President Obama is pressing lawmakers to give up boosting Medicare payments to benefit hometown providers. Setting reimbursement rates for local healthcare providers is a legislative ritual that amounts to one of the most effective and lucrative forms of constituent service. Delivering federal money through Medicare can be a powerful tool on the campaign trail, allowing lawmakers to argue that they are creating jobs and improving the quality of healthcare for voters. Obama administration officials say they are determined to stem soaring Medicare spending.
Boston Medical Center filed suit against the state of Massachusetts, accusing officials of illegally cutting payments made to the hospital for treating thousands of poor patients, a decision executives said could financially unravel the urban hospital's key services. The 26-page complaint argues that the state has financed its landmark health insurance law on the backs of poor residents by cutting money to the hospital that cares for many of them to pay for expanded coverage.
Former employees of several medical-device makers allege in lawsuits unsealed in a Texas federal court that the companies paid kickbacks to heart surgeons to get the doctors to use their products to treat atrial fibrillation. The lawsuits, filed in federal district court in Houston, name at least four companies whose products are among those used in surgery to treat the heart condition: AtriCure Inc., Medtronic Inc., St. Jude Medical Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp.
A bill which aims to make health insurance available to all Americans was approved 13 to 10 by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The panel was the first Congressional committee to approve the health legislation. But a partisan split signified potential trouble ahead, according to the New York Times: Republicans on the panel, who voted unanimously against the measure, described the idea of a new public insurance option as a deal-breaker. They said they still hoped that a consensus bill would emerge from the Senate Finance Committee.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger swore in six new members of the state nursing board and vowed to "weed out the bad actors" among the ranks of California nurses. The governor abruptly replaced four members of the Board of Registered Nursing and filled two vacancies this week, after an investigation showed inordinate delays in disciplining wayward nurses.
Early July rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid included proposed calendar year 2010 payments for both hospital outpatient procedures and ambulatory surgical centers, notes Sg2 VP Natasha Goburdhun. Unlike past years, these rules propose few dramatic changes to existing payment structures or requirements, Goburdhun says, but it is clear that the amount of money flowing from CMS for OP services will be less than in previous years.