Obama opens the door for drastic new Medicare, Medicaid cuts for nursing homes
Jun 16, 2009
Frayed nerves were showing in the provider community Monday after President Obama announced his intentions Saturday to cut $313 billion more from Medicare and Medicaid over the next 10 years. The proposed...
Study suggests reducing number of Medicare Part D plans could save beneficiaries money
Jun 09, 2009
The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit is too confusing for seniors, often leading beneficiaries to choose unnecessarily expensive plans, according to a new study. What’s more, seniors may...
Obama endorses letting Medicare Payment Advisory Commission set payment rates
Jun 08, 2009
The move to empower the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee to enact its own policy proposals gained significant traction last week when President Obama said in a letter to lawmakers that he would be open...
Potentially inappropriate nursing home payments spur increased Medicare Part A, Part D oversight
Jun 08, 2009
Tens of millions of dollars were likely inappropriately paid to skilled nursing facilities through the Medicare Part D prescription drug program in 2006, according to a recently released report from the...
Nursing home lobbyists urge lawmakers for change but don’t expect long-term care reform
Jun 05, 2009
Hundreds of nursing home owners and operators blitzed congressional buildings in Washington on Thursday, pressing lawmakers for better Medicare payments, a halt to post-acute payment bundling system talk...
Kohl introduces bill to increase long-term care insurance use but cautions about over-reliance
Jun 05, 2009
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) has introduced legislation that would encourage the purchase of long-term care insurance. But he also emphasized during a Wednesday hearing of the Special Committee on Aging, which...
SEIU recommends changes to long-term care as way to reduce healthcare costs
Jun 03, 2009
When President Obama announced May 11 that six leading healthcare industry groups would band together to reduce healthcare costs by $2 trillion over the next decade, many were skeptical. On Monday, however,...
Nursing home advocates converging on U.S. lawmakers to demand better Medicare reimbursement
May 29, 2009
More than 300 nursing home owners and operators are expected to meet in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to try to persuade lawmakers to be generous with Medicare funding. The Obama budget proposal...
Rockefeller introduces bill making MedPAC independent executive branch agency
May 27, 2009
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is a legislative entity whose purpose is to advise Congress on matters of Medicare reimbursement rates and coverage policies. Now, one senator has introduced...
Quality improvement program for Missouri nursing homes leads to cost savings, analysis finds
May 14, 2009
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Missouri showed significant care improvements and cost savings over the last three years as a result of the Quality Improvement Program of Missouri (QIPMO),...