Medicare Changes Could Limit Patient Access To ALS Communication Tools
Patient advocates say that, because of an official coverage reminder “the door is closing� for ALS patients who depend on Medicare to get speech-generation devices.
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Patient advocates say that, because of an official coverage reminder “the door is closing� for ALS patients who depend on Medicare to get speech-generation devices.
Eight physician groups have launched a multi-year campaign to win public and governmental support for a larger role.
An asthma prevention program in California hopes to offer returns based on savings from reduced hospital visits.
KHN reporter Jordan Rau spoke on NPR about data that say about 75,000 patients per year die from infections they got in the hospital. Nearly 700 hospitals around the U.S. have higher than expected infection rates.
Each year about 75,000 patients die from infections they caught in the hospital. A KHN analysis of federal data shows that nearly 700 hospitals have higher than expected rates of infection for at least one condition.
The Ebola epidemic in Africa and fears of it spreading in the U.S. have turned the nation’s attention to the federal government’s front-line public health agency: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But as with Ebola itself, there is much confusion about the role of the CDC and what it can and cannot do to prevent and contain the spread of disease.
Opponents wage costly campaign, eroding public support.
Under a new state law, Massachusetts insurers have to post how much tests and procedures cost at different providers in a consumer-friendly way.
An investigation by the HHS inspector general says beneficiaries getting the treatments at "critical access" hospitals pay between two and six times more than those at other hospitals.
Experts says a series of recent threats, including the first Ebola patient to develop symptoms in the U.S., raise questions about the state's capacity to deal with contagious diseases.
Although fewer patients are now returning to the hospital within a month, the fines reached a record level this year.
Medicare evaluated the readmission rates of the nation's hospitals in determining the third year of penalties in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. This table lists the average impact on hospitals in each state.
The methodology behind KHN's analysis of the third year of the Medicare penalty program.
Three hospitals react to KHN's story on proton therapy with the statements.
A proton beam therapy center in Indiana is closing, and insurers are reluctant to cover the expensive treatment for common cancers. But plans for three new proton therapy centers for the D.C. area are still moving forward.
Consumers can look up their doctors and see if they were paid in any way by the health industry.
Jeffrey Brenner, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, is betting that coordinated care for "super utilizer" patients will reduce health costs.
They were among 21 states required by Obamacare to broaden eligibility for school-age children.
Some of a hospital's income now depends on keeping patients healthy. Kevin Wiehrs seeks to save hospitals money by keeping former patients out of the hospital.
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