CMS: Regional spending is a better benchmark for ACOs
By
John Hall
Mar 04, 2016
The government hopes to encourage accountable care organizations to extend their participation in performance-based risk arrangements by offering a new way to include payments based on regional spending...
New CMS Medicaid managed care rule introduced
By
John Hall
May 27, 2015
An ambitious and comprehensive policy-making effort that promises to completely transform and radically overhaul the Medicaid managed care marketplace has passed White House Office of Management and Budget...
Right-to-try gains support
By
John Hall
Apr 04, 2016
Congress is considering easing federal laws prohibiting terminally ill patients from trying unapproved experimental drugs as a last-ditch effort to extend or save their lives.
Generic but not simple
By
John Hall
Oct 06, 2017
Pharmacists view new generics wave with caution, urge close look at regimens
MedPAC begins working on unified post-acute pay plan
By
John Hall
Nov 05, 2015
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is devising a plan that would pay skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health agencies and long-term care hospitals under a unified...
Social Security numbers to be removed from Medicare beneficiary cards
By
John Hall
Apr 21, 2015
After more than 10 years of warnings by government investigators, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services now has a mandate to remove Social Security numbers from enrollees’ cards — a practice...
How to do it… Designing for mobility
By
John Hall
Dec 06, 2016
Choosing and installing mobility aids are among the most important safety decisions a provider will have to make. This month experts discuss decision points about designing spaces that feature them, and...
Inspector General blasts agency for ignoring ZPIC scrutiny
By
John Hall
Mar 19, 2015
Ignoring a four-year-old warning to more thoroughly evaluate Medicare auditing contractors is among the pile of unheeded advice that could have saved the Medicare program billions of dollars in recent...
New EHR bills would improve interoperability
By
John Hall
Mar 11, 2015
On the heels of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pledge to ease electronic health record implementation reporting rules several weeks ago, newly introduced legislation would facilitate greater...
Nursing homes blamed for high opt-out rates in dual eligible demo
By
John Hall
May 18, 2015
Huge numbers of dual-eligible beneficiaries are leaving a demonstration project that hopes to improve payments for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.