Medicare

Immigrants to the United States heavily subsidize the Medicare Trust Fund while native-born Americans deplete it, according to a new study.

Research published in the journal Health Affairs found that immigrants generated annual surpluses for Medicare of $11-17 billion between 2002 and 2009, with a gross surplus of $115.2 billion for that period.

This contrasts with native-born workers, who generated a Medicare deficit of $30.9 billion in 2009 alone. 

House Republicans moved forward Tuesday with their effort to permanently repeal Medicare's payment formula for doctors.

Overhauling the payment system is a long-standing priority for the powerful doctors' lobby and for members of Congress. Both are frustrated by the constant string of expensive, temporary patches to the system and want to pursue a permanent fix.

Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee released a legislative proposal Tuesday that would end the current system and give doctors the option of gradually transitioning into a new, more coordinated model for medical care.

Two leading advocacy groups for nursing facilities are combining their operations under a single banner.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (AQNHC) will merge under the AHCA name by July 1.

The Washington-based groups represent thousands of post-acute, sub-acute and long-term care facilities that care for millions of elderly and disabled people. 

A top House panel will meet with healthcare stakeholders next week to release its framework for overhauling Medicare's flawed physician payment formula.

The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold its meeting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to an email from majority staff. Lawmakers will be in their districts for Memorial Day recess.

The panel had previously released a draft plan for a permanent "doc fix" in conjunction with the Ways and Means Committee. 

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.