Category: CMS
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Minority physicians play large role in caring patients with poorer health, study finds
Black, Hispanic and Asian physicians play an outsized role in the care of disadvantaged patients nationally. Patients who have low incomes, are from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, have Medicaid insurance, or who do not speak English – groups that historically have difficulty in accessing medical care – are substantially more likely to receive their…
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Patients with Medicaid insurance seek care in emergency department due to lack of alternatives
A study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows patients with Medicaid insurance seeking care in an emergency department may be driven by lack of alternatives instead of the severity of their illness. The study is published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. …read more
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White paper outlines pitfalls of administering Medicare Part D
Compliance is a particular concern for Health Plans and Pharmacy Benefit Managers in the Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid markets. With regulations continually changing in response to Health Care Reform, payers can minimize the risk of sanctions and increase plan ratings (and thus, revenue) by employing automated checks and balances, a less burdened internal system…
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CMS, OIG extend EHR safe harbor through 2021
Two regulations extending the sunset date for donation of items and services for electronic health record adoption to Dec. 31, 2021, have been released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General. read more …read more
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Morning Headlines 12/27/13
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of Inspector General (OIG) Extend Sunset Dates for Electronic Health Records (EHR) Subsidy Rules CMS extends the sunset date on the Stark exception to December 31, 2013. The decision will allow hospitals to continue to finance EHR implementations for referring physician practices without breaking anti-kickback laws.…
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Preoperative consultations before cataract surgery more common for Medicare patients
Preoperative consultations before cataract surgery became more common for Medicare patients despite no clear guidelines about when to require such a service, hinting at unnecessary use of health care resources, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. …read more
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Viewpoints: Impact of ‘meddling with’ health law; antibiotics on farms; ‘Let thirtysomethings’ join Medicare
[A]ll of these last-minute policy shifts confuse people who were already struggling to understand a complex new system, … The cumulative effect is that at least some people -; we hope not many -; will misunderstand their responsibilities under the law or be deterred from seeking coverage. The biggest danger is that the Obama administration…
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Humana, Healthsense Activate Telehealth Pilot
The Louisville, Ky.-based health insurer Humana and Healthsense, a Mendota Heights, Minn.-based provider of aging services technologies, have completed member enrollment in a remote monitoring pilot program. The Louisville, Ky.-based health insurer Humana and Healthsense, a Mendota Heights, Minn.-based provider of aging services technologies, have completed member enrollment in a remote monitoring pilot program. The…
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Medicare drug program gets Senator’s scrutiny after vulnerability report
A Senate committee chairman said he is concerned about the “serious vulnerabilities” detailed in a ProPublica report about scams that target Medicare’s popular prescription drug program. …read more
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Report: Examine high-billing docs’ Medicare billing to root out fraud
A report from the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general to be released Friday will call for closer scrutiny of doctors’ total billing. Elsewhere, ProPublica looks at how ineffective federal oversight is in looking for fraud in Medicare prescribing. …read more