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Max Baucus


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.
 

37 senators call for flexibility in meeting meaningful use criteria

Industry News | Monday, April 05 2010
Thirty-seven U.S. Senators, led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, wrote a letter requesting improvements in a proposed rule for distributing stimulus funds for health IT published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to increase flexibility and encourage participation among providers.
 

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.
 

Senate approves delay in Medicare payment cuts

Top Stories | Wednesday, March 03 2010
The U.S. Senate Tuesday, 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.
 

Senate Finance Committee passes healthcare reform bill—with Snowe’s help

Top Stories | Tuesday, October 13 2009
The Senate Finance Committee voted today in favor of its version of proposed healthcare reform legislation in a 14-9 vote, including the approval of Olympia Snowe, R.-Me.
 

CBO: Baucus’ reform bill would reduce federal budget deficit by $81B

Top Stories | Wednesday, October 07 2009
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation have released a preliminary analysis of the Senate healthcare reform legislation, Chairman’s Mark for the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, estimating the bill would reduce federal budget deficits by $81 billion over the 2010–2019 period.
 

Industry lobbying for med device tax change

Top Stories | Monday, October 05 2009
Tax
The medical devices industry is lobbying heavily to reduce a projected $4 billion annual tax on medical device makers included in the Senate Finance Committee healthcare reform bill, according to media reports.
 

Senate Finance Committee unveils its version of healthcare reform

Top Stories | Wednesday, September 16 2009
The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., issued its long-awaited America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 on Wednesday, which would cost $856 billion over 10 years, and is scheduled to begin committee action on Sept. 22.
 

House panel curbs comparative-effectiveness research

Top Stories | Monday, August 03 2009
The healthcare reform bill approved last week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee contained an amendment prohibiting the federal government from using comparative-effectiveness research to “deny or ration care.”
 

GAO: Breast cancer screening location affects eligibility for treatment coverage

Top Stories | Thursday, June 25 2009
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released June 22 has revealed that "significant gaps" in access to screening and treatment services for breast and cervical cancer exist both between states and within states, according to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance.
 

Obama tackles Medicare Rx gap; drugmakers to dole out $80B

Top Stories | Monday, June 22 2009
President Barack Obama Sunday released plans to cut in half the prescription drug expenses of Medicare Part D beneficiaries who have reached the coverage gap (doughnut hole) in their prescription benefit. Simultaneously, pharmaceutical companies have agreed to foot the bill for $80 billion in Medicare drugs over the next decade for this population.
 

Baucus, Conrad introduce bill to fund comparative effectiveness institute

Industry News | Thursday, June 11 2009
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., introduced legislation to establish a private, nonprofit corporation that will research and compare clinical outcomes of alternative therapies and health strategies.
 

Senate begins healthcare reform roll out

Top Stories | Thursday, June 11 2009
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, led by Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., introduced legislation this week advocating for more government involvement in healthcare coverage. The bill is certain to launch a drawn-out debate over the current delivery direction of healthcare in the United States when it is introduced on the Senate floor in July.
 

Obama supports MedPAC, urges solidarity on reform

Top Stories | Tuesday, June 09 2009
Healthcare reform cannot survive on expanding coverage alone; it requires promoting best practices to fix what is broken, wrote President Barack Obama in a letter sent June 2 to Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Max Baucus, D-Mont.,--the two key stakeholders who have been at odds over the payor component of the administration's healthcare reform plan.
 

FEATURE: GE pumps $6B into new healthcare initiatives

Thursday, May 07 2009
GE today launched a new healthcare business strategy, healthymagination, dedicating $6 billion to preventive care and consumer-driven initiatives. The new strategy was announced in a live webcast, hosted by Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE.
 

Baucus: Healthcare reform roundtables are legislation cornerstore

Top Stories | Tuesday, May 05 2009
An average of 14,000 Americans lose health coverage each day, healthcare insurance premiums grow more than three times faster than wages and physician reimbursement has declined by more than 20 percent in the past eight years. Couple these sad statistics with a demographic shift that will see an ever increasing number of U.S. citizens eligible for, and needing services from, Medicare and it becomes clear that present healthcare delivery policies are quickly becoming fiscally unsustainable.
 

AMIC responds to Senate proposals for new imaging policies

Top Stories | Friday, May 01 2009
Imaging provisions contained in the Senate Finance Committee's proposals for healthcare delivery reform are "forward-thinking" policies that will ensure proper diagnostic imaging utilization over the long term, according to the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC).
 

Senate roundtable discusses reducing imaging reimbursement

Top Stories | Friday, April 24 2009
In the first of three roundtables on healthcare delivery system reform held by the Senate Finance Committee, participants this week discussed increasing primary care physician payments by reducing payments to imaging services providers.
 

CBO: Stimulus would provide nearly $90B to HHS, spawn healthcare IT adoption

Top Stories | Tuesday, February 03 2009
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released a report approximating the costs of the current updated economic stimulus package currently being debated in the Senate, as well as estimating its assistance to the U.S. healthcare system.
 

Medicare reimbursements may soon be linked to hospital performance

Top Stories | Friday, December 12 2008
 
Medicare Part A payments for conditions like heart attacks and other illnesses may soon be linked to hospital performance on a variety of quality measures, according to a discussion draft of a bill proposed by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
 
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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