Aging
Medicare Studying Plans To Pay Nursing Homes Based On Quality
The Affordable Care Act directs Medicare to create a national incentive pay program for nursing homes. But that appears to be several years away, according to a recent report to Congress. First, the government needs to analyze results from its three-year “Nursing Home Value-Based Purchasing Demonstration” project, which ended July 1. Initial results from the […]
Ohio Medicaid Program Raises Stakes For Nursing Homes
This story was produced in collaboration with For years, states have struggled to raise the quality of care in nursing homes using a regulatory stick – citations, fines and other sanctions when serious problems are discovered. Irene DuRell, 82, works on what she calls a German star by intricately folding strips of paper together in […]
Paul Ryan’s Health Care Record
Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images By choosing Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney put Medicare on the table as a major 2012 campaign issue. Related From KHN Mitt Romney On Health Care Ryan, who has served as House Budget Committee chairman since the Republicans took […]
Obama’s Health Care Record
Medicare, Medicaid and the 2010 health law will continue to be hot topics this presidential campaign season. KHN has assembled this resource page to help track President Barack Obama’s health policy record from his 2008 campaign positions to the enactment of the health law and his proposals to control federal health care spending. Photo by […]
Often Overlooked In Nursing Home Admission Paperwork Is An Arbitration Agreement
When Paul Ormond signed John Mitchell into a nursing home in Dennis, Mass., in June, he was handed a few dozen pages of admission papers. Ormond, Mitchell’s legal guardian and an old friend, signed wherever the director of admissions told him to. He didn’t realize that one of those documents was an agreement that required […]
House Republicans Attack Obama Administration On Medicare Advantage
>> Listen To The Audio MARY AGNES CAREY: Good day. This is Health on the Hill. I’m Mary Agnes Carey. More than 13 million Medicare beneficiaries – and that’s about a quarter of all beneficiaries – are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, an alternative to traditional Medicare that’s offered by insurance companies. The health law’s payment […]
Denver Debate: The Candidates Discuss Medicare
Medicare and how to rein in its rapidly growning costs was a major focus of Wednesday night’s presidential debate in Denver between President Barack Obama and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. >> More Debate Video: On ‘Obamacare’ | On Medicaid A transcript follows. JIM LERHER: First, Governor Romney, you have two minutes on Social Security and […]
VP Debate: Two Visions For Medicare
Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan laid out their parties’ competing visions for Medicare at the vice presidential debate in Danville, Ky., on Thursday. A transcript follows. MARTHA RADDATZ: Let’s talk about Medicare and entitlements. Both Medicare and Social Security are going broke and taking a larger share of the budget in the […]
Medicare Targets Health Plans With Low Ratings
Medicare officials are encouraging 525,000 beneficiaries to switch out of these 26 Medicare Advantage and drug plans that have received low ratings for three consecutive years and enroll in better plans for next year. The poor performing plans will have this warning symbol next to their names on Medicare’s plan finder website to steer shoppers […]
Feds Say Nursing Homes Overbilled Medicare By $1.5 Billion
At a time when the nursing home industry is lobbying Congress to avoid cuts in Medicare payments, a federal watchdog agency is reporting that taxpayers overpaid nursing homes $1.5 billion. The study released this week by the inspector general’s office of the Department of Health and Human Services concluded that nursing homes billed about a quarter […]