The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is asking states to coordinate their Medicaid policies with Medicare's hospital-acquired condition payment policy so states do not bear the burden of paying for adverse events.

Next year could bring the most significant changes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent memory if Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. John Dingell's (D-MI) plans come to pass, according to a news analysis.

Last week's decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to halt its planned $770 million cuts in Medicare Part A payments to nursing homes for fiscal year 2009 drew loud praise from the long-term care sector.

Reversing earlier plans, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not trim $770 million in Medicare Part A payments to nursing homes in the next fiscal year. This development comes as welcome news to long-term care providers, who had rallied against the planned cuts.

Nearly half of the nation's senators have voiced objections to proposed Medicare cuts of $770 million in fiscal year 2009, according to the American Health Care Association and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.

Medicare providers will not face penalties if they do not collect retroactive fee increases from beneficiaries as a result of changes to Medicare payment rates, according to the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The House voted not to act this year on legislation to reduce Medicare spending.

President Bush today may veto H.R. 6331, a measure that would temporarily delay the full implementation of therapy caps and a 10.6% cut in Medicare physician pay.

Redesigning the regulatory survey of nursing homes would help determine how far current resources can be stretched to improve quality, according to a panelist who participated in a long-term care reform conference held on Friday.

Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Friday said they believed they could override a presidential veto of a Medicare bill that would block implementation of therapy caps and halt a 10.6% cut in Medicare physician pay.