Category: CMS
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GOP considers tying debt-limit deal to repeal of part of health law
House Republicans are considering linking their support for raising the national debt to a repeal of the health law’s risk corridors, which helps mitigate risk for insurers. In other news, lawmakers continue to weigh proposals to change how Medicare pays doctors and the House health appropriations subcommittee gets many new Republican faces. …read more
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Expanded Medicaid offers new health coverage opportunities — but not without confusion
News outlets detail how patients still don’t completely understand the benefits that are now available to them. …read more
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CMS: Meaningful Use programs making ‘exciting progress’
The Meaningful Use incentive program is making “exciting progress” in both provider participation and in meeting the program requirements, according to a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data brief. read more …read more
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Viewpoints: Obama drops ‘grand bargain’ talk; Mitch Mcconnell in tough spot on health law
What didn’t make the cut? … A “grand bargain”: For three years, Obama pursued a big fiscal deal that would have traded higher taxes (a Democratic goal) for cuts in long-term spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (a Republican goal). …read more
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For some state legislatures, Medicaid expansion will be a hot 2014 topic
With state legislatures kicking off their 2014 sessions, the Medicaid expansion is back in play. Twenty-six states had signed onto the Medicaid expansion at the start of this year — and that leaves nearly half the country deciding whether to make a go of it in the future. …read more
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Many questions linger about who are the 9 million people Obama said are getting insurance through the health law
In his State of the Union address, the president touted successes in signing people up for private insurance or Medicaid. But critics suggest that the number is lower than expected, and no one yet knows how many of those people were previously uninsured. …read more
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Attorney: Providers can skip a year of MU attestation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published inconsistent information about how often providers need to demonstrate Meaningful Use, which may be confusing many providers about whether they must successfully attest every year in order to participate in the program, according to attorney Kathie McClure, with Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs in Louisville, Ky. read…
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Va.’s proposed Medicaid expansion gets lower cost estimate; Ark. ‘private option’ expansion plan faces new challenges
The new numbers are expected to get a skeptical reception from Virginia’s House Appropriations Committee. Virginia health officials will face a skeptical House Appropriations Committee today over a new analysis that shows $1 billion in savings to the state over nine years from expanding its Medicaid program. …read more
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State highlights: N.Y. mayors, governor press federal gov’t on Medicaid waiver, state gov’t for more aid; Dallas hospitals get biggest state fines; S.C. hospital Medicaid data posted
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, at odds over how to pay for prekindergarten, showed a unified front on Monday on helping distressed Brooklyn hospitals and said that without immediate federal support, “there will be closures.” The mayor and the governor seemed to be escalating a dispute with the Obama administration over…
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CDC survey: One in four American families struggles with health care bills, lack of insurance adds to medical debt burden
The survey, released by the National Center for Health Statistics, also found that one in 10 families face medical costs they can’t pay at all. Meanwhile, in another development related to the cost of coverage, SunTrust cancels its health plan for Medicare-eligible retirees and is offering them an alternative. …read more