Archive for the ‘Medicare’ Category
BLOGGER VS. BLOGGER: Who Will Pay for Ryan’s Budget Plan?
House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) fiscal year 2013 budget proposal includes changes to Medicare and Medicaid and would repeal the federal health reform law. The plan would cut $5.3 trillion in spending over the next 10 years and reduce revenue to the federal government by $4 trillion during that time.
The plan includes a “modified version” of the controversial Medicare reform plan Ryan released last year, which would have altered Medicare from a fee-for-service program to one in which beneficiaries would purchase coverage on the private market. Ryan developed the new plan, which would provide seniors with subsidies to help purchase coverage, with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The Ryan-Wyden plan maintains traditional Medicare as an option and adds protections for low-income beneficiaries and provisions that would ensure traditional Medicare would not cover only the sickest beneficiaries.
AHL’s TOP STORY: House Approves Ryan’s FY 2013 Budget Plan
The House yesterday voted 228-191 to approve House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) fiscal year 2013 budget proposal, which would repeal the federal health reform law and alter Medicaid and Medicare, the Wall Street Journal reports. All Democrats and 10 Republicans voted against Ryan’s budget.
BLOGGER VS. BLOGGER: GOP and Democrats Collide on Medicare Reform
Over the past few weeks, Republicans and Democrats have battled over Medicare reforms, with each party accusing the other of attempting to do irreparable damage to the program. Republicans have taken aim at the president’s federal health reform law, arguing that the law does not help to slow Medicare’s increasing growth rate and eventually will bankrupt the program. Meanwhile, Democrats have argued that GOP proposals will completely phase out traditional Medicare and replace it with a government-subsidized private insurance system.
WHAT WE’RE READING: Ryan’s Budget Preview Heavy on Theatrics, Light on Specifics
- “Paul Ryan’s Dramatic Budget Preview,” Washington Post‘s “2chambers”: Drumroll, please.
- “Getting Doctors to Think About Costs,” New York Times‘ “Well”: How much does a CAT scan cost? A lot.
WHAT WE’RE READING: Medicare’s Looming Doom
- “More ‘Mediscare’ Hooey, GOP Version,” Washington Post‘s “The Fact Checker”: Long, long ago on a dark, stormy night, two political parties fought over who tried to kill Medicare as we know it…
- “Medical Students Show Gains in Empathy Are Short-Lived After Training,” American Medical News: An eighty hour work weeks will do that to a person.
AHL’s TOP STORY: CBO Report Projects Health Reform Law Will Cost Less, Insure Fewer U.S. Residents
Insurance coverage provisions in the federal health reform law will cost less over the next decade but will provide coverage for fewer U.S. residents than previously estimated, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released yesterday, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” reports (Pecquet, “Healthwatch,” The Hill, 3/13).
AHL’s TOP STORY: House Ways and Means Committee Approves IPAB Repeal Bill
The House Ways and Means Committee yesterday approved legislation (HR 452) that would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was created under the federal health reform law to rein in Medicare spending, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” reports. Read the rest of this entry »
AHL’s TOP STORY: House Energy and Commerce Committee Advances IPAB Repeal Bill
The House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday approved legislation (HR 452) that would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was created under the federal health reform law to rein in Medicare spending, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” reports (Baker, “Healthwatch,” The Hill, 3/6). Read the rest of this entry »
AHL’s TOP STORY: Texas Doctor, Others Charged in $375M Medicare, Medicaid Scam
The Obama administration yesterday announced that a Texas physician and the owners of five home health agencies were arrested for allegedly defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of nearly $375 million, the Washington Post reports. According to administration officials, it is the largest case of home health care fraud ever committed and the biggest case to be brought against a single physician. Read the rest of this entry »
AHL’s TOP STORY: HHS Finds Disparities Among Medicare Advantage Plans in Fraud Detection
The HHS Office of Inspector General has found wide differences in how Medicare Advantage plans “defined and detected potential fraud,” which could affect their ability to mitigate such problems, Modern Healthcare reports. HHS OIG found that in 2009, three of 170 MA plans identified 95% of the 1.4 million reported incidents of suspected fraud and abuse.
CMS requires MA plans to launch “inquiries and corrective actions” in some cases, but OIG investigators found that not all plans took such actions when they detected potential fraudulent activity. Read the rest of this entry »
