Medicare

In a previously unreleased letter, Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan told the Dept. of Health and Human Services to devise an action plan for reducing wasteful Medicare and Medicaid payments.

Health & Safety

White House Takes Aim At Medicare And Medicaid Billing Errors

4:34pm September 04, 2015

by Fred Schulte

Improper payments by Medicare and Medicaid are wasting billions of dollars a year, the White House budget director said. He called for urgent corrective action in a letter that is now public.

Jo Ann Farwell, a retired social worker, has a brain tumor; she wanted to make sure her sons were clear about her end-of-life wishes. So, after talking with her doctor, she filled out a form that Oregon provides to ease those family conversations.

Medicare Says Doctors Should Get Paid To Discuss End-Of-Life Issues

2:05pm August 19, 2015

After a six-year delay, Medicare proposes to reimburse doctors who hold end-of-life discussions with Medicare patients. The federal program is now soliciting public comments on the idea.

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Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, (left) poses with his uncle, Philip Lee, and father Peter Lee (seated) at the younger Peter Lee's home in Pasadena, Calif., in 2013.

Meet The California Family That Has Made Health Policy Its Business

6:24pm July 30, 2015

by Stephanie O'Neill

On Medicare's 50th birthday, two brothers who helped get it off the ground tell their stories. A younger member of the Lee family is at the helm of Covered California, the state insurance exchange.

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A Yale University study analyzed the experience of 60 million Americans covered by traditional Medicare between 1999 and 2013, and found "jaw-dropping improvements in almost every area," the lead author says.

Happy 50th Birthday, Medicare. Your Patients Are Getting Healthier

8:49am July 30, 2015

by Richard Harris

The past 15 years have seen a drop in deaths and hospitalizations among Medicare patients — people 65 and older. Teasing out why is tricky, but it seems a good trend for the 50-year-old program.

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Hospitals can call people who stay overnight outpatients, a classification that can have surprising financial consequences.

Health & Safety

Progress For Bill To Bolster Medicare Patients' Hospital Rights

10:58am July 29, 2015

by Susan Jaffe

Even when some Medicare patients stay overnight in the hospital, they are are being classified as outpatients under something called observation status. It sounds innocuous but can trigger big bills.

Coordinating care for high-risk patients was expected to save money and improve quality of care. A Medicare experiment didn't pan out.

Health & Safety

Experiment In Coordinated Care For Medicare Failed To Show Savings

12:05pm July 27, 2015

by Jay Hancock

The test aimed to help high-risk Medicare patients navigate the health care maze. But after three years, expected improvements in quality and savings failed to materialize.

One of the first signs drivers see on the way into Unionville, Mo. is this billboard advertising cardiology at Putnam County Memorial Hospital. Offering specialty services, like cardiology and psychiatry turned the hospital around, community leaders say.

Expanding, Not Shrinking, Saves A Small Rural Hospital

10:03am July 21, 2015

by Bram Sable-Smith

As least 55 hospitals across the rural U.S. have closed since 2010. But northern Missouri's Putnam County Memorial finds that adding high-quality specialty services lures patients and revenue.

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Choosing a home health agency can be even more difficult than picking a nursing home.

Health & Safety

Home Health Agencies Get Medicare's Star Treatment

3:13pm July 16, 2015

by Jordan Rau

For the first time, the government is using a star system to rate agencies that care for seniors in their homes. Medicare was stingy with top ratings and also the poorest scores.

Health & Safety

Federal Audits Of Medicare Advantage Reveal Widespread Overcharges

5:03am July 10, 2015

by Fred Schulte

Internal audits, never before made public, provide striking evidence of billing mistakes in Medicare Advantage health plans. The Center for Public Integrity filed suit to obtain the records.

Fraud Still Plagues Medicare's Prescription Drug Program

11:39am June 23, 2015

by Charles Ornstein

More than 1,400 pharmacies billed for questionable prescriptions last year, according to the inspector general at Health and Human Services. That includes prescriptions for commonly abused opioids.