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Obama appoints Berwick during congressional recess

Top Stories | Wednesday, July 07 2010
During the current congressional recess, President Barack Obama appointed Donald Berwick, MD, current president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, to fill the role of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator.
 

Senate attempts another SGR fix; 21% cut is now in effect

Top Stories | Monday, June 21 2010
The Senate passed a bill June 18 to block the 21 percent cut to fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for six months, after failing to pass larger tax extender legislation that also included the Medicare provision.
 

As Friday's deadline looms, Congress has yet to pass SGR payment fix

Top Stories | Wednesday, June 16 2010
The Continuing Extension Act of 2010, enacted April 15, extended the zero percent update to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule through May 31. Now, Congress is still debating the elimination of the negative update that took effect June 1; however, in hopes of legislation passing, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is holding claims through June 17.
 

New bill redefines EHR incentives in the outpatient setting

Industry News | Friday, April 16 2010
As part of the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, passed Thursday in the Senate, the legislators voted to amend the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) definition to include a professional in an inpatient or emergency room setting.
 

Congress delays Medicare payment cuts until June 1

Top Stories | Friday, April 16 2010
President Barack Obama signed into law the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, which delayed the 21 percent cut in Medicare physician pay...again.
 

CMS delays SGR payment cut, as it's set to take effect again

Industry News | Thursday, April 01 2010
A number of healthcare organizations are urging Congress to pass legislation to stop a 21 percent cut in physician payments for Medicare that is scheduled to go into effect today. Meanwhile, in a replay of the situation that took place a month ago, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has instructed contractors to hold Medicare claims for the first 10 business days in April in order to give Congress time to pass legislation.
 

Healthcare reform: HFMA's budgetary breakdown of both bills

Top Stories | Thursday, March 25 2010
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) has issued a monetary breakdown between each piece of the healthcare reform legislation—the version originally proposed by the Senate and the House Reconciliation Act--and while the differences between the bills are modest, the Reconciliation Act price tag is $70 billion more expensive.
 

House passes Senate reform bill, Reconciliation Act to mixed reactions

Top Stories | Monday, March 22 2010
The House of Representatives Sunday approved the Senate version of healthcare reform legislation by a vote of 219-212. Later in the evening, the House cleared its package of amendments, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, by a vote of 220-211. The reconciliation bill will now go to the Senate, where Democrats need 51 votes to send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law.
 

U.S. Senate backs expanded physician eligibility for MU

Industry News | Thursday, March 11 2010
The U.S. Senate has passed legislation to expand the number of eligible physicians who might receive incentive payments for the meaningful use of health IT under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
 

Senate votes to delay Medicare payment cut until Oct. 1

Top Stories | Thursday, March 11 2010
The U.S. Senate yesterday passed legislation that will delay the date of a 21.2 percent Medicare payment cut to physicians until Oct.1.
 

Senate approves delay in Medicare payment cuts

Top Stories | Wednesday, March 03 2010
The U.S. Senate yesterday, by a 78-19 vote, passed the $10 billion Temporary Extension Act of 2010, which includes a provision that delays a 21.2 percent Medicare payment reduction to physicians until the end of March. The House of Representatives passed the legislation last week.
 

Medicaid expansion could create challenges, reduce discrepancies

Industry News | Wednesday, February 10 2010
The proposed Medicaid expansion is characterized as the largest public administration challenge that states have ever faced, but with adequate support from government and private philanthropies, the program has the potential to become a national leader in effective, high-quality care over the next five years, according to a recent article in Health Affairs.
 

Cardiology advocates continue to fight cuts legislatively

Industry News | Thursday, February 04 2010
Legislation introduced by Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, to hold cardiology practice expense values at the 2009 rates, while allowing other specialty practices to operate at 2010 physician practice information survey values, has garnered 82 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 

AHA on healthcare reform: More positives than negatives

Top Stories | Wednesday, January 13 2010
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging that Congress maintain the level of insurance coverage offered in the House version of healthcare reform when it reconciles the competing Senate and House healthcare reform bills.
 

State AGs oppose ‘unfair’ Nebraska provision in healthcare reform legislation

Industry News | Monday, January 04 2010
Thirteen state attorneys general have asked Congress to delete from final healthcare reform legislation a provision contained in the Senate’s healthcare bill that would exempt Nebraska from having to pay for newly eligible Medicaid recipients.
 

RSNA: Panel questions whether new mammo recommendations ration care

Top Stories | Thursday, December 03 2009
Written by Justine Cadet
CHICAGO—The recent recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force limiting breast cancer screening for women in various age groups, as well as the frequency of those exams, ignited a flurry of criticism by a panel of breast imaging experts, hosted by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) on Wednesday morning at their annual scientific sessions.
 

Controversial mammo guidelines to be scrutinized by HELP committee

Top Stories | Wednesday, November 25 2009
A hearing is set to be held in regard to the recent U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised recommendations concerning mammography screening for women, led by Chairman Tom Harkin, D-IA, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
 

Senate set to unveil healthcare bill

Industry News | Wednesday, November 18 2009
Healthcare legislation expected to reach the Senate floor this weekend is projected to cost $848 billion and reduce the federal budget deficit by $130 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
 

CMS’ physician fee rule could cut imaging payments up to 38% in 2010

Top Stories | Sunday, November 01 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Friday announced final changes for policy and payment rates during the 2010 calendar year, which, if implemented, could cut by up to 38 percent the amount doctors will receive when they use medical imaging equipment for procedures such as MRI and CT scans. The rule affects more than one million physicians and non-physician practitioners who are paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
 

CMS' physician fee final rule includes ‘enormous’ cuts for cardiology

Top Stories | Saturday, October 31 2009
With the exception of evaluation and management services, nearly all services that cardiologists perform will see cuts ranging from 10 percent to more than 40 percent for individual services phased in over four years, according to the just-released Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule. The cuts will be phased in over a four-year period, which is a slight change from the proposed rule.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

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