Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, March 10th, 2020.

To Stop The Pandemic, Seema Verma Is 'Getting Rid Of A Lot Of Regulations'

7:41pm March 31, 2020

by Mary Louise Kelly

As head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Verma says she's working to ease safety rules and lighten licensing requirements, to expand the number of hospital beds and health workers.

The Trump administration said Wednesday that inspectors will be dispatched to determine whether staff at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., followed infection-control rules in the weeks leading up to deaths of residents there from COVID-19.

Health & Safety

Trump Administration Announces New Scrutiny Of Nursing Homes

11:39am March 05, 2020

by Jordan Rau

Health inspectors are to be "hyperfocused on infection control right now," officials say, as they suss out what allowed COVID-19 to spread in a Kirkland, Wash., nursing home.

Kate Clyatt, 28, works seasonally as a ranch hand in southwest Montana, and relies on the state's Medicaid program for health coverage. "Ranching is just not a job with a lot of money in it," Clyatt says. "I don't know at what point I'm going to be able t

Health & Safety

Rural Seasonal Workers Worry About Montana Medicaid's Work Requirements

8:10am November 03, 2019

by Corin Cates-Carney

Montana is one of several states that want Medicaid recipients to prove they work a steady, minimum number of hours monthly. Will federal courts allow the Montana rule change to stand?

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The same steep growth and use of big data that attracted venture capital cash to companies that administer Medicare Advantage plans have led to scrutiny of the companies by government officials. Federal audits estimate such plans nationwide have overcharg

Health & Safety

Missouri Firm With Silicon Valley Ties Faces Medicare Billing Scrutiny

12:03pm July 23, 2019

A federal audit and a whistleblower lawsuit allege that Medicare Advantage plans from the St. Louis-based Essence Group Holdings Corp. have significantly overcharged taxpayers.

From 2012 through 2016, federal health inspectors cited 87% of U.S. hospices for deficiencies. And 20% had lapses serious enough to endanger patients, according to two new reports from the HHS Inspector General's Office.

HHS Inspector General Finds Serious Flaws In 20% Of U.S. Hospice Programs

1:48pm July 09, 2019

by Ina Jaffe

Two new reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have found widespread problems in hospice care and say the government needs to open its scorecards on hospice care to the public.

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Two reports from the federal government have determined that many cases of abuse or neglect of elderly patients that are severe enough to require medical attention are not being reported to enforcement agencies by nursing homes or health workers — even

Health Workers Still Aren't Alerting Police About Likely Elder Abuse, Reports Find

2:24pm June 12, 2019

by Ina Jaffe

Workers in nursing homes, hospital ERs and other health facilities are required by law to notify police whenever they notice likely signs of physical or sexual abuse. But that's often not happening.

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When one of Jose Nuñez's retinas was damaged by diabetes in 2016, the Los Angeles truck driver expected his Medicaid managed care policy to coordinate treatment. But Centene, the private insurer that manages his policy, gave him the runaround, he says, a

Private Medicaid Plans Receive Billions In Tax Dollars, With Little Oversight

5:25pm October 18, 2018

by Chad Terhune

More than two-thirds of Medicaid recipients are enrolled in privately run Medicaid managed care programs. Yet the evidence is thin these contractors improve patient care or save the government money.

Changes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could affect how some hospitals operate.

Trump Administration To Overhaul A Program Designed To Save Medicare Money

8:47pm August 09, 2018

by Phil Galewitz

The federal government will overhaul accountable care organizations, an Obama-era innovation. The change could lead to a dramatic decrease in hospitals and doctors participating in the program.

In the mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, last October, children watched as U.S. Army helicopters brought a team of physicians to assess the medical needs of the local hospital and residents. Going forward, health economists say, the U.S. territory wil

Puerto Rico's Wounded Medicaid Program Faces Even Deeper Cuts

5:23pm August 01, 2018

State Medicaid programs already get much more money from the federal government than Puerto Rico Medicaid gets — and the storm-ravaged U.S. territory's safety net for the poor is barely hanging on.

Good hospice care at the end of life can be a godsend to patients and their families, all agree, whether the care comes at home, or at an inpatient facility like this AIDS hospice. Still, oversight of the industry is important, federal investigators say.

HHS Inspector General's Report Finds Flaws And Fraud In U.S. Hospice Care

10:50am July 31, 2018

by Ina Jaffe

Medicare pays more than $16 billion a year for hospice services. But a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services says hospice patients don't always get the care they're promised.

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