Nursing home advocates converging on U.S. lawmakers to demand better Medicare reimbursement
May 29, 2009
More than 300 nursing home owners and operators are expected to meet in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to try to persuade lawmakers to be generous with Medicare funding. The Obama budget proposal...
Rockefeller introduces bill making MedPAC independent executive branch agency
May 27, 2009
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is a legislative entity whose purpose is to advise Congress on matters of Medicare reimbursement rates and coverage policies. Now, one senator has introduced...
Senators say Medicare, Medicaid changes could help pay for healthcare reform
May 20, 2009
To pay for healthcare reform, lawmakers must consider a number of different options. Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) on Monday released a 41-page outline of financing options, which...
Nursing homes caution against federal budget cuts in wake of governors’ bleak budget predictions
May 20, 2009
Despite indications that the national economy is starting to rebound, the National Governors Association is warning that states’ economies are still suffering, and that another bout of budget cuts...
Electronic health records timeline in stimulus bill could be unrealistic, senior health IT official says
May 19, 2009
Lawmakers might have underestimated how long it would take the healthcare industry to implement new healthcare information technology when setting a timeline for its adoption under the American Recovery...
Senate approves $1.5 billion in flu pandemic preparedness funding as Obama names infectious disease expert...
May 19, 2009
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday unanimously voted to include $1.5 billion in pandemic preparedness in a defense and foreign aid spending bill. The move comes in the wake of the recent swine...
White House, Senate ‘compromises’ pave way for Specter’s support of labor bill
May 19, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) has held a number of different views on the Employee Free Choice Act in the last couple of years. Now, it looks as though the EFCA-supporter-turned-opponent may be shifting his...
Pelosi: House to craft healthcare reform bill by July
May 14, 2009
The House of Representatives will have a healthcare reform bill to vote on by the end of July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Wednesday. She made the announcement alongside President Barack Obama...
CMS threatens withholding stimulus funding if home health pay isn’t reinstated
May 13, 2009
When the California state legislature act to reduce the state’s maximum contribution to home healthcare workers’ pay from $12.10 per hour to $10.10 per hour, it violated the terms of the recently...
Obama proposes $17 billion in budget cuts, programs for the elderly and poor threatened
May 08, 2009
President Obama on Thursday proposed cuts of $17 billion from his new budget for both discretionary spending and entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Various interest groups are expected...
