OVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: VA downplayed complaints, watchdog finds
The Veterans Affairs Department repeatedly downplayed whistleblower complaints instead of admitting problems that led to widespread patient neglect, a federal watchdog said Monday. In a six-page letter...
View ArticleMedicare agency seeks funding boost for identity theft effort
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says it needs more funding from Congress before it can take Social Security numbers off the Medicare cards issued to senior citizens.Republican...
View ArticleOVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: Health spending drops despite O-Care sign-ups
Spending on healthcare actually decreased in the first three months of the year despite the flood of enrollments in ObamaCare, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Wednesday. An earlier estimate...
View ArticleOVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: Senate Dems unveil bill to reverse Hobby Lobby ruling
Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Wednesday to effectively reverse the Supreme Court’s decision exempting some employers from providing insurance coverage for contraception. The bill would bar...
View ArticleLawmakers look to exempt Medicare labs from e-health records
House lawmakers are pressing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove penalties on Medicare diagnostic labs that don’t use electronic medical records.The 2009 American Recovery...
View ArticleReport: ObamaCare assisters 'key' to 2015 enrollment
Navigators and assisters who educated consumers about health insurance options during ObamaCare’s first enrollment period will likely continue to play a “key role” according to a new report.An analysis...
View ArticleO-Care rule docks poorly performing hospitals
Regulations issued Monday under the Affordable Care Act aim to crack down on hospitals with high readmission rates and records of patients acquiring new conditions after they’ve been admitted for...
View Article'Conflict of interest' doctor database unplugged
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has pulled the plug on a new database intended to disclose potential conflicts of interest among physicians.The agency’s Open Payments System lists...
View ArticleReport: Medicare agency not doing enough to stop duplicate audits
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must do a better job of ensuring its auditors aren’t conducting duplicate reviews of payments to healthcare providers, according to the Government...
View ArticleCMS rejects AP request for security info
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected an Associated Press Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on the security procedures that protect ObamaCare’s website.The AP asked...
View ArticleDems urge CMS to ensure accurate nursing home staffing data
Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) and Doris Matsui (Calif.) asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) why a March 2012 deadline to implement a provision of the Affordable Care Act...
View ArticleBaldwin asks administration for special Wisconsin insurance enrollment
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) asked the Obama administration to grant a special enrollment period for Wisconsin citizens to enroll in health insurance offered by the federal marketplace.In a letter...
View ArticleHouse passes bill to undo rural hospital supervision requirement
The House on Tuesday passed legislation to delay enforcement of supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in certain hospitals.Passed by voice vote, the bill would prevent the...
View ArticleRepublicans jump on HealthCare.gov security
Top Republicans are calling on the Obama administration to share more details about HealthCare.gov's security after federal investigators reported weaknesses in the site.Eight GOP committee leaders in...
View ArticleOVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: ObamaCare loses 700,000 people
A federal official revealed Thursday that a total of 7.3 million people are paying for ObamaCare plans – a dropoff of about 700,000 from earlier White House figures this spring. The new numbers were...
View ArticleMedicare, Medicaid get ‘big data’ chief
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is creating the position of chief data officer to improve transparency, agency officials said Wednesday. Niall Brennan, the agency official who...
View ArticleSeema Verma will be a successful CMS administrator
In previous Republican administrations, we all had the honor of leading the agency now known as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). With expenditures of a trillion dollars per year...
View ArticleTrump officials approve Medicaid waivers for opioid treatment
The Trump administration approved Medicaid waivers in Utah and New Jersey to help improve access to treatment for opioid addiction, according to the states’ governors.The waivers were the first to be...
View Article8.8 million sign up for ObamaCare, nearly matching last year
Democrats declared victory Thursday after the Trump administration announced that nearly 9 million people signed up for health insurance through the federal ObamaCare exchanges.Last year, 9.2 million...
View ArticleTrump admin rolling back use of fines against nursing homes
The Trump administration is reportedly rolling back the use of fines against nursing homes that have been cited for violations such as neglect or mistreatment.The move comes after the nursing home...
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