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HHS

HHS names coordinated care innovation winners

McKnight's Staff May 09, 2012

The Department of Health and Human Services has announced its newest round of grant recipients under its Health Care Innovation Awards.

Healthcare waste accounts for a third of all spending, government official says

McKnight's Staff May 02, 2012

With healthcare waste taking up to a third of all healthcare costs, reducing waste and fraud remain primary goals of the Office of the Inspector General, the head of the agency said Monday.

Measuring performance, coordinating care both crucial to lowering costs among the chronically ill, report says

McKnight's Staff April 30, 2012

The federal government should take advantage of Affordable Care Act funds to improve the coordination and quality of care for the chronically ill, a new report recommends.

House and Senate introduce resolutions for Alzheimer's treatment

McKnight's Staff April 25, 2012

A bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers introduced a resolution Tuesday in support of the Obama administration's goal of finding a treatment for Alzheimer's by 2025.

Reports forecast Medicare funding boost, dim overall outlook

McKnight's Staff April 23, 2012

The Affordable Care Act will help Medicare save over $200 billion through 2016, according to government actuaries. But questions as to Medicare's long-term solvency remain, another report from Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees states.

Care coordination efforts for seniors hinge on Supreme Court Affordable Care Act decision

McKnight's Staff April 18, 2012

If the Supreme Court deems the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, the jobs of hundreds of federal workers hired to implement policies that affect nursing homes will be at stake, new reports suggest.

More collaboration between Medicare and Medicaid fraud detection programs is needed, report finds

McKnight's Staff March 22, 2012

More communication is needed between Medicare and Medicaid's respective program integrity officials, a new report suggests.

Alzheimer's taskforce plan now includes mention of assisted living services

McKnight's Staff February 29, 2012

Intensive lobbying paid off for assisted living groups vying for inclusion in the national Alzheimer's taskforce plan. The most recent taskforce plan includes assisted living in its strategy to assess and address the housing needs of those with Alzheimer's disease.

HHS unveils more specifics on federal Alzheimer's initiative

February 23, 2012

The federal government on Wednesday unveiled the first draft of its national action plan against Alzheimer's disease. Building on the framework published in January, the draft released by the Department of Health and Human Services yesterday proposes the creation of registries to better direct Alzheimer's sufferers into clinical trials.

Survey: Most nursing home administrators say background checks are helpful, efficient

February 10, 2012

Criminal background checks have not been found to significantly limit the quantity or quality of candidates for nursing home jobs, a top nursing home advocate says. A recent government survey of nursing home administrators paints an accurate picture of what once was forecast as a contentious issues, LeadingAge Director of Advocacy Information Barbara Gay told McKnight's Wednesday.

Long-term care stakeholders submit quality measures performance report to HHS

February 07, 2012

As required by the Affordable Care Act, the National Quality Forum convened the Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) to develop a coordinated performance measurement approach across PAC and LTC settings.

OIG: Cutting Medicare and Medicaid fraud still a top concern

February 03, 2012

Eliminating Medicare and Medicaid fraud should be a priority for the Department of Health and Human Services as it works to implement healthcare reform programs, according to a new report.

Catholic nursing homes will be affected by HHS contraception regulation

February 02, 2012

About 500 Catholic nursing homes in the United States will be affected by a regulation requiring employer health insurance plans to cover contraceptive services.

Report: HHS has missed critical quality measure development deadlines

January 19, 2012

The Department of Health and Human Services is in danger of missing critical deadlines in developing the quality measures used to evaluate the Affordable Care Act's cost-savings initiatives, a government report revealed.

House GOP continue with CLASS repeal efforts

January 18, 2012

With Congress back in session, House Republicans are back at trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act's disability insurance benefit.

Alzheimer's experts to finalize Obama administration taskforce plan

January 17, 2012

A panel of Alzheimer's experts is kicking off a two-day meeting in Washington today to formalize an Obama administration goal of developing effective ways to treat and prevent Alzheimer's by 2025.

Nursing home quality measures should address short-stay rehab residents, group says

January 13, 2012

The set of quality measures used on Medicare's Nursing Home Compare website should be updated to include more measures for short-stay rehabilitation residents, according to one panel of experts. The Nursing Home Compare program measure set contains a mix of process and outcome measures for safety and prevention of mortality, but there are some gaps, according to a new report from the Measures Application Panel (MAP).

Adverse events in older adults are underreported in hospitals, report says

January 09, 2012

Adverse events for Medicare beneficiaries are underreported in hospitals, where incident reporting systems only capture about 14% of errors, according to a government report released Friday.

HHS: New electronic claims regulation could save providers time, money

January 06, 2012

The Department of Health and Human Services announced new standards Thursday that it said would streamline the electronic health claims process and save providers and government health plans $4.5 billion in administrative costs.

HHS releases final set of quality measures for Medicaid-eligible adults

January 04, 2012

The Department of Health and Human Services published its final core set of 26 quality measures for adult Medicaid beneficiaries in the Federal Register today.

Funding for CLASS halted, prompting questions from GOP

September 26, 2011

The White House has asked the Senate Appropriations Health subcommittee to halt all funding for the CLASS Act for fiscal year 2012.

CMS announces new bundled payment initiative for Medicare providers

August 24, 2011

A new initiative under the Affordable Care Act will provide bundled payments to healthcare providers — including post-acute facilities — to improve the coordination of care of Medicare beneficiaries when they are discharged from the hospital.

GAO: Medicare spent $48 billion on improper fee-for-service payments

July 29, 2011

The federal government spent nearly $48 billion on improper Medicare payments in 2010 according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The report was released just prior to a House Oversight Committee hearing on government efficiency.

HHS announces nursing home care coordination initiative

July 11, 2011

A new federal initiative aims to cut hospitalizations among nursing home residents receiving both Medicare and Medicaid, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday.

Sebelius defends Medicare panel

June 27, 2011

In an editorial published on Politico.com, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defended the Affordable Care Act's controversial Independent Payment Advisory Board, which critics charge rations care.

State Medicaid programs can extend financial protections to same-sex spouses in nursing homes

June 13, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has sent a letter to state Medicaid programs clarifying the ability to offer same-sex couples the same protections opposite-sex couples receive when one partner needs facility-based long-term care.

Feds target individuals, not just companies, in healthcare fraud cases

June 01, 2011

In an effort to crack down on healthcare fraud repeat offenders, the federal government is going after individuals at nursing home chains, drug companies, medical device manufacturers and other providers that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, according to the Associated Press.

HHS announces new Medicare-Medicaid cost control initiatives

May 12, 2011

A new program from the Department of Health and Human Services will seek to improve care of dual-eligibles, the agency said Wednesday.

A first: CMS allows Arizona to freeze an emergency-only Medicaid program

May 09, 2011

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has opened a new door, agreeing for the first time to allow a state to end a Medicaid program that offers temporary help for residents who have had catastrophic injuries or illnesses.

HHS gives Medicare Advantage plans a $6.7 billion infusion

April 21, 2011

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is giving Medicare Advantage plans $6.7 billion in quality bonuses to take the heat off service cuts authorized under the Affordable Care Act, the Associated Press reported.