NAELA and seven other national organizations wrote this fact sheet on the harms of observation status. There has been a 34 percent increase in the ratio of observation stays to inpatient admission between 2007 and 2009. There has also been an 88 percent increase in observation stays exceeding 72 hours.
Although it’s still early, this policy seems to have had an effect. A recent New York Times article outlined the efforts of hospitals across the country that have seen success in reducing hospital readmissions by adopting changes to discharge planning including: Identifying patients who are at highest risk of readmission Follow-up nurse visits to patients’ homes Proactively ordering patient prescriptions and scheduling follow-ups Patient and caregiver education Culturally specific diet tips Transportation to for patient follow-up appointments Increased monitoring of nursing home patients Of these efforts, patient education is one the most important. Taking prescribed medicine properly is essential to…
Medicare patients who enroll in hospice care receive better care at a lower cost, with the greatest savings if they enroll 15 to 30 days before death, according to a study published in the March issue of Health Affairs. Amy S. Kelley, M.D., M.S.H.S., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues analyzed data from 3,069 subjects who were part of the Health and Retirement Study (where 1,064 were enrolled in a hospice before death) and their Medicare claims. Savings were examined for four periods of hospice enrollment: 1 to 7, 8 to…
The insurance industry has launched a second television ad against proposed cuts to private Medicare Advantage plans. The latest ad features seniors talking into the camera about the "drastic" consequences of losing access to their Medicare Advantage plans. "If Medicare Advantage has some cuts to it, I'm going to be in bad shape financially," one man says in the new ad, which began airing in Washington, D.C. on Monday and will air in Louisiana on Tuesday. It's the second television ad America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has launched in a far-reaching lobbying campaign to block the proposed cuts. More than…
The House Budget Committee has not agreed on whether to change Medicare benefits for people 55 years and older in the fiscal blueprint it will release next week. According to Reps. Bill Flores (R-Texas) and Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), both Budget panel members, the age could be 55 or 56 come Tuesday's budget unveiling. "Things will continue to be changed and tweaked and moved right up until the rollout," Woodall said. Analysts are waiting to see how House budget chief Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will kill the deficit in 10 years without breaking the GOP's promise not to change Medicare benefits for…
Medicaid is an important source of coverage for people with disabilities, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes several changes to Medicaid eligibility and enrollment rules, effective January 1, 2014, that impact this population. This issue paper provides a short summary of Medicaid eligibility and benefits for people with disabilities today and explains how these issues will be affected by health reform in light of CMS’s new regulations. Provisions of the new Exchange regulations are discussed briefly to the extent that they relate to Medicaid eligibility determinations for people with disabilities.
The latest budgetary shenanigans in Washington threaten Medicare. The sequester, a fiscal death-pact entered into by Congress and the President, will hit health care professionals right in the pocketbook, and the pain will likely be shared with patients. American Medical News reports that Medicare cuts make up 12 percent of the sequester, and these cuts include a 2 percent cut in doctors’ pay which kicks in April 1. The real-life effect of these cuts will hit primary care doctors and their elderly patients the hardest. If caring for Medicare patients is too costly, doctors will simply opt out and care…
Recently, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing examining ways to strengthen Medicare. The panel discussed methods to control Medicare costs by lowering fraud and abuse, reforming the delivery system, and moving away from the fee-for-service model.
The 2013 Medicare Part A and B general enrollment period runs from January 1 through March 31, 2013. As detailed below, this enrollment period is especially important for many individuals who are not eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A. Most people do not pay a premium for Medicare Part A because they have sufficient work history. However, for people who do not have this work history, the Part A premium can cost several hundred dollars per month. In addition to the important benefits covered under this component of Medicare (primarily hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health and hospice…
The White House Press Secretary announced that President Obama was no longer considering raising the Medicare eligibility age as a means to achieve deficit reduction. In the past, President Obama was willing to consider raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as part of a “grand bargain” that included both tax revenue and spending cuts. Read more in the Hill.
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