Medicare Poised To Cover CT Scans To Screen For Lung Cancer
To qualify for coverage, patients would have to first meet with a doctor to talk through the pros and cons of scans, which involve a low-dose of radiation.
Medicare
Medicare Concedes, Agrees To Pay For Woman's Home Health Care
A 78-year-old Vermont woman has won the latest skirmish in her long-running battle with Medicare. The agency agreed to pay for home health care coverage even though she remains disabled.
Disabled Vermont Woman Who Led Class-Action Suit Sues Medicare Again
A legally blind woman who has led a fight to make Medicare pay for care even when patients' medical conditions don't improve is in court to get Medicare payment for her own home care.
Hospitals Struggle To Beat Back Serious Infections
About 75,000 patients a year die from infections they caught in the hospital. A Kaiser Health News analysis finds that nearly 700 hospitals across the nation have higher than expected infection rates.
What You Need To Know For Medicare Open Enrollment
There will be fewer plans to pick from this time around. But people can still expect plenty of options for prescriptions drugs and privately run insurance through Medicare Advantage.
Medicare Fines Record Number Of Hospitals For Excessive Readmissions
Fewer Medicare patients are returning to hospitals within a month of discharge. But half the hospitals in 29 states and the District of Columbia will be penalized for failing to do a better job.
What Looks Like Overcharging By Your Hospital Might Not Be
In 2012, Medicare was rocked by allegations that hospitals were systematically overcharging the program by miscoding electronic medical records. A study released Wednesday took another look.
Health Care Costs Grew More Slowly Than The Economy In 2012
Health care costs grew at 3.7 percent in 2012, the fourth year of a trend of smaller annual increases. The Obama administration says that the Affordable Care Act is a factor. But the actuaries who wrote the report beg to differ, saying the recession is a more likely cause.
Medicare Penalizes Nearly 1,500 Hospitals For Poor Quality Scores
Medicare has tied incentive payments and penalties to two-dozen quality measurements, including surveys of patient satisfaction and death rates. More than 1,200 hospitals are receiving bonuses. But more hospitals are being paid less for each Medicare patient they treat for the year that began Oct. 1.
States' Refusal To Expand Medicaid May Leave Millions Uninsured
The idea was that Medicaid would expand to include people not covered under the Affordable Care Act. But many states have chosen not to expand coverage, despite financial incentives from the federal government. That may leave millions of people without any health coverage at all.