The dual-eligible population of New York--those elderly individuals enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid--pose a significant cost burden on the healthcare system, and hinder reform efforts, according to a report released last week by the United Hospital Fund.

Hospitals that serve large groups of the elderly, poor, African-American or female patients tend to be ranked lower than hospitals with healthier, younger clientele under the Medicare pay-for-performance program, according to new research from the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Sen. Barack Obama (D) recently accused his rival in the presidential race of planning to slice $882 billion from Medicare to fund his healthcare plan. It is a charge Sen. John McCain's (R) camp refutes.

The current global financial crisis will not prevent the next Congress or president from making healthcare reforms, key leaders are saying.

The Medicare Part D insurance plan may be wasting billions of dollars on intravenous drug treatments. Because it does not cover many of the drug-related costs of home-care treatment, patients have to go to the hospital, where Medicare ends up spending a lot more, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.

The Office of Inspector General has supplemented 2000 compliance program guidance for nursing facilities.

Congress's advisory panel on Medicare matters is examining rehospitalization rates of nursing home residents. Staff members for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission told commissioners last week that rehospitalization rates are much higher at freestanding skilled nursing facilities than at hospital-based SNFs.

The American Health Care Association introduced a new Web-based tool this week that offers a way for member organizations to compare themselves with their peers.

Offering more preventive care could reduce the rate of chronic conditions and cut down on healthcare spending, according to a new fact sheet from the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and the Partnership for Prevention.

While the nursing home industry can be proud of its accomplishments in Washington over the last year, many challenges await. These include card-check legislation in Congress and a problematic five-star rating system, Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, said Monday at the 59th Annual Convention & Expo's Opening General Session in Nashville.