Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
Finance Acts To Preserve SCHIP Funds
The Senate Finance Committee June 12 unanimously approved legislation to prevent states from losing $2.7 billion in unspent State Children's Health Insurance Program funds. States have three fiscal years - including the year in which they receive the funds - to spend federal SCHIP allocations. Unspent dollars are redistributed for one year among states that have used up their entire allocations. Any money left over after that year reverts to the federal treasury. Funds allocated right after SCHIP's 1997 creation accumulated "while states worked through the start-up process and established functioning programs," senior panel Democrat Max Baucus (MT) explained in a statement, leaving many states set to lose funding just when their programs were geared up to use the money effectively. In 2000, Congress responded by allowing states to retain some of their unused FY 1998 and FY 1999 allotments. The Finance bill builds on that precedent, extending the availability of 1998 and 1999 funds through 2004. In addition, states that did not spend their full 2000 and 2001 allocations would retain 50 percent of the unspent funds, while the remaining 50 percent would be redistributed to other states. In both cases, 2000 and 2001 funds would remain available through 2004 and 2005, respectively. Congress must approve the legislation by the end of the month, Baucus warned, or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will finalize its own redistribution scheme for the FY 2000 funds.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Medicare Rx:
MEDICARE OVERHAUL ADVANCES IN HOUSE
Medicare beneficiaries would receive 100 percent coverage of drug expenses after spending $3,500 out-of-pocket under [...] - Medicare Rx:
SENATE BILL STILL ON PATH TO PASSAGE
In the Senate, there is still a ways to go before a final product. However, [...] - Medicare Rx:
WHITE HOUSE Key To Medicare Reform
Most Democrats supporting Grassley-Baucus would not support the direct competition between FFS Medicare and private [...] - Medicare Rx:
FINANCIAL ANALYSTS: DRUG-ONLY PLANS A NO-GO
The Medicare prescription-drug legislation being debated in Washington proposes private drug-only insurance plans - presumably [...] - Specialty Hospitals:
CMS CAN'T, CONGRESS MIGHT CAN WHOLE-HOSPITAL EXEMPTION
The rise of specialty hospitals funded mainly by physician investors is a recent phenomenon that [...] - MedPAC:
MEDPAC PUSHES PAY FOR MEDPAC PUSHES PAY FOR
To provide high-quality, cost-effective treatment, Medicare must launch demonstration projects exploring financial-reward systems for top-quality [...] - Enforcement:
WHAT'S TOPPING FRAUD-FIGHTERS' TO-DO LISTS
Perhaps the top activity for state and federal fraud busters these days is following pharmaceutical [...] - SCHIP:
Finance Acts To Preserve SCHIP Funds
The Senate Finance Committee June 12 unanimously approved legislation to prevent states from losing $2.7 [...] - Hospitals:
HOSPITALS OUTCOMES DEMO TO GO FORWARD
Agreement has been reached on terms of a Medicare demonstration project that would give hospitals [...] - Hospitals:
BEEF UP YOUR POST-ACUTE TRANSFER COMPLIANCE
Hospitals with high error rates for post-acute transfers could be in for aggressive enforcement actions [...] - Hospitals:
SMALL FACILITIES HIT HARDEST BY CLOSURES
In rural and urban settings alike, smaller hospitals that treat fewer patients than their peers [...] - Coverage:
CMS Settles Appeals Suit
Under a May 27 legal settlement, a dozen experts from the Medicare Coverage Advisory Commission [...] - Coverage:
ICD COVERAGE EXPANDS- BUT ONLY SLIGHTLY
Health care providers will soon be able to bill Medicare for implantable cardioverter defibrillators in [...] - Bill Watch
The following House bills were introduced: H.R. 2471. A bill to amend title XVIII of [...] - Register Watch
Looking for continuing education credits? Look to CMS. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [...]
