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2012 February

Renal Politics: Election year could stall progress

Health Care News

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  • House approves 10-Month SGR fix Feb. 17 The U.S. House of Representative has voted 293 to 132 to pass a bill that would delay the impending 27% cut in Medicare pay rates for 10 months.
  • Legislators reach tentative 'doc fix' deal Feb. 15 Legislators reached a tentative agreement on a payroll tax holiday bill that averts a 27.4% cut in Medicare physician payment rates and extends current rates until the end of 2012, Modern Healthcare reported.
  • CMS will re-examine ICD-10 timeline Feb. 14 The acting head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday said that the agency would extend the timeline on ICD-10 implementation, Modern Healthcare reported.
  • 'Doc fix' negotiations hit an impasse Feb. 7 Legislators are battling over how to pay for a long-term fix to the sustainable growth rate, which is tied to Medicare physician pay. The gridlock is over how to pay for the fix and could threaten the broader legislative package, which includes the payroll tax break extension. Meanwhile, lawmakers examine familiar offset possibilities, as well as some ideas from the private sector.
  • Health care employment rises in January Feb. 7 The health care sector added approximately 31,000 jobs in January
  • House votes to repeal part of 2010 health care law Feb. 3 The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Support program, known as the CLASS Act.
  • AMA releases app for healthier lifestyles Jan. 30 The American Medical Association has released a free app to help patients improve their overall health as part of the AMA's Healthier Life Steps program.
  • Health overhaul lags in states Jan. 23 The 13 states that have adopted an affordable health care plan are home to only 1 in 4 of the uninsured
  • CBO: Most Medicare demos don't save money Jan. 19 Most Medicare demonstrations to enhance health care quality and improve efficiency have not reduced Medicare spending, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office.
  • Blue Shield of Calif. to pay Los Angeles $2 million to settle rescission lawsuit Jan. 18 Critics of the insurance industry accused insurers of using "post-claims underwriting" to avoid paying claims, American Medical News reports.
  • Larger role sought for advanced practice nurses Jan. 13 A new report from the National Institute of Health Care Reform suggests expanding advanced practice nurses' scope of practice and implementing payment policies that encourage team-based care as a way to alleviate the shortage in the primary care work force.
  • Barred physicians prescribed millions in Medicare drugs Jan. 13 An inspector general's audit says CMS needs better controls to prevent excluded doctors from prescribing medication under Part D.
  • FDA panelists had ties to Bayer Jan. 12 Food and Drug Administration advisers, in a recent vote, said the benefits of four popular Bayer AG birth-control pills outweigh the blood-clot risk. What the FDA didn't disclose is that three of the advisers have had ties to Bayer, serving as consultants, speakers or researchers.
  • SGR fix could hurt patients Jan. 12 Repealing Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician pay could force lawmakers to choose whether Medicare beneficiaries or taxpayers in general would suffer financially from one of the measure's overlooked consequences, according to a study issued last month by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), an arm of the Library of Congress.
  • Report finds most errors at hospitals go unreported Jan. 6 Hospital employees recognize and report only one out of seven errors, accidents and other events that harm Medicare patients while they are hospitalized, federal investigators say in a new report.
  • Feds: Standardizing electronic health payments could save $4.5 billion Jan. 6 The Obama administration says a new rule it is issuing under the Affordable Care Act could result in a savings of as much as $4.5 billion over the next decade.
  • Drug shortages hit record high in 2011 Jan. 4 The University of Utah Drug Information Service said there were 267 prescription-drug shortages in 2011, compared with 211 in 2010 and 58 in 2004.
  • GOP presidential hopefuls: Where they stand on health care Jan. 4 Some want to reduce the size of Medicare; others have approved universal health care programs in their own state. Others want to press for tort reform. Here is a look at where the Republican presidential hopefuls stand on health care reform.
  • Congress returns to battle 'same old health fights' In 2012 Jan. 4 Congress starts 2012 facing the same old health policy fights, including the GOP push to pay for a more permanent Medicare "doc fix" with cuts to health law programs or Medicare. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., has been pivotal in Republican efforts to undermine the health overhaul law.
  • Handful of states promise physicians online access to advance directives Jan. 3 Virginia has become the latest state to launch an online registry for advance directives that eventually will be connected to a statewide health information exchange.
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