Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Health Industry”
By Phil Galewitz and Susan Jaffe January 18, 2017 Federal officials this month warned 21 Medicare Advantage insurers with high rates of errors in their online network directories that they could face heavy fines or have to stop enrolling people if the problems are not fixed by Feb. 6. Among the plans that were cited are Blue Cross Blue Shield …
January 5, 2017 By Dr. Patrick Conway, Acting Principal Deputy Administrator We have made great progress in recent years on reforming our system into one that delivers better quality of care for patients and pays for care in a smarter way, including investing more in prevention and primary care. Before 2010, there had been only modest efforts to improve care …
Health care fraud drives up costs for everyone in the health care system. One way to protect against such fraud is to guard your Medicare number. Fraud schemes often depend on identity thieves getting hold of people’s Medicare numbers, so treat your number as you would a credit card. Follow these important steps to protect yourself from fraud: …
September 29, 2016 By Niall Brennan, Chief Data Officer, CMS This year marks the 25th anniversary and the one millionth beneficiary interview for the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), a survey that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) first fielded in 1991. This in-person survey of 15,000 Medicare beneficiaries collects valuable information about aspects of the Medicare program …
By Patrick Conway, M.D., principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer, CMS; and Tim Gronniger, deputy chief of staff, CMS The unfortunate experience of having to return to the hospital after recently being treated—or watching the same thing happen to a friend or family member—is all too common. Potentially avoidable hospital readmissions that occur within 30 days of a patient’s initial …
Concerns raised about impact of 3rd party premium provider & affiliated organization payments The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued a request for information seeking public comment on concerns that some health care providers and provider-affiliated organizations may be steering people eligible for, or receiving, Medicare and/or Medicaid benefits into Affordable Care Act-compliant individual market plans, including …
By Anna Gorman Photos by Heidi de Marco August 9, 2016 SAN FRANCISCO — Janet Prochazka was active and outspoken, living by herself and working as a special education tutor. Then, in March, a bad fall landed her in the hospital. Doctors cared for her wounds and treated her pneumonia. But Prochazka, 75, didn’t sleep or eat well at Zuckerberg …
Hospitals can be hazardous places for elderly patients, who are at increased risk of falling, drug-induced injury and confusion. But as the nation’s senior population grows, many facilities are ill-equipped to address their unique needs. Kaiser Health News visited hospitals around the country, reviewed data and interviewed dozens of patients, family members and health providers to document the extent of …
By Anna Gorman August 16, 2016 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Thelma Atkins ended up in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital-Highlands after a neighbor in her senior living center ran over her feet with a motorized scooter. Terri Middlebrooks, a nurse at the hospital, tried to figure out how active the 92-year-old Atkins was before the incident. “Are you …
