hospitals requiring payment upfront

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Tuesday examined how across the U.S., “some insured patients are being asked by hospitals to pay larger portions of their bills upfront — and sometimes hospitals will not do the procedures until they get their copayments.” Although hospitals must provide emergency treatment without receiving upfront payment, elective or scheduled procedures, [...]

medicare reimbursement with generic drugs

When a drug goes generic, the price plunges. But the formula Medicare uses to pay for certain drugs is slow to reflect that price drop, which means the program winds up overpaying for months.
Read all about it in this report out today from Health and Human Services’ inspector general.
drug pricesThe report looks at irinotecan, a [...]

Legislation to make referrals more transparent

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently introduced legislation (S 3343) that would require physicians to disclose their financial ties to imaging services ordered under Medicare when making self-referrals, CQ HealthBeat reports.
The legislation is intended to reduce physicians’ incentives for referring patients to imaging providers in which the doctor has a financial stake [...]

telemedicine reimbursement approved

Final Victory for Telemedicine Reimbursement
Congress Overrides Presidential Veto on H.R. 6331
Telemedicine achieved final victory in its quest to add new originating sites for
Medicarereimbursement on July 16 when Congress overrode President Bush’s veto of H.R. 6331.
Under this new law, as of January 1, 2009, skilled nursing facilities, in-hospital dialysis centers and
community mental health centers will [...]

warning labels

FDA Issues New Rules on Product Warning Label Updates for Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices
from kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report
FDA last week issued new rules that aim to ensure medication warning labels provide clear and concise information to consumers, the AP/Denver Post reports. The new rule, which will take effect next month, states that pharmaceutical and medical [...]

Commonwealth study on the medical bill payments

A number of states have begun to consider legislation that would restrict access to physician prescribing information for data mining companies as part of a “backlash against pharmaceutical marketing efforts,” the AP/Arizona Republic reports. Data mining companies, such as IMS Health and Verispan, collect information on which medications physicians prescribe and the quantities in [...]

legislative debate over physicians and data mining

A number of states have begun to consider legislation that would restrict access to physician prescribing information for data mining companies as part of a “backlash against pharmaceutical marketing efforts,” the AP/Arizona Republic reports. Data mining companies, such as IMS Health and Verispan, collect information on which medications physicians prescribe and the quantities in [...]

budget cuts considered for medicaid

A number of states in response to budget deficits have proposed changes to their Medicaid programs that could affect the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of residents or reduce reimbursements for health care providers, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
In February, California announced a 10% reduction in Medicaid reimbursements to providers that took effect in July, [...]

personal health record pilot

CMS in January 2009 will launch an online personal health records pilot program for Medicare beneficiaries in Arizona and Utah as part of an ongoing effort by the Bush administration to encourage use of health care information technology, The Hill reports. Under the program, the PHRs will include as much as two years of Medicare [...]

hospitals an immigrants

The New York Times on Sunday examined how U.S. “hospitals are taking it upon themselves to repatriate seriously injured or ill immigrants because they cannot find nursing homes willing to accept them without insurance.” The article is the second in a series, titled “Getting Tough,” that examines efforts by government and other organizations to coerce [...]