Policy news and information

The nation's skilled-nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities will see their Medicare payments increase in 2014 under two final rules from the CMS this week.
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Physicians could do far more to use prescription drugs more cost-effectively—in some cases, by recommending exercise or better nutrition before prescribing them in the first place, say a team of Dartmouth University researchers. The researchers are calling for more nuanced measures of...
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Supporters of the healthcare reform law got some good news from a survey just released by the healthcare policy briefing website The Morning Consult.
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Nearly a decade ago, the first-year growing pains of the Medicare drug benefit drew a heated yet largely supportive political response.
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A new report from the Institute of Medicine may finally put to rest the idea that policymakers should adopt a geographically based value index to set Medicare reimbursements, a proposal favored by providers and members of Congress in regions that have high-quality, low-cost care.
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While state-run health insurance exchanges have reported that premiums for 2014 health plans generally will be lower than for comparable 2013 products, congressional Republicans and others have questioned whether that will hold true for exchanges in the 35 states where the federal government will...
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Healthcare employers are wary while unions representing healthcare workers are hopeful as the U.S. Senate appears poised this week to confirm two Obama administration appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, thus moving toward filling all five board seats. Two Republican nominees also are...
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“We have one last chance to stop this if the White House won't cooperate, and that's through our budgeting process. Some will say, 'Well, that's crazy. You are going to shut down the government over Obamacare?' No, what's crazy is moving forward with this thing.”
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Regarding “Reform Update: Obama touts ACA benefits amid GOP efforts to dismantle provisions”, whether one supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or not, it has to be viewed as sheer...
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In 1989, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act mandated use of the resource-based relative value scale methodology for physician payments under Medicare Part B. It's time for review.
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