Medicare

About 50 congressional offices have already offered to lobby the administration over cuts that threaten patients' access to treatment.

Sequester forcing cancer clinics to turn away Medicare patients

Dementia care cost is projected to double by 2040

Scientists race to gauge pandemic risk of new bird flu

House GOP leaders are serious about quick, bipartisan action to permanently repeal Medicare's payment system for doctors, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) said Wednesday.

Burgess, who is a physician and chairs the House GOP's Doctors' Caucus, said there is a serious and bipartisan push to free doctors from the "tyranny" of Medicare's payment formula — and to do it soon.

Burgess and other committee leaders have made clear to leadership that a permanent "doc fix" needs to move quickly.

"They're committed to this as well," he said.

Leaders of two top House committees are circulating an expanded draft of their plan to repeal Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR), the flawed physician payment formula that necessitates an annual "doc fix."

The plan from the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means panels would use SGR repeal as an opportunity to make dramatic changes to healthcare delivery within Medicare. After several years, for example, Medicare payments to physicians would be tied in part to certain performance and efficiency measures.

Lawmakers sent their latest draft plan to healthcare providers on Wednesday, asking for comments by April 15. 

Medicare should promote screenings for hepatitis C given the frequency of the virus among older patients, advocates said Wednesday.

The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, a coalition of health groups and medical providers, circulated a letter urging federal health officials to offer hepatitis C screenings as part of patients' first Medicare exam.

The advocates said baby boomers represent 75 percent of U.S. cases of hepatitis C and that screening them for the virus could save more than 100,000 lives.

Confirmation decision on Tavenner at CMS comes at crucial time [free reg. req'd]

ObamaCare credits could trigger surprise tax bills

Insurers see way to dodge federal healthcare law next year

The stakes are high this year as Washington seeks to pare back waste, fraud and abuse. 

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing next Tuesday on Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to lead the Centers Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Tavenner has broad bipartisan support in Congress. Even House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has endorsed her nomination, saying he worked well with Tavenner when she led Virginia's Medicaid agency.

At issue is a routine-seeming letter spearheaded by RetireSafe, a nonprofit healthcare advocacy group.

The insurance industry won a major lobbying victory Monday as the federal Medicare agency scrapped a proposed cut to Medicare Advantage plans. 

The Health and Human Services Department announced Monday that it will not follow through on a proposed cut to Medicare Advantage plans, which are administered by private insurers.

The change comes after a fierce lobbying campaign from the insurance industry, which ran TV ads protesting the cuts and organized a massive letter-writing campaign among members of Congress.