RSSCategory: Medicare

Medicare failing to monitor prescribers, putting seniors and disabled at risk

Medicare failing to monitor prescribers, putting seniors and disabled at risk

An analysis of four years of Medicare prescription records shows that some doctors and other health professionals across the country prescribe large quantities of drugs that are potentially harmful, disorienting or addictive.

Share
May 12, 2013 | By | Reply More
Medicare data show wide variation in hospital pricing

Medicare data show wide variation in hospital pricing

For the first time anybody can get an idea of what their hospitals are billing Medicare for something and how much the government is paying.

Share
May 8, 2013 | By | Reply More
Inexpensive ways to stay healthy – CDC

Inexpensive ways to stay healthy – CDC

Learn free or low-cost ways to be healthy. Making healthy choices may help prevent injury, disease, and disability. Stay healthy on the cheap by including smart choices that are low-cost or free. Many are simple too.

Share
April 30, 2013 | By | Reply More
Bipartisan Center offers plan to cut health spending

Bipartisan Center offers plan to cut health spending

The plan offers more than 50 recommendations that would cut the federal deficit by about $560 billion over the next decade. About $300 billion of those savings would come from Medicare.

Share
April 20, 2013 | By | Reply More
Five ways the president’s budget would change Medicare

Five ways the president’s budget would change Medicare

President Obama’s 2014 budget plan includes a number of money-saving changes to Medicare, some of which have triggered concern from patient and provider groups.

Share
April 18, 2013 | By | Reply More
Sequestration spares Medicaid and Medicare but cuts many health programs for low-income Americans

Sequestration spares Medicaid and Medicare but cuts many health programs for low-income Americans

The sequestration’s automatic cuts will make it more difficult for low-income Americans to get maternal and infant care, vaccinate their children, and receive treatment for mental illness.

Share
March 11, 2013 | By | Reply More
What’s the price? Simple question, complicated answer in Medicare

What’s the price? Simple question, complicated answer in Medicare

I wrote to Medicare a while back, asking for a price.

Here’s what I wanted to know: How much does Medicare pay a particular hospital in Boston for a colonoscopy?

The first emailed response I got . . . was barely in English.

Share
March 8, 2013 | By | Reply More
Government-run health care that works – in conservative Arizona

Government-run health care that works – in conservative Arizona

Arizona occupies an unusual place in the national landscape: as a model for how a generously-funded, tightly regulated government program can aid vulnerable, low-income patients like Antonia Lopez

Share
March 7, 2013 | By | Reply More
Michelle Andrews answers to readers’ health insurance questions

Michelle Andrews answers to readers’ health insurance questions

Can insurers limit contraception coverage? Can early retirees get cheaper plans through health insurance exchanges? What options are their for low-income consumers in states that refuse to expand Medicaid coverage?

Share
March 5, 2013 | By | Reply More
Nurse practitioners say pay policies limit their practices more than scope-of-practice laws

Nurse practitioners say pay policies limit their practices more than scope-of-practice laws

Many nurse practitioners say payment policies have a greater effect on care they can provide than state “scope-of-practice” laws do.

Share
March 2, 2013 | By | Reply More
Are long-term care insurance rates going up for women?

Are long-term care insurance rates going up for women?

Although the Affordable Care Act seeks to end health plans’ use of gender to set prices, the new rules don’t apply to policies for long-term care.

Share
February 26, 2013 | By | Reply More
Nurse practitioners say they can help meet the primary care provider shortage

Nurse practitioners say they can help meet the primary care provider shortage

More than 27 million Americans will soon gain health coverage under the health law. But who will treat them all? Despite doubts from some doctor groups, nurse practitioners can provide care for this new influx of patients without sacrificing the quality of care, says the CEO of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Share
February 20, 2013 | By | Reply More
Medicaid expansion puts spotlight shortage of primary care providers

Medicaid expansion puts spotlight shortage of primary care providers

The Affordable Care Act will usher at least seven million more Americans into Medicaid next year, but the question of whether enough doctors will be there to welcome them is keeping some state health policymakers up at night.

Share
February 14, 2013 | By | Reply More
Office of the Insurance Commissioner launches revamped, mobile-friendly website

Office of the Insurance Commissioner launches revamped, mobile-friendly website

The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner has launched a redesigned, mobile-friendly website that should be easier for both consumers and industry professionals to use.

Share
February 13, 2013 | By | Reply More
Shortage of residency positions making it difficult for physicians to complete their training.

Shortage of residency positions making it difficult for physicians to complete their training.

Medical schools have responded to the physician shortage by increasing admissions, but residency programs have not been able to follow suit. As a result, for the first time in its history, the US may see a decline in the number of practicing physicians.

Share
February 13, 2013 | By | Reply More