Healthcare, Senior Living, Economics
Information and discussion on general federal health policy and politics – including Medicare, Health Reform and all other subjects Fed.
Within the past two weeks, CMS released data from 1998 to 2008 for length of stay and diagnosis trends. What is interesting to note is the utilization trends (length of stay and numbers) over the period as well as the diagnosis correlated to utilization. For CMS and in particular MedPAC, the prevailing concern has been … Read more
Earlier today, Speaker Pelosi introduced the re-tooled House version of healthcare reform, now titled The Affordable Health Care Act. The 2,000 page bill is the result of weeks of backroom negotiations designed to forge a possible consensus, principally among Democrats, and to financially wrangle, a targeted budget neutral spending level. According to Pelosi, the Bill … Read more
If you are a baseball fan, you’ll appreciate the correlation between a baseball game and the present course of healthcare reform. A baseball game starts with anticipation and fanfare; speeches, the throwing out of the first pitch, the national anthem and the players taking the field. The fans settle in and the game begins with cheers … Read more
In a post I wrote at the end of July concerning CMS’ 2010 rate announcement and compliance and regulatory trends, I indicated how the OIG was becoming more vigilant in reviewing hospice utilization, lengths of stay and in particular, the correlation between lengths of stay and hospice patients in an SNF. This past month, in mid-September, the … Read more
On October 1, the SNF industry received a 1.1% reduction in Medicare payments. On October 13th, the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of Healthcare Reform, commonly known as the Baucus Bill. While the Baucus Bill is the least penalizing to the industry, of the major health reform bills waiting in Congress, it is destined for the Senate shredder … Read more
The Senate Finance Committee this afternoon, on a vote of 14-9, approved the Baucus Bill out of committee, sending it theoretically to a floor vote. Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine, was the lone Republican vote in support. The Bill, a center of recent controversy in terms of its lack of reported details, incomplete … Read more
This afternoon, the Congressional Budget Office released a statement saying that the Senate Finance Committee Reform Bill (the Baucus Bill) prices out at $829 billion over ten years. At this price-tag, given the revenue assumptions (fees, cuts, taxes, etc.) contained in the Bill, the CBO estimates that the Bill actually produces a modest deficit reduction … Read more
The Senate Finance Committee voted yesterday to eliminate the public option from its reform bill (aka the Baucus Bill) by a margin of 15 to 8. All Republicans and a hand-full of Democrats voted against inclusion. Of note, the Bill’s author, Senator Baucus voted for the removal of the public option stating that in his … Read more
After weeks/months of meetings, Senator Baucus of Montana representing the “gang of six” (three Democrats and three Republicans) released the Senate Finance Committee version of “healthcare reform”. What started as a bi-partisan sub-committee alternative to the House version (HR 3200) ended as essentially, a Baucus bill; legislation lacking any real support from Senate Democrats and … Read more
I know this is supposed to be a blog about healthcare issues, primarily that which falls in the post-acute, long-term care and senior housing world but some stuff in the news right now is just too hard to ignore. After all, healthcare reform does affect long-term care and post-acute care directly and economics, especially the … Read more