Recovery audit contractors for Medicare have discovered $371.5 million in improper 2007 payments to healthcare providers in California, Florida and New York. Some of the hospitals in question, however, have complained that the contractors get a percentage of overpayments discovered and thus unfairly demand refunds for their own profit.
A medical facility in West Maui, HI, has received approval from Maui County officials that could jump-start the project's development. The West Maui Improvement Foundation is working with Texas-based Southwest Health Group to develop a 25-bed critical care hospital, a 40-bed skilled nursing facility and a medical office building. The project has been in the works for nine years and it is expected to cost approximately $40 million.
A bill being proposed in the Washington state Senate would prevent prescription drug companies from "data mining" physicians' records--a process by which pharmaceutical companies buy prescription information from pharmacies to cross-check against a list of doctors' prescription ID numbers. The bill initially had widespread Senate support, but it passed by a narrow margin after concerns about limits it would place on the spread of AIDS-prevention drug information. Some say legislators thought the bill was overly aggressive because doctors already have the option of opting out of data collection.
Health insurers will collect $54 billion more from Medicare than the government would spend providing care directly over the next four years, according to a report from the the Government Accountability Office. A Only 11 percent of the money will go to extra benefits under the Medicare Advantage program, the audit showed. The report has fueled a new political attack by House Democratic leaders concerning Medicare Advantage.
A San Francisco transplant surgeon accused of hastening the death of a prospective organ donor acted properly when he ordered sizable doses of medication for the man, the physician's attorney suggested in court. Hootan Roozrokh, MD, is charged with dependent adult abuse, administering a harmful substance and prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose. The criminal proceeding is the first of its kind in the United States against a transplant surgeon.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is pushing for legislation that would change how prices are set for people who have to buy their own insurance. Critics of the insurer, however, say the changes Blue Cross is pushing for are a power and money grab by an organization that already gets major state tax breaks in exchange for helping make healthcare more affordable and accessible.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a group of Massachusetts hospitals in a long-running dispute over Medicare reimbursement rates. The 62 hospitals sued U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, claiming HHS used the wrong method to calculate Medicare reimbursements. As a result of the ruling, the hospitals are closer to collecting up to $200 million from the federal government.
As Massachusetts officials struggle to keep down the cost of the subsidized insurance program at the heart of healthcare law changes, the state has pulled back from new contracts with insurers. The state canceled a meeting at which officials were expected to review the contracts and to vote on ways to partially offset the costs. The meeting was canceled because the bids received by the state "were not satisfactory," said Massachusetts budget officer Leslie Kirwan in a statement.
Google officially unveiled its foray into medical records when Chief Executive Eric Schmidt introduced Google Health at a healthcare conference in Florida. Google representatives said the company has signed deals with hospitals and companies including medical tester Quest Diagnostics Inc, health insurer Aetna Inc, Walgreens and Walmart Stores Inc pharmacies. The Web service is password protected, stores health records on Google computers, and includes a medical services directory that lets users import doctors' records, drug history and test results.
A new public-private partnership in Washington, DC, will target some of the worst health problems affecting th city's youth. The Child Health Action Plan sets targets for reducing the incidence of these diseases and conditions such as asthma and obesity by 2012 or earlier.
