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Quality of Care Woes Persist in California

Despite a heightened focus on patient safety in recent years, a new CHCF Almanac report finds that although incremental gains have been made, California is still grappling with quality improvement.

HIT Adoption Among California Dentists

What's the level of interest among California dentists in adopting health information technology, such as electronic dental health records, and how many are already making use of such systems? This snapshot of survey data provides some answers.

Health Care Reform's Formidable Challenge

A new Health Affairs analysis and commentary finds that while federal health care reform promises to overhaul the U.S. health care system, it does not adequately address growing Medicare spending.

Medicare

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09/01/2010

L.A. Hospital Overcrowding Worse; Funding Jeopardized

Overcrowding reached "dangerous" levels for eight hours every day in July at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, worse than the roughly four hours of "dangerous" overcrowding daily throughout June, according to a report by the Department of Health Care Services. Federal officials are investigating reports of long wait times at the facility and are considering halting Medicare payment. Los Angeles Times.

08/31/2010

HHS Readies Assistance Pay for Early Retiree Health Care

Roughly 1,900 companies have qualified to receive reimbursement from a $5 billion fund established under the health reform law to help businesses, unions and other employers cover health care costs for retirees ages 55 to 64 who do not qualify for Medicare. The large number of qualified groups is raising concerns that HHS will not be able to keep the program solvent until 2014 as planned. Wall Street Journal.

08/30/2010

Federal Officials Target Fraud in Medicare, Medicaid Claims

Last week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder outlined the Obama administration's new efforts to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud at a summit in Los Angeles. At the meeting, Sebelius noted that CMS has issued a final regulation designed to protect seniors from fraudulent medical supply vendors by requiring prosthetics suppliers to maintain proper ordering documentation and remain open for 30 hours weekly. Los Angeles Times.

08/27/2010

Medicare Benefits Expanded To Cover Smoking Cessation

This week, HHS officials announced an expansion of Medicare benefits aimed at helping more elderly individuals end their tobacco habits. Under the new policy, Medicare beneficiaries would be covered for up to two tobacco cessation counseling attempts annually, including up to four unique sessions per attempt. Under the previous policy, beneficiaries were covered for tobacco-related counseling only if they already were diagnosed with a tobacco-related disease. The Hill's "Healthwatch."

08/25/2010

Changes to Medicare Rx Drug Plan Could Cause Shifts in Enrollment

As many as 3.7 million beneficiaries could modify their coverage plans under changes meant to ease enrollment in Medicare's prescription drug coverage, according to a new analysis. The changes are designed to decrease duplicate plans offered by the same insurer. AP/Chicago Tribune.

08/20/2010

CMS: Beneficiaries To Pay Slightly More for Rx Drugs

CMS officials have announced that beneficiaries of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program will pay an average monthly premium of $30 in 2011, up from $29 in 2010. Officials said premiums will rise by only $1 because cost increases were offset by more frequent use of generic medications. The estimate does not represent 2011's base premium of $32.34 but instead assumes that some Part D beneficiaries will switch to less costly plans next year. AP/Boston Globe et al.

08/18/2010

Study Finds Medicare Part D Less Costly Than Projected

The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has cost much less than anticipated when the program was enacted five years ago, according to a new Medicare trustees report. Medicare's drug program originally was projected to cost $111.2 billion annually when implemented in 2006, but the report found that the benefit in 2009 cost the federal government $60.8 billion. Experts attribute the lower costs to a slowing demand for prescription drugs, greater use of generics and fewer people signing up for the benefit. Washington Times.

08/06/2010

Medicare Trustee Report Says Program Solvency Will Extend to 2029

A report released Thursday predicts that the Medicare trust fund will be solvent for 12 years longer than previously predicted because of savings under health reform. However, some analysts warn that the report's conclusions are not entirely accurate. Washington Post et al.

08/05/2010

Study: Unsupervised Nurse Anesthetists Do Not Add Risk

Allowing unsupervised nurse anesthetists to administer anesthesia did not increase the risk of patient complications or mortality, according to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs. The study's authors say the findings raise questions about a CMS requirement that nurse anesthetists be supervised by an anesthesiologist or surgeon to receive Medicare reimbursement. States can opt out of the requirement by petitioning CMS. HealthLeaders Media.

08/04/2010

Editorial: Medical Parole Bill Makes Financial Sense

California lawmakers should pass a bill to grant medical parole to the state's sickest inmates to save "nearly $75 million" annually and to "allow the state to tap federal funds for Medicare and Medi-Cal," a Sacramento Bee editorial states. The editorial says that the bill would affect only those inmates who "pose no threat to public safety" and are "permanently medically incapacitated," concluding that the bill "is a money saver at a time when every dime counts." Sacramento Bee.

08/02/2010

White House: Overhaul Will Extend Savings, Solvency of Medicare

A new White House report finds that the health care reform law will save Medicare $8 billion across the next year. Reductions in payments to Medicare Advantage plans and to health care providers are seen as key generators of savings. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.

07/26/2010

Cuts to Medicare Signify Shift in Social Outlook, Some Analysts Claim

Some health care analysts say that cuts to Medicare Advantage will be used to help extend insurance coverage to millions of younger individuals. Government officials maintain that savings will be extracted from overpayments to private insurers. Wall Street Journal.

07/26/2010

Safety-Net Facilities Expect To Take Hit Under Reform

Hospital officials across the state believe that health care reform's cost-reduction efforts may harm the bottom lines of facilities that primarily serve low-income and elderly patients. Officials at safety-net facilities anticipate that billions of dollars in reimbursement funding will be cut from Medicare and Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, and that a larger insured population will not make up for reduced government payments. Fresno Bee.

07/23/2010

Hospitals Discuss Balancing Reform Goals and Care Needs

Hospital executives meeting this week at the annual Health Forum and American Hospital Association Leadership Summit are discussing how to pursue health reform objectives while maintaining quality patient care, particularly for the growing Medicare population. Nathan Kaufman -- director of Kaufman Strategic Advisors -- said hospitals must "reinvent themselves" to meet these demands, in ways such as working more closely with physician groups, installing electronic health records and consolidating facilities. San Diego Union-Tribune.

07/21/2010

CMS Urged To Review, Change Proposed Cuts to Hospital Medicare Pay

Several health care providers and lawmakers are calling on CMS to revise a proposed 2.9% rate reduction on Medicare payments to hospitals for the next fiscal year. Hospitals say that CMS used flawed data to calculate the proposed payment rate. CQ HealthBeat et al.

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