A second stimulus package could emerge as a topic in a lame-duck session in the House this week. Any package is expected to include an increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP).
Advocacy groups plead for end to two-year wait for Medicare coverage for disabled
Nov 14, 2008
Healthcare and disability advocacy groups have launched a campaign to end the two-year waiting period the disabled must endure before qualifying for Medicare.
Obama wins: New president favors long-term care financing reform
Nov 05, 2008
Democratic candidate Barack Obama last night was elected the next president of the United States. His proposals for long-term care include financing reform.
Experts favor new payment system rewarding higher quality and more efficient care
Nov 04, 2008
A new survey of healthcare leaders finds that almost all feel the current healthcare payment system is fundamentally flawed and must be reformed. An overwhelming majority favor bonuses for high-quality...
Urge Congress to pass stimulus package, former senator tells policy experts
Nov 03, 2008
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey told a panel of state and federal long-term care policy experts to push Congress to pass a stimulus package before the new Congress convenes.
Survey: Average cost of private nursing home room drops in 2008
Oct 29, 2008
The charge for a private nursing home room in 2008 dropped about a half percentage point over a year earlier, while the national average for a semi-private bed rose just 1.1%, according to a new national...
Worried governors ask Congress for more federal Medicaid funding
Oct 29, 2008
The nation’s governors have appealed to congressional leaders to boost federal Medicaid funding and change tax provisions to help states through the current economic slowdown. In particular, the...
Plummeting state tax revenues could affect Medicaid
Oct 28, 2008
State tax revenues have declined steeply in recent months, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. These decreases could prompt cuts in programs such as Medicaid, The Wall...
Study: Medicaid underfunds nursing homes by $4.2 billion, providers call for pay hike
Oct 23, 2008
Medicaid is underfunding state long-term care efforts by $4.2 billion this year, according to a new analysis of Medicaid financing released Wednesday by the American Health Care Association.
Study: Medicare pay-for-performance penalizes hospitals that treat more elderly patients
Oct 22, 2008
Hospitals that serve large groups of the elderly, poor, African-American or female patients tend to be ranked lower than hospitals with healthier, younger clientele under the Medicare pay-for-performance...