|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Medicare News
Several Actions Involving Medicare Highlighted by
Kaiser Health Report
CMS
has new requirements on marketing for private fee-for-service Medicare
Advantage plans
Sept. 20, 2007 There have been several recent
developments related to Medicare. Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report
highlights some of these actions, primarily involving Medicare and the
health care suppliers they deal with in keeping the senior citizen
health insurance program running.
● Marketing requirements:
CMS
has implemented new requirements on marketing for private
fee-for-service Medicare Advantage plans, such as stronger "disclaimer"
language, the
Wall
Street Journal reports. The language states that such
plans do not guarantee Medicare beneficiaries will have the ability to
visit the same physician they used before they switch plans.
Such plans also must make "verification" calls to
ensure that new enrollees understand the plans (McGinley,
Wall
Street Journal, 9/9). In related news, a recent
Consumers Union analysis
of data collected from 10 states found that Medicare prescription drug
plans in which CMS automatically enrolls some low-income beneficiaries
can require beneficiaries to pay more than necessary for popular
medications (Edney,
CongressDaily, 9/12).
● Medical imaging:
GE Healthcare President
and CEO Joseph Hogan and other medical imaging company officials on
Monday met with presidential advisers to "press their case that their
industry is being asked to bear an unfair burden as Congress and the
administration look to rein in Medicare spending,"
The Hill reports.
The
Advanced Medical Technology
Association, the
Medical Imaging and Technology
Alliance division of the National Electrical Manufacturers
Association and the
Access to Medical Imaging Coalition
have launched a campaign against several consecutive years of reductions
in Medicare reimbursements for the use of their products. Lawmakers have
focused on medical imaging because Medicare spending in that area
doubled from 2000 to 2005 (Young,
The Hill,
9/12).
● Medicare tax:
Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) has introduced
legislation that would classify the earnings of hedge-fund and
private-equity managers as compensation subject to the 2.9% Medicare
tax,
Bloomberg/Salt Lake City
Deseret
Morning News reports. Current law classifies
such earnings as capital gains, which are not subject to Medicare and
other payroll taxes. The legislation change would increase federal
revenue by as much as $1 billion annually (Fitzgerald, Bloomberg/Salt
Lake City
Deseret
Morning News, 9/11).
● Private fee-for-service plans:
Lower-income beneficiaries enrolled in private
fee-for-service MA plans who live in lower-income counties pay more for
benefits than those enrolled in the same plans who live in nearby,
higher-income areas, according to a study recently released by the
Medicare Rights Center,
CQ
HealthBeat reports. According to the report, which
compares
U.S. Census Bureau
demographic data with the premiums and benefits of such plans in eight
counties in four states, plans in higher-income counties receive higher
federal subsidies per enrollee than those in nearby, lower-income
counties with larger numbers of minority residents.
MRC President Robert Hayes said, "Current members
of Congress and the insurance lobby have been working overtime to sell
the argument that overpaying insurers is in the best interest of poor
and minority Americans," but "it is a misleading, untruthful strategy to
keep the overpayments to Medicare private health plans flowing"
(Phillips,
CQ HealthBeat, 9/7).
>> The study is available
online (.pdf).
● Staff reductions:
One-third of physicians would reduce clinical staff
levels without a reversal of a 10% reduction in Medicare reimbursements
scheduled for next year, and 9% would reduce the number of physicians in
their practices, according to a recent survey conducted by the
Medical Group Management Association,
CQ
HealthBeat reports.
In addition, 57% of physicians would reduce health
benefits for staff, and 44% would reduce administrative staff levels,
the survey found. The survey also found that more than 41% of physicians
could decide to limit the number of Medicare beneficiaries they treat
and that 19% would not accept beneficiaries as new patients (Carey,
CQ
HealthBeat, 9/7).
|
Nursing Home Abuse, Medical Malpractice? Contact a lawyer.
click here
|
|
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
