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One in 4 older Americans covered by Medicare had some type of temporary or lasting harm during hospital stays before the COVID-19 pandemic, government investigators said in an oversight report published Thursday. The report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said 12% of patients had “adverse events” that mainly led to longer hospital stays but also permanent harm, death, or required life-saving intervention. Another 13% had temporary issues that could have caused further complications had hospital staff not acted. (Alltucker, 5/12)

Democrats are launching an ad campaign targeting seniors to highlight Republican Sen. Rick Scott's push to have Congress to reauthorize legislation every five years. The proposal in the 11-point plan from Scott, a Florida Republican and chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is the focus of Facebook ads funded by the Democratic National Committee aimed at seniors in Senate battleground states. The ads feature questions from a Fox News Channel anchor about whether Scott's plan would "sunset" Social Security and Medicare, or require Congress to vote periodically to keep the programs running. (Lesniewski, 5/12)

Hospitals in some states that haven't expanded Medicaid coverage worry a proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy could deprive them of hundreds of millions of dollars in disproportionate share hospital payments. In its most recent hospital payment rule, CMS proposed excluding certain uncompensated care pool days from the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital calculation. This seemingly technical adjustment raised alarms at hospitals in a handful of states, including Texas, Florida and Tennessee, that believe the change could take away Medicare reimbursements they earn by caring for needy patients. (Goldman, 5/12)

Seniors who haven’t been able to enroll in Medicare in 2022 because of phone system delays at the Social Security Administration can now ask for additional time to sign up, even if their enrollment periods have passed. As AARP reported this week, you can sign up for this special “equitable relief” by visiting a Social Security office or calling 800-772-1213. You also can contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program center. In all cases, you’ll just have to tell staff about the problems you’ve had getting through to someone on the phone. (Cariaga, 5/13)

One-quarter of accountable care organizations provide home-based care programs, but financial risks are holding others back, according to a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care Thursday. Surveys of ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program reveal that 25% have home care programs, another 25% provide some home visits and 17% are working to incorporate home care into their offerings. High-need, high-cost patients' healthcare costs are nearly four times greater than the average adult's and make up a large share of "potentially preventable" Medicare spending, the study says. These are the 5% of people who account for half of the nation's healthcare spending, which is expected to exceed $4 trillion this year. (Berryman, 5/12)

A new AARP analysis finds that the billions of dollars Medicare Part D spent over five years for just 10 top brand name prescription drugs more than made up for the money drugmakers say it costs to research and develop new medications. AARP's Public Policy Institute looked at total Medicare spending between 2016 and 2020 on the 10 brand name drugs that the program spent the most on in 2020. This research found that, for example, Medicare spent $27.2 billion during that period to pay for Eliquis, a blood thinner used to treat atrial fibrillation (Afib), a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. That's more than 10 times what the pharmaceutical industry says is the average cost to develop a new drug: $2.6 billion. (Bunis, 5/11)