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Medicare Trust Fund Outlook Improves
WASHINGTON -- Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund will be depleted by 2026 -- 2 years later than last year's projection, the program's trustees said Friday in their 2013 annual report.
The improved outlook for the program was attributed to lower spending for most hospital services -- in particular skilled nursing facilities -- and a large assumed impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 2013 report said.
But trustees were "cautiously optimistic" that the slowdown in health spending that has extended the trust fund's life is here to stay, and not a reflection of the slow economy of the past few years.
"What we're finding is that there's a significant transformation of the private and public sector in terms of how payments are made," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, one of the trustees, said at a news conference here. Reforms like creation of accountable care organizations "are significant changes in care delivery that could in fact make sure that there are significant continued decreases in the underlying health costs."
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Source: Med Page Today
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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No Major Shifts in OBGYN Practice Locations Found Post Dobbs Decision
April 21st 2025Despite widespread concern following the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, researchers found no significant changes nationwide in obstetrician and gynecologist (OBGYN) practice locations.
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"The Barriers Are Real": Antoine Keller, MD, on Geography and Cardiovascular Health
April 18th 2025Health care disparities are often driven by where patients live, explained Antoine Keller, MD, as he discussed the complex, systematic hurdles that influence the health of rural communities.
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