Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/medicare-medicaid/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156325.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156325.php "A year into a new effort to expand health coverage, recession-weary Marylanders are flocking to the state's Medicaid program in numbers far greater than expected, costing the state $50 million more in the process," The Baltimore Sun reports. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156324.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156324.php "A new large-scale study of medical records found that the extra cost of extending prescription coverage to Medicare enrollees was substantially offset by lower spending on other medical care for people who previously had limited or no prescription-drug coverage," The Wall Street Journal reports. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156331.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156331.php The Patients Doctors Don't Know The New York Times All medical students are required to have clinical experiences in pediatrics and obstetrics, even though after they graduate most will never treat a child or deliver a baby. Medical Students / Training Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156321.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156321.php President Obama reiterated his call to adjust Medicare reimbursement rates as a part of his broad push for health reform in a meeting with nine reporters, including writers from local newspapers, Wednesday. "While steering clear of details, Obama indicated that revised reimbursement rates helpful to areas [where reimbursement rates are low] should be part of a comprehensive healthcare reform package now in the works," Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156330.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156330.php Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156244.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156244.php After enrolling in Medicare Part D, seniors who previously had limited or no drug coverage spent more on prescriptions and less on other medical care services such as hospitalizations and visits to the doctor's office, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156161.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156161.php "Cuts to Medicaid benefits for hundreds of developmentally disabled people in Colorado take effect today, a move that will be devastating, caretakers and advocates say," The Gazette reports. "Annual payments for services such as transportation and work programs are being cut by at least half for about 700 Coloradans with developmental disabilities ... Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156190.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156190.php The state Division of Senior and Disabilities Services is working this summer in coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve its compliance with federal standards in the areas of Home and Community Based Medicaid Waivers and Personal Care Services (Personal Care Assistance). Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156160.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156160.php Medicaid receives increased attention while an underused, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance can help veterans, and spouses, with assisted living. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156158.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156158.php The drug industry began ramping up its lobbying efforts in 2003, when Medicare Part D began, and now is targeting Democrats. CQ Politics reports: "The industry is increasingly employing Democratic lobbyists with ties to the Obama administration and congressional leaders such as Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156088.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156088.php Today's 65 year old Medicare Part D beneficiary will be 79 when the coverage gap, or 'donut hole,' is eliminated, says a new analysis of proposed legislation from the House of Representatives released today by Avalere Health. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156026.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156026.php Local laws, insurance reimbursement and public misperceptions impede emergency medical services (EMS) workers from using best resuscitation practices, according to a study reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155966.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155966.php Obama budget chief Peter Orszag sat with Slate.com last week to talk about health reform. In his answers, Orszag talked about personal choices affecting health care costs, the role of MedPAC and the Congressional Budget Office. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155973.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155973.php The Health and Human Services Department Monday "rescinded three controversial Bush administration regulations governing Medicaid and said it would postpone and possibly change or rescind a fourth," according to CQ Politics. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155963.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155963.php "Lawmakers working to overhaul the U.S. health-care system face a pressure-filled July after leaving town this week without resolving the biggest questions dividing Democrats and Republicans," Bloomberg reports. Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155866.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155866.php Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the administration will rescind all or part of three Medicaid regulations that were previously issued and delay the enforcement of a fourth regulation. Each of these rules, in whole or in part, had been subject to Congressional moratoria set to expire on July 1, 2009. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155793.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155793.php NPR reports on a way to reduce national health care costs: "Getting doctors and hospitals in the parts of the country that spend the most on medical care now to bring that spending more in line with that of lower-spending regions." Researchers at The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care "have found two key points. Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155850.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155850.php Please help us protect people with neuromuscular diseases from the potentially harmful impact of the recently released House Tri-Committee healthcare reform proposal. The package eliminates the first month purchase option for all power wheelchairs. The current policy allows individuals to purchase power wheelchairs in the first month the product is prescribed, which ensures appropriate access to equipment and lower costs to consumers and the Medicare program. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155795.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155795.php The Miami Herald reports that healthcare reform could acutely affect South Florida and provide both benefits and risks. The paper notes that in "few places are healthcare costs more bloated than South Florida, especially Miami. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155754.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155754.php Medicare beneficiaries' activities of daily living (ADL) improved in their first year of the Medicare Part D senior prescription drug plan, according to a ground-breaking study presented at the Annual AcademyHealth meetings in Chicago today. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155616.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155616.php In Ohio, a nursing home coalition warns of "life-threatening health risks" if Medicaid reimbursements are cut under Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed budget plan while diabetes patients in the state are threatened by a lack of coverage. The Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155615.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155615.php "A federal judge on Thursday blocked a $2 hourly wage cut for California in-home care workers that was slated to begin July 1, potentially increasing California's budget deficit by another $98 million," The Sacramento Bee reports. In an oral injunction, the judge ordered the state "to continue paying up to $12. Caregivers / Homecare Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155608.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155608.php Some senators on the Finance Committee said Thursday they've moved closer to cutting their health reform bill's cost to under $1 trillion. The New York Times: "Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, said the overall cost of the bill had been reduced mainly by limiting eligibility for various subsidies. Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155579.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155579.php Eight Miami-Dade County, Fla., residents have been indicted in connection with an alleged $22 million Medicare fraud scheme operated out of Miami businesses purporting to specialize in home health care services, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman of the Southern District of Florida, and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155530.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155530.php The following statement was issued today by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) regarding the agreement reached among the Obama administration, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Senate Finance Committee to help close the coverage gap in the Medicare prescription drug program: "We look forward to reviewing in greater detail the agreement struck among President Obama, PhRMA and the Senate Finance Committee. Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP