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Medicare fines over hospitals' readmitted patients

(AP)—Medicare is changing the way it does business with hospitals and the result could be fewer patients going back into the hospital after they were discharged.

Health created Sep 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Agency: Medicare refills strong drugs despite law

(AP)—A government inspector's report says Medicare routinely refilled pain pills and other medications that are barred by federal law from being renewed without a fresh prescription.

Health created Sep 27, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study examines usage, outcomes of knee replacement procedures among Medicare patients

There has been an increase in total knee arthroplasty (TKA; knee replacement) procedures over the past 20 years that has been driven by both an increase in the number of Medicare enrollees and increase in per capita utilization, ...

Surgery created Sep 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Obama administration warns hospitals on fraud

(AP)—Computerized medical records were supposed to cut costs. Now the Obama administration is warning hospitals that might be tempted to use the technology for gaming the system.

Health created Sep 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Report: Premium hikes for top Medicare drug plans

(AP)—A study says seniors in seven of the 10 most popular Medicare prescription drug plans will be hit with double-digit premium hikes next year if they don't shop for a better deal.

Health created Sep 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study analyzes variations in antibiotic prescribing among older patients

A study of Medicare data suggests there was wide variation in antibiotic prescribing for older patients based on geography and the season in which the prescriptions for the medication were written, according to a report published ...

Medications created Sep 24, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study examines cost-savings of physician group practice program

In an analysis of the cost-savings achieved by an earlier pilot program, the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration (PGPD), researchers found modest estimates of overall savings associated with the PGPD, but larger ...

Health created Sep 11, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Report: US health care system wastes $750B a year

(AP)—A new report says the U.S. health care system squanders $750 billion a year—roughly 30 cents of every medical dollar.

Health created Sep 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Alternatives to Medicare's fee-for-service payment system examined

(Medical Xpress)—For years policymakers have attempted to replace Medicare's fee-for- service payment system with approaches that pay one price for an aggregation of services. The intent has been to reward providers for ...

Health created Sep 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Hospital-acquired UTIs rarely reported in data used to implement penalties

Aiming to cut expenses and improve care, a 2008 Medicare policy stopped paying hospitals extra to treat some preventable, hospital-acquired conditions – including urinary tract infections (UTIs) in patients ...

Health created Sep 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Healing cuts for Medicare

Medicare payment reforms mandated in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for postacute care have great potential to lower costs without harming patients, a new study reports.

Health created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Health-care costs hit the elderly hard, diminish financial wellbeing

The protection of the savings of the elderly—one of the primary goals of Medicare—is under threat from a combination of spiraling healthcare costs and increased longevity. As the government attempts to reduce Medicare ...

Health created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Medicare kidney spending reaches crucial moment

Amid a presidential campaign and facing the "fiscal cliff," Americans hear a lot about federal spending, particularly for Medicare. But few probably know of either the history or the present watershed moment ...

Health created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

FTC sending refunds over CVS business overcharging

(AP)—The Federal Trade Commission says it is mailing refund checks to 13,000 Medicare beneficiaries who were overcharged for drugs because a CVS Caremark Corp. business understated the price of the products.

Medications created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Non-invasive diagnostic imaging costs to Medicare Part B down significantly since 2006

According to a study in the Sept. issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, overall non-invasive diagnostic imaging (NDI) costs to Medicare Part B dropped 21 percent from 2006 to 2010. The study reveals that m ...

Health created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0