Topic:

Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP

Latest Headlines

Latest Headlines

HHS: Affordable Care Act helped Medicare save $473 billion

As the Affordable Care Act turns six years old this week, the Obama administration is marking the occasion by highlighting its successes and laying out plans for how it might transform the healthcare system going forward.  

Medicare Part B proposals too broad and could hurt patients, groups say

In a letter sent Thursday, 316 healthcare and patient advocacy groups urged leaders in both houses of Congress to ask the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to withdraw its proposal for new Medicare Part B payment models.

Hearing hashes out pros, cons of Medicare Advantage's growing role

At a congressional hearing about ensuring the fiscal stability of the Medicare program, experts and lawmakers discussed the role Medicare Advantage plans have played in altering how Medicare operates--and what role they should play in the future.

How House Republicans' budget plan would affect Medicaid

House Republicans' proposed budget plan would have a major impact on Medicaid, cutting funding for the program by a total of about $2.1 trillion over the next decade, according to a blog post from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have fewer preventable hospitalizations

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries experience fewer avoidable hospitalizations than those enrolled in traditional fee-for-service Medicare plans, suggesting that MA plans may be more effective at coordinating preventive care, according to a new study.  

Reasons to be optimistic about the new Medicare Part B payment models

The federal government's new Medicare Part B payment model proposals have stirred up considerable controversy, but the tests may actually be worth a try in order to tackle the spiraling costs of prescription drugs, according to an opinion piece from  STAT.  

Cigna gets win from CMS policy shift, but consumers may lose

Federal regulators' decision to revise how star ratings are deducted from sanctioned Medicare Advantage plans will preserve millions of dollars in quality bonuses for Cigna--but some consumer advocates say the shift undermines health plans' accountability,  Kaiser Health News  reports.  

CMS revises policy on docking star ratings of sanctioned Medicare Advantage plans

Federal regulators have revised their policy for automatically reducing star ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans operating under immediate sanctions, a decision that will benefit health plans that have been hit by enforcement actions.

Critics push back against new Medicare Part B payment proposals

When the Obama administration announced its plan to test new ways of paying for prescription drugs under Medicare Part B, a slew of criticism from industry stakeholders quickly followed--though some say they see potential in the new models.  

New CMS utilization data links SNF payments to high therapy levels

CMS' skilled nursing facility utilization and payment data from 2013 has reignited concerns that the current payment structure is incentivizing unnecessary levels of therapy.