Blog

An uncertain future for Medicare patients

 March 12, 2010 Ed Howe
In recent months the Mayo Clinic announced their primary care facility near my home in Phoenix would no longer be accepting Medicare. Then the fun began. MORE
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Life in the trenches of the health insurance business

 March 11, 2010 Stephanie Cohen
This month’s health insurance nightmare: You believe the cost of your policy is too high and the benefits too low. MORE
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Comparative effectiveness research: Do we need to reevaluate research ills?

 March 10, 2010 Liz Scherer
Comparative effectiveness research: it’s the buzzword of the new decade. In fact, Congress recently passed legislation to provide more than $1B to support CER in hopes of improving utilization of existing therapies while simultaneously holding down healthcare costs. MORE
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RACs roll with OIG

 March 09, 2010 Cheryl Servais
We all suspected it, but now it's official: RACs will be providing information to CMS for follow-up on cases of possible fraud. MORE
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Hospital executives tell patients - “Get a second opinion”

 March 09, 2010 Kester Freeman
There seems to be a misconception on the part of some patients out there. These patients think if they ask for a second medical opinion, it will offend the doctor they are currently seeing who is managing a particular health condition for them. MORE
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The issue has become arrogance, not healthcare

 March 08, 2010 Robert Laszewski
Away from Washington, people I talk to are just amazed at what the Democrats are in the process of doing on healthcare. MORE
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Health Reform Could Harm Medicaid Patients

 March 08, 2010 Edward Miller
Both the House and Senate health-care reform bills call for a large increase in Medicaid—about 18 million more people will begin enrolling in Medicaid under the House bill starting in 2013, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Actuary Richard Foster estimates. MORE
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Focus on comprehensive documentation to prove medical necessity

 March 04, 2010 Barbara Vandegrift
Clinical and administrative staff at many organizations are struggling with the issue of what "medically necessary" really means. MORE
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Hospitalists and the patient experience

 March 02, 2010 Mike Stephens
The growing shortage of general internal medicine physicians is occurring at a time when an aging population will require more, not fewer, to provide primary care. MORE
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New CERT report shows high error rate in DME claims

 March 02, 2010 Barbara Vandegrift
Medically unnecessary services topped the list of claim errors in the latest comprehensive error rate testing (CERT) report compiled in November 2009 and released last month by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. MORE
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Why medical costs can be so high

 March 01, 2010 Kester Freeman
Have you ever wondered exactly what you or your insurance provider are being charged for after you have been hospitalized? MORE
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Disgraceful patient care is never acceptable

 February 24, 2010 Mike Daly
My wife is a cancer patient and what happened to her recently should be a lesson to all caregivers. MORE
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The President's healthcare plan: Not a game changer

 February 23, 2010 Robert Laszewski
It is hard to see how the healthcare plan the President released on Monday changes anything. MORE
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No Country For Young Nurses

 February 22, 2010 Olga Khazan
For years, nursing schools lured students with the promise that they would be snapped up by prestigious hospitals upon graduation, remunerated for their hard work with good pay and enviable job security. And they were right - until now, that is. MORE
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Physicians and rehab facilities are now RAC targets

 February 19, 2010 Ernie De Los Santos
Analysis of the newly posted issues from Connolly Healthcare and Health Data Insights reveals that for first time Rehabilitation Facilities and Physician Practices are now more heavily targeted than before. MORE
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Anthem Blue Cross and too much greed

 February 18, 2010 Don Ammon
As a retired healthcare leader, I find the current proposal by Anthem Blue Cross to raise rates in California by 39 percent for some 700,000 subscribers quite unbelievable. MORE
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A hospital executive's advice to Obama

 February 17, 2010 Ed Howe
From the vantage point of having run a large U.S. healthcare system, I can see that certain strategic changes are needed in order to make President Obama’s healthcare reform goals a reality. MORE
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Newest PEPPER data now available for hospitals

 February 16, 2010 Barbara Vandegrift
There's a new PEPPER report, and those who know that the acronym isn't just an all-around-useful kitchen spice can now go to My Quality Net to obtain a copy. MORE
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Health insurance companies shouldn't exist

 February 15, 2010 Effect Measure
2009 was a dismal year, economically speaking - unless you were a health insurer. MORE
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Connolly posts 19 new DRG validation issues

 February 11, 2010 Ernie De Los Santos
Connolly Healthcare, the RAC for Region C, has posted 19 new approved issues for Complex Review on their RAC Issues page. MORE
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