Archive for the ‘Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP’ Category

At Least Nine Of 17 States With SCHIP Income Eligibility Thresholds Above 250% Of Federal Poverty Level Will Meet Federal Enrollment Guidelines

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

At least nine states will meet federal SCHIP enrollment guidelines that will allow them to offer coverage to children in families with incomes greater than 250% of the federal poverty level, CMS Center for Medicaid and State Operations Director Dennis Smith said Wednesday in testimony before the Senate Finance Subcommittee ...

House Panel Unanimously Approves Legislation That Would Block Implementation Of Medicaid Rule Changes

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Wednesday by voice vote approved a bill (HR 5613) that would delay implementation of seven new Medicaid regulations for one year, the Wall Street Journal reports. The legislation, sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), would ...

Letter To The Editor, Editorial Address Study On End-of-Life Hospital Spending For Medicare Beneficiaries

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

Two newspapers on Thursday published a letter to the editor and an editorial about a recent study conducted by researchers at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice that found wide variations among the top U.S. academic medical centers in spending on care for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic ...

CMS Issues New EPrescribing Standards For Prescription Drug Program

Friday, April 11th, 2008

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released regulations that establish new standards for Medicare Part D e-prescribing.The new rule applies to all Part D sponsors, prescribers and dispensers that electronically send prescriptions and prescription-related information about Part D covered drugs for beneficiaries. The standards cover four areas: ...

Massive Medicaid Cuts Will Impact All Floridians, Safety Net Hospital Leaders Warn

Friday, April 11th, 2008

The Florida Legislature's plans to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicaid programs for the elderly, disabled and poor will put lives at risk and will negatively impact all Floridians, the leaders of Florida's safety net hospitals warned. Besides jeopardizing the health of Florida's most vulnerable ...

Senate Finance Committee Chair Baucus To Meet With Physician Groups To Discuss Medicare Bill

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Senate Finance Committee aides on Monday said that Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will ask more than 50 physician groups to support his Medicare bill, which would delay a scheduled 10% reduction in physician reimbursements for 18 months, CongressDaily reports. According to committee aides, Baucus will not ask the American ...

Mental Health America Applauds Dingell-Murphy Bill To Delay Harmful Medicaid Cuts

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

Mental Health America is applauding legislation introduced by Congressmen John Dingell (D-MI) and Timothy Murphy (R-PA) to delay implementation of seven Medicaid regulations that would dramatically reduce coverage of services and supports needed by our most vulnerable citizens, including individuals with mental illnesses. The "Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net ...

Attorney General Martha Coakley Files Brief Challenging President Bush’s Child Health Insurance Limits

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office filed an amicus brief in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey supporting New Jersey's challenge to a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services policy limiting the states' ability to use federal money to fund health insurance for ...

Congress, President Must Address Medicare ‘Budget Chaos,’ Op-Ed States

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

When Bear Stearns faced bankruptcy in March, "the federal government took unprecedented action" to address the problem, but the recent Medicare trustees' report, showing that the growing number of retirees and the rising costs of benefits threaten "the entire U.S. government with insolvency," has earned "little attention -- and virtually ...

CMS Says Payments To Medicare Advantage Plans Will Increase By 3.6% In 2009

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

CMS on Monday announced that average reimbursements to providers of private Medicare Advantage plans will increase by 3.6% in 2009, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. CMS, which increased average reimbursements to sponsors of MA plans by 3.5% last year, previously estimated an increase of 3.7% for next year. The reimbursement ...