Medicare

Substantial numbers of doctors and hospitals are now using electronic health records (EHRs) to provide better coordinated care, federal health officials reported Wednesday.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department said that EHR use by doctors rose from 17 percent to more than 50 percent between 2008 and this year.

The rise was even more dramatic among hospitals, from 9 percent up to more than 80 percent using EHRs. 

President Obama's budget proposal would save the Medicare program $364 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The CBO largely concurred with the White House's estimates, which pegged the budget's Medicare savings at $370 billion.

Obama's budget called for a range of cuts in Medicare's payments to healthcare providers. The most controversial proposals would let poor seniors buy prescription drugs at the price Medicaid pays, rather than the higher Medicare price.

The Senate confirmed President Obama’s nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 91-7 for Marilyn Tavenner to lead CMS, which hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed administrator in seven years.

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that 89 people in eight cities have been charged with about $223 million in false Medicare billings.

The action is part of a federal initiative against Medicare fraud that has yielded six "takedowns" since 2010, officials said.

"This is the latest sign that we're beginning to turn the tide of Medicare fraud," said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. 

Congress will redouble its focus on Medicare’s flawed physician payment formula this week as the Senate Finance Committee takes up the issue.

The Finance panel will hold a hearing Tuesday on repealing and replacing Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR), which mandates reimbursement cuts that have piled up for years as lawmakers have struggled to find a long-term solution. Those cuts create the need for an annual “doc fix.”

Lawmakers have long sought to fix Medicare’s payment system, but enthusiasm for the task rose this year after the Congressional Budget Office cut the estimated cost for reforming it.

Leaders on the Senate Finance Committee are calling for input from the healthcare world on overhauling Medicare's flawed physician payment system.

Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wrote to healthcare providers Friday asking specific questions about repealing and replacing the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which necessitates an annual "doc fix."

"Our ultimate goal is for Medicare to pay physicians and other healthcare providers in a way that results in high quality, affordable care for seniors," the senators wrote. 

One hospital charges $160,832 for a lower joint replacement; another charges $42,632.

The chairman of a key House subcommittee said Tuesday that he's optimistic about the chances Congress could pass a bill this year to replace Medicare's payment formula for doctors.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said he believes the House is about halfway toward a solution. He said there's no firm timeline to pass a permanent "doc fix," but that he's hoping to finish a bill as soon as possible.

"I think it would be a huge mistake to run this up to New Year's Eve again," Brady said in an interview with The Hill.

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The House Ways and Means Committee's Health panel takes a fresh look Tuesday at replacing Medicare's payment system for doctors.