Medicine & Health articles from February 2009

Medicine & Health archives from February 2009

CMS reveals details on 2009 PQRI measures: new: providers now have two reporting periods for participation.(Incentive Programs)
February 6, 2009... For providers who want to collect their maximum physician quality reporting initiative bonus this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just made things a bit easier. During a Jan. 13 CMS Open Door Forum, Medicare officials...

HHS hedges bets on cell-based flu vaccine: $487 million contract awarded for vaccine manufacturing facility.(Public Health)
February 6, 2009... The Department of Health and Human Services is already planning ahead for next year's flu season--and it has some new plans in the works for combating this disease. HHS announced on Jan. 15 that it awarded a $487 million multiple year...

U.S pandemic preparedness gets a reality check: federal assessment tells all.(Federal Planning)
February 6, 2009... The Department of Health and Human Services may be right on track with its cell-based vaccine plans (see story on previous page), but major gaps remain when it comes to planning for a national influenza pandemic, according to a federal...

Investigators tweak formula to measure kidney function: function should help doctors monitor children with kidney disease.(Research)
February 6, 2009... Investigators have revised a measure for children with chronic kidney disease, said a study published recently in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The kidney-disease research aids "our ability to treat those conditions, reduce...

Public sector, private sector need each other, Gates leader says: Yamada: developing world's health woes can damage the bottom line, and governments can't solve all problems.(Opinion)
February 6, 2009... The disparity in access to vaccines, drugs, and decent medical care between industrialized countries and developing nations is more than a matter of morality for government and nonprofit entities to deal with. That inequity threatens the...

Food and Drug Administration ventures abroad: officials to monitor food and medical products shipped from India to the U.S.(Government Operations)
February 6, 2009... Even if the United State is doing its very best to produce safe food and drug products, what happens beyond its borders is out of the FDA's hands--until now. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and Commissioner...

Fill out doctors' forms before you're even sick: family history tool lets patients start their own electronic health records.(Health IT)
February 6, 2009... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in January released an updated version of the Surgeon General's Internet-based family health history tool. The new tool makes it easier for consumers to assemble and share family health history...

Have an IT project that needs funds? You could win help implementing EHRs.(Grants)
February 6, 2009... The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Health Information Technology seeks grant proposals for Health Center Controlled Networks to help them implement electronic health records. HCCNs and large multi-site health centers have...

CMS expands coverage for prothrombin time: additional diagnoses included in coverage.
February 6, 2009... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offered some good news last week with a new coverage decision regarding prothrombin time (PT/INR) monitoring. The new decision, which CMS issued on Jan. 23, notes that CMS previously covered...

Tom Daschle, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee, withdrew his nomination.(In other news ...)
February 6, 2009... Tom Daschle, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee, withdrew his nomination on Feb. 3. Just four days earlier, sources revealed that Daschle failed to pay all his taxes in recent years--about $140,000 in back taxes for the...

The HHS Office of Inspector General revealed $2,000 worth of unallowable payments to Iowa's Medicaid payments.(In other news ...)
February 6, 2009... The HHS Office of Inspector General revealed $2,000 worth of unallowable payments to Iowa's Medicaid payments claimed for children's remedial services provided between Feb. 1 and March 31, 2008, according to a Jan. 16 report. Of the OIG's...

The corporate world's not the only one using social media.(In other news ...)(Brief article)
February 6, 2009... The corporate world's not the only one using social media. The Department of Health and Human Service's Food and Drug Administration is using it to deliver customers information on the recent Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak (see the last issue...

Spanish-speaking callers to 1-800-MEDICARE are seeing improvements.(In other news ...)
February 6, 2009... Spanish-speaking callers to 1-800-MEDICARE are seeing improvements. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should take more steps to ensure they are properly serviced. That's according to a new report from the Government...

Stimulus package will shower billions on health care, health IT: goal: give every citizen an EHR by 2014.(Funding)
February 20, 2009... With hopes of reviving the economy and saving millions of jobs, President Barack Obama signed a huge economic stimulus package into law on Feb. 17. Numerous provisions in the plan's $787 billion spending and tax cuts will affect healthcare...

Vaccines don't cause autism, judges decide: court adds opinion to scientific, medical data that deny a link.(Clinical)
February 20, 2009... A special U.S. federal vaccine court ruled Feb. 12 against three families who claimed vaccines caused autism in their children, msnbc.com reported. The evidence that vaccines cause autism "is weak, contradictory, and unpersuasive,"...

HIV money would help women, children with HIV: nonprofits, Part D grantees are eligible to apply.(Grants)
February 20, 2009... Hurry to apply for up to $1 million in Ryan White funding to medically treat women and children with HIV. A grant from HHS will be used for "family-centered primary medical care and support services to women, infants, children, and youth with...

ALJ move a mixed bag for healthcare providers: more concern with technical issues than before the HHS switch, experts say.(Appeals)
February 20, 2009... The days of waiting on pins and needles for months to find out the result of an administrative law judge appeal appear to be over. The ALJs are deciding most cases faster than ever, said the HHS Office of Inspector General in a new report,...

A quick glance: administrative law judge appeals: RAC appeals are running up ALJs' caseloads.(Fact Box)(Administrative Law Judge )(Brief article)
February 20, 2009... A crucial decision from an administrative law judge could make or break a provider's reimbursement. See the story on page 4 for more details on a recent HHS Office of Inspector General Report on ALJs. Here are some key facts summarized below....

Final word out on bariatric surgery medicare coverage policy: type 2 diabetes could get one's foot in the door.(Coverage)
February 20, 2009... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has determined that bariatric surgery can be considered a diabetes treatment for certain individuals. The agency proposed a revised policy regarding this coverage in December 2008 (see Medicine...

CMS institutes bidding delay--but not for long: suppliers give Congress an earful at hearing about the program.(DME)
February 20, 2009... Durable medical equipment suppliers won't be getting all they hoped from the directive from the Obama administration to hold all eleventh-hour Bush administration regs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has finalized a delay to...

Utah lawmaker pushes for easier medicaid access: asset tests create generational cycles of poverty, advocates say.(State Watch)
February 20, 2009... While many states have plans to whack their Medicaid spending, a few appear to be heading in the opposite direction. Utah state Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D-Salt Lake City) is sponsoring a house joint resolution that would eliminate the...

Obama gives new SCHIP legislation a go: federal tobacco tax increase does the trick.
February 20, 2009... President Barack Obama signed into legislation on Feb. 4 a bill that reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The bill extends health coverage to 4 million uninsured children. The new SCHIP legislation plans to spend an...

CMS' Recovery Audit Contractor program is back on track.(In other news ...)
February 20, 2009... CMS' Recovery Audit Contractor program is back on track. The Government Accountability Office has resolved contract protests lodged last fall and the RACs are moving forward, CMS reported. CMS will begin provider outreach activities in the...

The amount-in-controversy level for administrative law judge appeals is remaining the same in 2009, but the level for federal court appeals is going up.(In other news ...)
February 20, 2009... The amount-in-controversy level for administrative law judge appeals is remaining the same in 2009, but the level for federal court appeals is going up. For a Medicare provider to request an ALJ hearing, the AIC must be at least $120, the...

The Department of Health and Human Services and CMS could be waiting a while for permanent leadership now that former Sen. Tom Daschle has bowed out as a nominee for HHS secretary.(In other news ...)
February 20, 2009... The Department of Health and Human Services and CMS could be waiting a while for permanent leadership now that former Sen. Tom Daschle has bowed out as a nominee for HHS secretary. President Obama is rumored to be considering Kansas Gov....

Medicare has decided not to pay for virtual colonoscopies.(In other news ...)
February 20, 2009... Medicare has decided not to pay for virtual colonoscopies. This noninvasive approach which uses CT scans is more patient-friendly than a regular colonoscopy, but CMS has concluded there is "insufficient evidence" to tie virtual colonoscopies to...

Provider-based organizations' accreditation decisions from the Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) will no longer have an impact on their parent's accreditation status.(In other news ...)
February 20, 2009... Provider-based organizations' accreditation decisions from the Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) will no longer have an impact on their parent's accreditation status. "All services that are owned and operated by an applicant organization...

Healthcare reform hits unexpected setbacks: Obama wants fixes now, but who will lead and how will we pay?(Policy)
February 27, 2009... When candidate Barack Obama rolled out his health-care reform proposal, he probably didn't count on $1 trillion debt for bank bailouts hanging over his presidency. And he probably didn't foresee that his point man on healthcare reform--former...

State laws got in the way of outbreak diagnosis: agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack backs a unified food-safety department.(Food safety)
February 27, 2009... Health officials blamed a delay in detecting illnesses linked to the nation's salmonella outbreak on a hodgepodge of state laws and practices, msnbc.com reported. Tainted peanut products have sickened at least 655 people in 44 states and...

Texas lawmakers aim to de-smoke entire state: highly debated smoke-free crackdown gains more support.(Stateside)
February 27, 2009... What began in the early 90s in California has made its way across many U.S. cities and some states. Now, Texas is looking at the possibility of going smoke-free statewide, and the debates are heating up. And some unlikely groups are coming out...

Review the medicare appeals process step-by-step: dollars matter the higher in the appeals process you go.(Reimbursement)
February 27, 2009... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has shaken up its appeals system in the last few years, so providers should make sure they know how to pursue appeals for incorrectly denied claims. See the last issue of Medicine & Health for more...

New drug prevention grants up for grabs: back up your proposal with research from SAMHSA.(Grants)
February 27, 2009... The White House Office of National Drug Control and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the new Drug Free Communities Support Program funds, according to a press release. ONDCP expects to award about $17...

DME suppliers take OIG heat for dead doc billing: medicare paid $34 million for claims with faulty doc numbers.(Fraud & Abuse)
February 27, 2009... Providers billing for durable medical equipment had better make sure their physicians' NPI numbers are legit. In 2007, DME suppliers received $34 million in Medicare payments based on inactive or invalid physician UPINs and National...

Providers should steer clear of OIG exclusion list pitfalls: ignorance isn't bliss when it comes to excluded employees.(Compliance)
February 27, 2009... Ending up on the HHS Office of Inspector General's excluded list can be easier than most providers think. And if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or other accrediting bodies find out a provider has hired an excluded individual, the...

FDA warns public about psoriasis drug: some PML cases may be associated with Raptiva.
February 27, 2009... Raptiva, a once-weekly injection for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, is in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's hot seat. The FDA released a public health advisory on Feb. 19 concerning three confirmed, and one possible...

Practices and facilities affected by the Medicare therapy caps.(In other news ...)
February 27, 2009... * Practices and facilities affected by the Medicare therapy caps will need to pay close attention to their claims. The outpatient therapy cap is $1,840 for 2009, but the Medicare claims system won't reflect that until April. It will reject...

President Obama has appointed Mary Wakefield.(In other news ...)
February 27, 2009... * President Obama has appointed Mary Wakefield, MSN, RN, PhD, as the new Administrator of the Department of Health and Human Services" Health Resources and Services Administration. Wakefield was most recently the associate dean for rural health...