Aging
Medicare Penalties For Hospital Infections Will Hit Alaska Hard
The four largest hospitals in Alaska are facing Medicare payment penalties for the quality of their care. Providence, Alaska Regional, Alaska Native Medical Center and Fairbanks Memorial are all in the bottom 25 percent nationally for the number of infections and serious complications patients get in their hospitals, according to data analyzed by Kaiser Health […]
Retooling Hospitals, One Data Point At A Time
This KHN story also ran in . It can be republished for free. (details) SALT LAKE CITY – When a car rolls off an assembly line, the automaker knows exactly what parts, labor and facilities cost. Not so in health care, and now some health executives are trying to change that. Although U.S. hospitals account […]
Study: Hospitals Using Electronic Medical Records Not Bilking Medicare
This story is part of a partnership that includes NPR and Kaiser Health News. It can be republished for free. (details) A new study says there’s no need to worry about hospitals using their new electronic medical records to generate bigger bills and boost their income. It’s been a concern since at least 2012, when […]
CMS May Soften Paperwork Requirements For Home Health Care
This KHN story can be republished for free. (details) Doctors may not have to write a narrative summary for patients needing home health care if a proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is finalized. For Medicare to pay for a home health visit, which includes physical therapy, speech therapy and skilled […]
Putting The Home In A Nursing Home
This KHN story can be republished for free. (details) Mealtime. Naptime. Bath time. Bedtime. Everything is on a schedule for residents in a traditional nursing home, leaving little flexibility for personal decision making. But LaVrene Norton is working to change that. Norton is founder and president of Action Pact, a national consulting firm. It specializes […]
A Reader Asks: Does Selling Your House Affect Eligibility For Assisted Living?
This KHN story can be republished for free. (details) Q. I’m a realtor who’s listing a client’s home. She is on Social Security and is moving into assisted-living housing. Will the proceeds from the sale of her home affect her eligibility for housing, which is based on her income? A. This is an unusual question […]
Letters To The Editor: A New Medical Convenience; ‘Copper Plans’ And Other Coverage Issues
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names. The recent story, The Latest In Medical Convenience: ER Appointments (Gorman and Colliver, 7/3), drew a number of responses. Here’s an example: Judy Lay; Lomita, Calif. This […]
Medicare Modifies Controversial Hospice Drug Rule
In response to strong criticism, Medicare officials are modifying rules intended to prevent the agency from paying twice for the same prescriptions for seniors receiving hospice care. Under the rules that took effect in May, hospice patients or their families could not fill prescriptions through their Part D drug plans until first confirming that the prescriptions […]
Medicare Testing Payment Options That Could End Observation Care Penalties
This KHN story also ran in . It can be republished for free. (details) Medicare officials have allowed patients at dozens of hospitals participating in pilot projects across the country to be exempted from the controversial requirement that limits nursing home coverage to seniors admitted to a hospital for at least three days. The idea […]
Advocacy Groups Say Medicare Should Negotiate With Drugmakers
Medicare could save billions if Congress overcame its reluctance to anger the drug industry and allowed the program to demand rebates or negotiate prices, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said Wednesday. He added that’s something polls show many Americans support. Rep. Waxman (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for UCLA) Expensive new blockbuster drugs, such as a $1,000-a-pill […]