House votes to repeal part of Obama health care law
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted Thursday to repeal a key measure of US President Barack Obama's health care reform, a symbolic move on the historic law's second anniversary.
View ArticleFederally funded clinics for low-income patients as effective as private...
The federal government has committed $11 billion to expand the operating capacity of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which receive federal funding and enhanced Medicaid and Medicare...
View ArticleMedicare: Barrier to hospice increases hospitalization
(Medical Xpress)—A Medicare rule that blocks thousands of nursing home residents from receiving simultaneous reimbursement for hospice and skilled nursing facility (SNF) care at the end of life may...
View ArticlePRT versus IMRT toxicity in Medicare beneficiaries with prostate cancer
There is no difference between proton radiotherapy (PRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) when comparing the toxicity among Medicare beneficiary patients with prostate cancer at 12 months...
View ArticleHouse joins senate to avert Medicare cuts
(HealthDay)—The House of Representatives settled on an 11th-hour agreement late Tuesday night that has averted the widespread tax increases and spending cuts that would have gone into effect January 1....
View ArticleFiscal standoff could cause financial pain for health care
(HealthDay)—"Sequestration" is Washington-speak for the approximately $85 billion in annual federal spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Those cuts were originally set to take...
View ArticleFew to no work efficiencies when different providers read different scans on...
According to a new study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, any efficiencies in physician interpretation and diagnosis gained when different providers interpret...
View ArticlePharmacist-directed anticoagulation service can impact patient satisfaction
As hospitals look for ways to improve patient satisfaction and boost their Medicare reimbursement, a Henry Ford Hospital study found that an inpatient pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service (PDAS)...
View ArticleIndependent payment advisory board's future questioned
(HealthDay)—Established as a part of the efforts of Affordable Care Act (ACA) to contain health care costs, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) has been surrounded by controversy, and still...
View ArticleHistopathology not needed with tympanomastoidectomy
(HealthDay)—The clinical utility of histopathologic evaluation of cholesteatoma cysts is low in patients undergoing tympanomastoidectomy for chronic otitis media, according to research published online...
View ArticleIncreasing operating costs top concern for medical practices
(HealthDay)—The top five concerns of medical practice executives all relate to financial management, with dealing with increasing operating costs reported as the most difficult daily challenge,...
View ArticlePatient isolation tied to dissatisfaction with care
Patient satisfaction has an increasing impact on hospitals' bottom lines, factoring into Medicare reimbursement of hospital care. A new study finds patients placed in Contact Precautions (Contact...
View ArticleDoctors pleased with congress' medicare payment agreement
(HealthDay)—Physician groups are expressing optimism over the Congressional agreement to revamp the Medicare physician payment system, according to an article published Feb. 26 in Medical Economics.
View ArticleLandmark Medicare law had little impact on reducing chemotherapy cost
Legislation passed in 2003 to slow the spiraling costs of drugs paid for by the federal government to treat Medicare patients has had no meaningful impact on cancer chemotherapy drug costs, say a team...
View ArticleChemo rx patterns changed before reimbursement changes
(HealthDay)—Other factors may affect chemotherapy prescription patterns more than changes in Medicare reimbursement, according to a study published online Sept. 29 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
View ArticleUse of costly breast cancer therapy strongly influenced by reimbursement policy
What Medicare would pay for and where a radiation oncologist practiced were two factors that strongly influenced the choice of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for treating breast cancer,...
View ArticleSurprising drop in physicians' willingness to accept patients with insurance
As required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, millions of people will soon be added to the ranks of the insured. However, this rapid expansion of coverage is colliding with...
View ArticlePharmacist survey raises concerns for patient access to generic drugs
Patient access to generic prescription drugs and community pharmacies are both increasingly at risk due to inadequate reimbursement rates that fail to cover the cost of filling prescriptions, according...
View ArticleInternists give Senate recommendations to improve care for patients with...
The American College of Physicians (ACP) letter in response to a May 22 Senate Finance Committee letter requesting recommendations and policies that will improve care for patients with chronic diseases.
View ArticleRadiation costs vary among Medicare patients with cancer
Cost of radiation therapy among Medicare patients varied most widely because of factors unrelated to a patient or that person's cancer, report University of California, San Diego School of Medicine...
View ArticleSpecific, consistent ICD-10 coding key to timely payments
(HealthDay)—In order to prevent denials, it is important to code correctly within the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), with specificity matching documentation,...
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