Category: CMS

Republicans in the General Assembly are opposed to expanding the program for low-income residents, but that could threaten the passage of a state budget. Meanwhile, news outlets look at the issue in North Carolina, Missouri and Arizona. …read more    

Jonathan Blum, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services principal deputy administrator, will leave May 16. …read more    

Amedisys Inc., one of the nation’s largest home health providers, will pay $150 million to settle claims that it exaggerated Medicare billings and had improper financial relations with referring physicians, the Department of Justice revealed. Meanwhile McClatchy is reporting that, based on an analysis of Medicare’s list of banned providers, Miami is at the top…

The ICD-10 delay that went into effect earlier this month won’t be a total “killer” for implementation of the more advanced coding set, according to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services representative speaking to members of the American Health Information Management Association on Wednesday. read more …read more    

Focus groups concentrated on a key Medicaid population–medically and socially complex, low-income patients–revealed areas for which connected health initiatives could bring improvements, according… read more …read more    

According to preliminary news media reports, Jonathan Blum, principal deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will be stepping down from his post, effective May 16. According to preliminary news media reports, Jonathan Blum, principal deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will be stepping down from…

Officials blame part of the downturn on reductions in federal funding for the Medicare Advantage program and new taxes resulting from the health law. …read more    

More than 400 have signed a letter to Virginia’s House speaker asking Republicans to drop their opposition to the effort. Meanwhile, Utah’s governor says he is encouraged about his state’s prospects for its plan after talks with federal officials, and a Florida senator is trying to find a way around the logjam there. …read more    

A ProPublica report finds that the agency continued paying doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals even after they were charged with bilking the program. Meanwhile, a report recommends that Medicare pay hospitals less for low-risk outpatient surgeries. …read more    

By refusing to pay for readmissions within 30 days of discharge from a hospital, Medicare has sent a strong message across the healthcare industry: < 30 day readmissions should be avoided at all costs. As a result, providers and vendors are doing everything in their power to avoid < 30 day readmissions. This seems like…