks: gift and marketing disclosure bills repeatedly thwarted by the drug industry.(Pharmaceuticals)
February 8, 2008... Pharmaceutical companies have been heavily courting America's doctors with gifts, consulting fees and trips to convince them to prescribe their drugs--and getting away with it until now. But lawmakers and patient advocates are busily working on...

States move ahead on implementing health reform laws: major state coverage expansions depend on federal financing, study states.(Legislation)
February 8, 2008... A recent study examining health reform laws in different states shows that 39 states have enacted reforms in at least one access category since 2006, and 13 have started working towards comprehensive reforms to cover at least 50 percent of...

Chiropractor-requested x-rays are no longer valid in CMS' eyes: Medicare's 'chiropractor exception' expired earlier this month.(Imaging)
February 8, 2008... CMS has made an age-old chiropractor-radiologist relationship obsolete effective Jan. 1. The 2008 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule removed the longstanding "chiropractor exception," which allowed radiologists to order and bill...

Consumer group demands simple drug error reporting system: tv ads must provide info on reporting drug problems, group insists.(Drug Reporting)
February 8, 2008... A leading consumer organization is rallying support to force the feds to make it easier for patients and doctors to report adverse drug affects. Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, is collecting 50,000 signatures on a...

Animal feed antibiotics pose grave threat to humans: health agencies call for a federal regulation to minimize antibiotics in farm animals.(Regulations)
February 8, 2008... A recent report by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production showcases the harmful effects of antibiotic use in livestock and poultry on factory farms. The study confirms that antibiotics in animal feed are contributing to...

Health expenditure jumps to $2.1 trillion: high growth in drug and Medicare spending blamed.(Spending)
February 8, 2008... In 2006, the new Medicare prescription drug benefit contributed to an 18.7 percent increase in Medicare spending, which rose to $401.3 billion, up from $338 billion a year earlier, according to a report published in Health Affairs...

Maryland tackles growing problem of younger nursing home residents with behavioral issues: contract approach spells out expected rules for cognitively intact residents.(State Trends)
February 8, 2008... The term "nursing home" typically conjures an image of geriatric care, but a growing number of young people with behavioral issues are receiving post-acute or long-term care for AIDS, injuries caused by accidents--even gang-related shootings....

PacifiCare faces $1.33 billion in fines: quick changes can be blamed.(Mergers)
February 8, 2008... The California Department of Insurance is seeking as much as $1.33 billion in penalties from PacifiCare as a result of "widespread problems" stemming from its takeover by UnitedHealth Group in 2006, the Los Angeles Times reports. Prompted...

Adults ignorant of high blood pressure consequences: lack of awareness about high blood pressure may lead to heart attack and stroke.(Studies & Reports)
February 8, 2008... Most Americans admit they are informed about high blood pressure, but less than 50 percent know that it is linked with heart attack and stroke, a survey by the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors has revealed. The survey...

HHS puts medical error guidance in writing: HIPAA confidentiality violations will cost $20,000 a piece under proposed rule.(Medical Error Reporting)
February 22, 2008... If the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has its way, health care providers will finally be able to confidentially report medical errors--without risk of legal liability. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement proposed...

Congress drops surety bond bomb: Senator pushes for ten-fold increase in bond amount.(Legislation)
February 22, 2008... A new Senate bill could be the beginning of the end for small suppliers of home medical equipment. The bill, the Medicare Fraud Prevention Act of 2008 (S. 2603), seeks to impose a $500,000 surety bond requirement on Medicare-certified...

Hospitals charging uninsured patients higher net prices: report shows uninsured in California pay more than Medicare does for services.(Uninsured's Medical Costs)
February 22, 2008... The researchers at the RAND Corporation and the University of Southern California (USC) reveal that California's uninsured are paying higher net prices for their hospital services. Their prices are as high as or higher than prices paid for...

PGP demonstration aims to improve health care quality: pilot project encourages physicians to invest more in technology, quality improvement.(Health Care)
February 22, 2008... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Physician Group Practice (PGP) project should enhance the quality of care delivery, while providing 10 large physician practices an opportunity to earn performance payments. CMS started...

Bush Budget totals $737 billion for fiscal year 2009: budget also proposes cost-cutting measures over the next five years.(Spending)
February 22, 2008... President Bush's fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget offers total outlays of nearly $737 billion for the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), while also proposing a decrease of $2.2 billion in discretionary spending and $186 billion in savings...

The latest Alzheimer's disease research changes views on statin use: statin debate continues.(Alzheimer's Disease)
February 22, 2008... Statins may not be the miracle cure for Alzheimer's disease that researchers thought they'd be, according to a new study led by Zoe Arvanitakis, MD, MS, an associate professor of neurology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, according...

Budget cuts into seniors' nursing home funding: proposal will be poorly received by consumers, AHCA predicts.(Funding)
February 22, 2008... The Bush Administration's FY 2009 budget plan is unreasonable from the viewpoint of seniors' Medicare-financed nursing facility care and not practical to fit into the worsening economic conditions in states across the nation, according to the...

Cancer survivors rely on vitamin and mineral supplements: health professionals should talk about supplement use with their patients, according to a recent study.(Studies & Reports)
February 22, 2008... Use of vitamin and mineral supplements is prevalent among cancer survivors, in spite of the lack of conclusive evidence that taking these supplements is helpful, according to a comprehensive review of scientific literature conducted by...

Caution: women are at a higher risk for hypertension: hypertension especially dangerous for pregnant women.(Hypertension)
February 22, 2008... Compared to men, women are at greater risk of developing hypertension and find controling high blood pressure more difficult, according to a research published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, a special-themed AHA...

Physicians take medicare matters into their own hands: medicare reform is their goal.(Medicare)
February 22, 2008... Florida physicians aren't waiting around for the government to fix Medicare. Instead, they've decided to take matters into their own hands. After President Bush announced his proposed budget, which would cut $183 billion from the Medicare...

NY Attorney General takes on insurance companies: a lawsuit may follow his investigation.(Insurance Billing)
February 22, 2008... New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has had it with insurers' billing practices and plans to get to the bottom of what he sees as a discrepancy in how insurers determine patient balances. Cuomo is investigating "whether health...

PSOs to make health care safer for Americans: HHS makes good on vow to provide better access to patient safety data.(Patient Safety)
February 29, 2008... The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working to help clinicians report patient safety events confidentially through its Patient Safety Organizations initiative, according to a press release on the HHS Web site. PSOs are...

President's budget holds more unpleasant surprises: administrative hospice cut is part of Bush's budget blueprint for 2009.(Budget)
February 29, 2008... Home care providers are getting even more nervous about their budget chances for next year. President Bush proposed a 2009 budget earlier this month with billions in Medicare cuts, including a freeze to home health agency (HHA) and hospice...

Investing in employee wellness programs cuts health care costs: Highmark health promotion program leads to reduction in health care expenditures.(Employee Wellness)
February 29, 2008... A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows that every dollar spent by employers on a comprehensive employee wellness program leads to savings of $1.65 in health care expenses. Pittsburgh-based health...

ACPM partners to promote heart disease awareness: studies show simple solutions to reduce cardio disease and strokes.(Heart Health)
February 29, 2008... An aspirin a day can save lives and dollars. So say the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and the Partnership for Prevention in their appeal to Americans to move from costly heart disease treatments to cost-effective disease...

Home health fraud revealed in OIG report: medical record review sparks interest in one case.(Home Health)
February 29, 2008... Home health agencies got off" relatively lightly in the HHS Office of Inspector General's newly released Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report for 2006. The report touted the program's $2.2 million in judgments and settlements in...

Disparities in hospital treatment vary by patient group: high admission rates in hospitals for Medicare FFS, Medicare HMO, private PPO/FFS, and private HMO patients.(Hospital Admission)
February 29, 2008... Large hospital-by-hospital differences in the treatment of seriously ill patients is found for patients covered by fee-for-service Medicare, for health maintenance organization patients, and for non-elderly patients with private insurance,...

Cancer screening rates vary by ethnic group, report finds: HealthPartners implements 2 strategies to correct disparities.(Cancer Screening)
February 29, 2008... Health disparities exist between patients of different racial/ethnic backgrounds receiving certain types of care in HealthPartners, a not-for-profit health maintenance organization, according to a report released by the company Feb. 11. The...

U.S. increases services for nuclear weapons industry workers: resource center staff to provide claim assistance.(Benefits)
February 29, 2008... The U.S. Department of Labor is taking steps to assist nuclear weapons industry workers with medical bill payments and travel expense reimbursements, the agency announced on Feb. 12. To simplify the medical benefits delivery under the...

Proposed Medicare budget stopped: congress is still looking to stop payment rate cuts.(Rate Cuts)
February 29, 2008... Health care providers breathed a sigh of relief as Senate Democrats told HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt that there was no way Congress would pass President Bush's proposed budget for Medicare. The President has proposed freezes and rate...

Web site seeks to provide 'care marketplace': consumers should decide value, says the Twin Cities' Carol.com.(Consumer Tools)
February 29, 2008... A Minnesota company has launched a Web site with the goal of "transforming the health care industry through creation of a true marketplace." Carol.com allows "consumers to compare health care services, practitioner credentials, quality...

Kickbacks still stir up the OIG's interest: OIG is hot on violators' trails.(Fraud & Abuse)(Brief article)
February 29, 2008... Despite the recent buzz regarding new OIG targets, the agency's most recent report shows that kickback schemes still have a dominant share of audits and sanctions. The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released its Health Care...

Health care spending is on the rise: health care spending is expected to comprise almost 20 percent of GDP by 2017.(Spending)
February 29, 2008... Growth in U.S. health care spending is expected to shoot up 6.7 percent annually, according to a Feb. 26 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement. CMS' Office of the Actuary analyzed health care spending and determined...

CMS proposes artificial heart device coverage: long-standing, non-coverage policy relaxed.(Medicare)
February 29, 2008... On Feb. 1, CMS proposed coverage "with evidence development" of artificial heart devices for Medicare patients who are enrolled in an FDA-approved study. "Our proposal relaxes a long-standing non-coverage policy, gives access to our...