|
COPYRIGHT 2005 Haymarket Media, Inc.
Larry Lane doesn't mince words when it comes to assessing the federal government's new Medicare prescription benefit.
"It's a mess," he says plainly. The declaration speaks volumes, for Lane has dealt with governmental relations at the highest level for decades.
"I can go through nightmare scenarios forever," he continues. The vice president for governmental relations for nursing home giant Genesis Health Ventures, Lane and countless other stakeholders had anxiously awaited the government's final rule for the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act. The 1,500-page rule finally came out late Jan. 21, not leaving enough time for them to comment for this article.
They were desperately hoping for clues as to how drug administration is to be changed for more than 1 million nursing home residents by Jan. 1.
When Congress narrowly passed the controversial Medicare reform act in late 2003, it decreed drastic coverage changes. But it also neglected to give any details as to how nursing home residents--who have enormous drug needs and are served by specialty pharmacies--should be served.
About 11 months is all that regulators, providers and...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
