Medicare and Medicaid Encourage Patient Safety
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today it is taking several actions to improve the quality of care in hospitals and reduce the number of "never events" -- preventable medical errors that result in serious consequences for the patient.
"Never events cause serious injury or death to beneficiaries and result in unnecessary costs to Medicare and Medicaid due to the need to treat the consequences of the errors," said CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. "The steps taken today reflect our strong conviction that these events, in fact, should be prevented, and our commitment to protecting Medicare and Medicaid patients from them."
Posted : March 22, 2009 | 
Comments : 0 | 
Obama Announces $15 Billion in Medicaid Relief
THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press Secretary
February 23, 2009
Moving swiftly to bring real relief to Americans hit hard by the economic crisis, President Barack Obama announced today that states will be able to access the first two quarters of Federal Medical Assistance Percentage funding (FMAP) starting this Wednesday, February 25. FMAP - the federal match for Medicaid - helps pay for health care for the families struggling during the economic crisis and some of the nation's most vulnerable citizens. More than 49 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health care coverage and this funding could help 20 million more Americans get covered.* The President made the announcemen...
Posted : March 22, 2009 | Comments : 0 | Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
PACE is a benefit authorized by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) that features a comprehensive service delivery system and integrated financing for Medicare and Medicaid. The PACE program is modeled on the system of acute and long term care services developed by On Lok Senior Health Services in San Francisco, California. The model was tested through Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstration projects that began in the mid-1980s. The PACE model was developed to address the needs of long-term care clients, providers, and payers. For most participants, the comprehensive service package permits them to continue living at home while receiving services rather than having to be institutionalized. Capitated financing allows providers to deliver all services participants need rather than be limited to those reimbursable under the Medicare and Medicaid fee-for-service system...Posted : March 20, 2009 | Comments : 0 | Medicare & Medicaid Dual Eligibles
Dual eligibles are people who are entitled to Medicare Part A and/or Part B and are eligible for some form of Medicaid benefit.The Medicare - Medicaid Relationship
The Medicare Program (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act) provides hospital insurance, also known as Part A coverage, and supplementary medical insurance, also known as Part B coverage. Coverage for Part A is automatic for people age 65 or older (and for certain disabled persons) wh...
Posted : March 20, 2009 | Comments : 0 | The Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid
What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?Medicare is a federal health insurance program while Medicaid is a federal-state medical assistance program. The specifics of both the Medicare and Medicaid programs are as follows:
Medicare Program
Medicare is a Health Insurance Program. Medical bills are paid from trust funds which those covered have paid into while they are working. Medicare serves primarily people over 65, whatever their income, and serves younger disabled people and dialysis patients.
Posted : March 16, 2009 | Comments : 0 | Overhauling The Health Care System
Former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt stated, "The federal government must play an active role in reducing spending but not seek to become the sole solution in efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system". In an interview with National Journal staff, Leavitt warned that lawmakers should initially reject "three fake cures" before progress can be made on an overhaul. The first one is that "the market will fix this and everything will be fine, the second is that bureaucrats will fix it, and the other is that we just need to spend more money."Leavitt laid out several proposals to move forward with an overhaul. He said that management of the Medicaid program needs to be turned over to the states, who would hire private insurance companies to provide coverage to res...
Posted : March 16, 2009 | Comments : 0 | 
The Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid...Overhauling The Health Care System...Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (P...Medicare & Medicaid Dual Eligibles...Medicare and Medicaid Encourage Patient Safety...Obama Announces $15 Billion in Medicaid Relief...Medicare Meeting A Good Sign For Dendre...
Published:Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:12:47 -0700
Its positive that Medicare scheduled a meeting so rapidly, and that the meetings focus will be rest......
Dendreon: Medicare Coverage Fears Allay...
Published:Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:13:27 -0700
Medicare sets a Nov. 17 meeting to discuss Dendreons Provenge, but the focus will be on which patients should get the prostate cancer vaccine, not whether to cover it at all.......
HHS Expands Medicare Coverage of Tobacc...
Published:Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:51:15 -0700
Beginning next year, Medicare will pay for tobacco cessation counseling for all tobacco users covered by the federal benefit program. Under the recently enacted Patient Protection......
Medicare should require time cards in h...
Published:Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:21:44 -0700
The State of Florida is near the top in Medicare fraud. I did not realize just how prevelent it is until I had to call about hospital bills I was .........
Medicare scam...
Published:Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:38:39 -0700
Recent calls to the Better Business Bureau from senior citizens point to individuals or companies using the Medicare rebate as a tool to gain appointments and get information from......
Medicare: Sadly, You Can Still Pay a Bu...
Published:Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:23:26 -0700
For those of us in our 50s and 60s, age 65 looks like goalpost shining in the sun. At 65, you are eligible for Medicare and can set aside worries about the cost of health care. Bu......
