Study: Supplemental Plans Raise Medicare Costs 22 Percent
A new study takes the closest look yet at the relationship between Medigap coverage and Medicare spending.
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A new study takes the closest look yet at the relationship between Medigap coverage and Medicare spending.
The new analysis is part of the government's effort to improve the quality of care.
'This is their life. They're the boss,' says Dr. Tim Ihrig of the palliative care department at UnityPoint hospital in Fort Dodge, Iowa. 'It's an honor to be on this journey.'
Key House and Senate committees approved legislation Thursday to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate, the formula officials use to pay doctors who treat Medicare patients. KHN's Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro's Jennifer Haberkorn discuss.
Consumers should not assume that facilities provide better care because they charge more, experts say.
UnitedHealthcare will appeal a federal judge's order temporarily blocking the insurer from dropping Connecticut providers, while doctors' groups in Ohio and New York look at bringing similar lawsuits.
The insurer has been notifying members about the network changes as the Dec. 7 deadline for choosing coverage for next year quickly approaches.
One out of every six dollars Medicare spent in the traditional fee-for-service program went to nursing and therapy for patients in rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, long-term care hospitals and in their own homes.
One out of every five dollars Medicare spends goes to nursing homes, home health services or other post-acute facilities and services. The spending varies greatly between states: Louisiana spends 31 percent on post-acute services while Hawaii spends 12 percent.
More than half of all eligible seniors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties enroll in private managed care, rather than traditional Medicare, in a highly-lucrative and super-competitive marketplace for Medicare Advantage plans.
The Kaiser Health News story and data on Medicare's quality payment programs are based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) containing the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing and Readmissions Reduction Program adjustment factors for individual hospitals.
The hospitals were rated on two-dozen measures, including surveys of patient satisfaction and death rates.
Medicare gives hospitals bonuses and penalties based on how well they performed on 24 quality measures. This chart shows the average effect by state on hospitals' Medicare payments during the second year of the program.
This chart shows the payment adjustments for each hospital and how they compared to the bonuses and penalties from last year.
The proposal would keep physician pay at current levels but offer them incentives for quality improvements.
Lawmakers have until Dec. 13 to reach agreement under legislation ending the shutdown of the government and raising the debt ceiling.
Costs, coverage details of different Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans can vary significantly, so beneficiaries should weigh their options and consider switching plans for a better deal.
Most of these patients have multiple chronic illnesses and all too often they wind up in emergency rooms because they have enormous difficulty navigating the increasingly fragmented, complicated and inflexible health-care system.
The online exchanges that open Oct. 1 are not aimed at Medicare beneficiaries, but the 2010 health law does affect seniors in other ways.
Government actuaries estimate that health care will account for 20 percent of gross domestic product by 2022.
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