Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
Bill Watch
The following bill was introduced in the Senate: S. 1179. A bill to amend title SVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure that benefits under part D of such title have no impact on benefits under other federal programs. Introduced June 7 by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and referred to the Committee on Finance. The following bills were introduced in the House: H.R. 2622. A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide monthly benefits for certain uninsured children living without parents. Introduced May 25 by Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. H.R. 2758. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under the Medicare Program of infertility treatment services for individuals entitled to health insurance benefits under that program by reason of a disability. Introduced June 7 by Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce; and to the Committee on Ways and Means for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker. H.R. 2841. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage, as supplies associated with the injection of insulin, of home needle destruction devices and the disposal of needles and lancets through a sharps-by-mail or similar program under part D of the Medicare Program. Introduced June 9 by Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce; and to the Committee on Ways and Means for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker. H.R. 2860. A bill to encourage members of Congress and the executive branch to be honest with the public about true on-budget circumstances, to exclude the Social Security
trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds surpluses from being used as offsets for tax cuts or spending increases, and to exclude the Social Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund from official budget surplus or deficit pronouncements.
Introduced June 9 by Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI) and referred to the Committee on the Budget; and to the Committee on Ways and Means for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Pharmaceuticals:
Medicare May Cut Ad Costs Out Of Drug Prices
Congress looking closer at advertising influence.
Two senators want to reduce providers' Medicare and Medicaid prices [...] - Rehab:
CMS To Show IRFs The Money In 2006
Aggregate pay increase could approach 3 percent.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently published [...] - DME:
New NCD For Mobile Equipment Still Causing Problems
'NCD' stands for 'No Clue what to Do' for many DME providers.
The federal policymaking process [...] - Rehab:
Feds Take Umbrage With IRF Upcoding
CMS hints that IRFs are upcoding on a regular basis.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid [...] - Medicaid:
Results Mixed For Coverage Expansion Proposals
Report: There's no magic wand to wave at all states' uninsured rates
Under current federal Medicaid [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
Plans, PBMs, Pharmacies Jockey For Part D Positioning
Are pharmacies raising rates for health plans?
As the implementation of the prescription drug benefit draws [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
Demo Covers Recurrent Breast Cancer Drugs
Officials say there's lots of spots left in demo.
Medicare has expanded the coverage guidelines for [...] - Long-Term Care:
Let The Cat Out Of The Bag About CT Scans
How a scan can take money from an LTC provider's kitty when someone else should [...] - Long-Term Care:
QIOs Will Target Nursing Home Turnover
CMS wants turnover rate cut 15 percent before 2008.
Quality improvement organizations will begin their work [...] - Enforcement Watch:
Medicaid Mistakes Put Feds In State Of Suspicion
OIG audit deems Illinois payment monitoring inadequate.
Providers beware: If your state uses an out-of-date formula [...] - Home Health:
Expect Termination Notice Deadline To Stick
Short notice on new forms won't lead to leeway, say experts.
Home health providers better be [...] - Bill Watch
The following bill was introduced in the Senate: S. 1179. A bill to amend title [...]
