Providers ponder prospect of Supreme Court killing Obamacare
By
John Hall
Feb 26, 2015
Individuals struggling to make ends meet and long-term care providers relying on a solvent Medicaid program could be on opposite ends of the verdict when the U.S. Supreme Court begins deliberations on...
White House defends MedPAC ‘replacement’ panel in Supreme Court brief
By
John Hall
Feb 26, 2015
The federal government this week argued to the Supreme Court that a lower court was correct when it dismissed challenges to a payment review provision in the Affordable Care Act. Long-term care providers...
Study: Shorter hospital stays hike death risk, rehab problems after hip fracture
By
John Hall
Feb 26, 2015
Older patients need longer hospital stays after hip fractures or risk premature death, researchers assert this week in the British Medical Journal.
Medicaid expansion plans fade in several states
By
John Hall
Feb 25, 2015
Several so-called “red states” are leaning toward or have outright abandoned plans to allow expansion of their Medicaid programs, bucking a nationwide groundswell of program enrollment under...
Slavitt, Conway rise in rank at CMS
By
John Hall
Feb 25, 2015
A number of internal promotions and a few staff acquisitions from a Health and Human Services’ insurance unit highlight a series of leadership changes at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,...
Alzheimer’s resident faces possible homicide charge in roommate death
By
John Hall
Feb 25, 2015
An 87-year old man with advanced Alzheimer’s was being held this week under suspicion of beating a fellow Alzheimer’s resident and roommate to death in a Lakewood, CO, assisted living facility.
Court: Provider must face federal upcoding charges
By
John Hall
Feb 24, 2015
A federal judge has ruled that a hospitalist company with thousands of post-acute care customers must face federal charges that it overbilled the Medicare and Medicaid programs millions of dollars.
Studies find chronic illness could increase dementia risk in the impaired
By
John Hall
Feb 24, 2015
British researchers say they have found a conclusive link between dementia and certain existing chronic illnesses in the cognitively impaired, a finding that lends more credible evidence associating co-morbidities...
Justice Department investigating Humana billing practices
By
John Hall
Feb 24, 2015
Humana Inc. reports that it is cooperating with a Department of Justice inquiry into whether it exaggerated the severity of elderly patients’ illnesses to generate higher Medicare reimbursements.
ManorCare counterattacks law firm in ‘deceptive’ ad suit
By
John Hall
Feb 23, 2015
Toledo-based HCR ManorCare landed a punch last week against a Houston law firm it is suing for libel, defamation and deceptive trade practices. The giant nursing home chain has asked the judge in the case...