Healthcare Providers Oppose Medicare Cuts in Obama's 2015 Budget
March 6th 2014President Barack Obama is proposing more than $400 billion in cuts to Medicare over the next decade in his fiscal 2015 budget, an almost identical amount to what he recommended last year. But those cuts are heavily weighted toward future years, with only $3.5 billion occurring in 2015.
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FDA Budget Increase Not Enough, Advocates Say
March 6th 2014The Food and Drug Administration will get a 1% funding increase from President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal 2015 budget, a level some say is not enough to cover the agency's new responsibilities and the increasingly global nature of the products it regulates.
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CMS Turns to 'Retroactive' Tax Credits as Latest HIX Triage
March 5th 2014For state exchanges still struggling to function, and governors facing the consequences, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is offering an exception to the rule of tax credits only being available through public marketplaces.
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Telehealth: Next Frontier in Health Policy?
March 4th 2014Health policy advisors and advocates are shifting their focus to the possibilities of telehealth, which would allow physicians to treat patients virtually. Health experts suggest that this emerging health frontier could be promising, especially for patients who are immobilized or who live in remote locations.
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New Study Confirms: ObamaCare Exchanges Mean Less Choice, Higher Prices for Health Insurance
March 4th 2014The ObamaCare exchanges have reduced the choice of and increased the price of insurance polices when compared to what existed in 2013 on the individual market, says a just-released study.
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Coalition Offers Broad Framework to Improve Kidney Care
March 3rd 2014A coalition of patient advocates, dialysis-care providers and manufacturers today will unveil a comprehensive new framework for kidney care across the country that identifies four goals: improve survival, reduce hospitalizations, improve health-related quality of life, and improve patient experience with care.
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There's a Life-Saving Hepatitis C Drug. But You May Not Be Able To Afford It.
March 3rd 2014There's a new drug regimen being touted as a potential cure for a dangerous liver virus that causes hepatitis C. But it costs $84,000 -- or $1,000 a pill. And that price tag is prompting outrage from some consumers and a scramble by insurers to figure out which patients should get the drug -and who pays for it.
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Integrating Genetic Counseling Into an Oncology Practice Can Benefit High-Risk Families
March 3rd 2014Genetic counseling-including testing and risk assessment-is one of the most rapidly growing areas of oncology and has become the standard of care for patients with a personal and family history of breast, ovary, or colon cancer.
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Chronically Ill Face High Out-of-Pocket Costs
March 3rd 2014Those with chronic illnesses such as leukemia, hepatitis C, and multiple sclerosis may face a significant increase in their out-of-pocket expenses for specialty drugs. This is because payers are replacing fixed-dollar copayments with coinsurance rates that require patients to contribute a higher percentage of the cost for their specialty medications.
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Managing the Long-Term Care of Dual Eligibles
February 28th 2014When it comes managing the long-term care of dual eligibles, many health systems are looking toward managed long-term supports and services (MLTSS). Unlike traditional Medicare and Medicaid, MLTSS would expand managed healthcare medical services to include personal support and other assistance.
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CMS Proposes Medicare Advantage Rate Reduction
February 25th 2014CMS intends to implement a 1.9% rate reduction in payment rates for Medicare Advantage plans in 2015. Some payers fear that number may increase as fees associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as well as other policy changes, also begin to impact physician reimbursement.
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To Pay for a Doc Fix, Focus on Post-Acute Care
February 25th 2014In a rare display of bipartisanship, key committees of both houses of Congress are backing legislation that would permanently erase the sustainable growth-rate formula, a poorly thought out payment reform measure that for more than a decade dictated sharp cuts in Medicare physician pay.
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