Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
BILL WATCH
The following bills were introduced in the House: HR 4491. Abill to amend Part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to repeal the reduction in Medicare payment for certain items of durable medical equipment. Introduced June 2 by Rep. David Hobson (R-OH), referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means. HR 4512. Abill to amend Part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prices for Medicare prescription drugs and to eliminate the gap in coverage of Medicare prescription drug benefits, to authorize the secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations for the reimportation of prescription drugs. Introduced June 3 by Rep. David Wu (D-OR), referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means. The following bills were introduced in the Senate: S 2487. Abill to amend Part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure that every Medicare beneficiary has access to a Medicare-administered prescription drug plan option. Introduced June 2 by Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN), referred to the Committee on Finance. S 2492. Abill to amend title XVIII of the Social security Act to provide for reimbursement of certified midwife services and to provide for more equitable reimbursement rates for certified nurse-midwife services. Introduced June 2 by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-SD), referred to the Committee on Finance.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- PHYSICIANS:
No E/M Coding Changes Until 2006
Clinical examples are too subjective to please CMS auditors. Physicians shouldn't throw away their calculators [...] - LONG-TERM CARE:
DAVE Comes Knocking On SNFs'Doors
Nursing homes will need to be proactive to dodge losses -- and even realize big [...] - HEALTH PLANS:
New HSA Guidance Allows For Design Flexibility
Government's enthusiasm for HSAs is good news for health plans. The Bush administration is doing [...] - HOSPITALS:
Hospitals Must Account For Their GME Revenue
MI hospitals face increased scrutiny after OIG's repayment request. Hospitals may need to brush up [...] - HEALTH PLANS:
CMS Wants Plans'Input On MMA Regions
July 21 meetings will consider regional definitions for MA plans and PDPs. Heads up, managed [...] - HOME HEALTH:
HHAs May Ring In '05 With 2.5-Percent Pay Hike
New PPS calendar pushes back updates, may save Medicare $90 million. Good news for home [...] - MEDICARE DRUG CARDS:
Analysts Dissect The Drug Card
Will they save seniors money?Are they a waste of money? The reviews are mixed. The [...] - MEDICARE DRUG CARD:
Has 'Misinformation' Hurt Drug Card Program?
CMS is reporting lower-than-expected membership figures. For months Congressional Democrats and some policy analysts have [...] - LONG-TERM CARE:
New Admits Are Tricky For Some SNFs
Admissions on or after the effective date of a denial of payment remedy pose big [...] - BILL WATCH
The following bills were introduced in the House: HR 4491. Abill to amend Part B [...]
