Congress needs to correct the disparity between payments to health care providers by Medicare and Medicaid — a disparity that makes it hard for Medicaid patients to find medical care.
Medicare
Posted inHealth
Op-Ed: Federal insurance and Obamacare: Why this birthday matters
Congress needs to correct the disparity between payments to health care providers by Medicare and Medicaid — a disparity that makes it hard for Medicaid patients to find medical care.
Posted inHealth
‘Observation status:’ The term hospital patients should know
Patients, take note: Starting Oct. 1, those who spend more than 24 hours in the hospital could receive notice that they’ve been placed on something known as “observation status.” It’s a technical term, but one that could mean the difference between having their recovery paid for or ending up with a hefty bill.
Posted inHealth, Money
Medical fraud in CT costs feds millions of dollars
Washington – Reporters and lawyers have become the latest front in Washington’s war against medical fraud that in some way is unwinnable, even as it has resulted in the prosecution of Connecticut doctors and drug companies.
Posted inData, Health
Interactive: Medicare payout by provider in CT
Search for your provider, or look for providers in your town, and see how much they received in Medicare payments.
Posted inHealth
Feds release massive Medicare doctor payment database
The federal government has released a massive trove of Medicare data, making available for the first time information about what payments individual doctors received for specific services covered by Medicare in 2012.
Posted inHealth
Same-sex married couples can now apply for Medicare benefits
The change was made in response to last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which had prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages in determining Medicare eligibility.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Why telemonitoring makes sense for Connecticut’s chronically ill
The state should support advanced in-home telemonitoring services under our state’s private insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Posted inNews
Washington Watch: Obamacare, Medicare and equal pay
Expect an explosion of hearings on an array of issues, from Russia to GM. Among them, House Republicans will focus on “Examining Obamacare’s Problem-Filled State Exchanges,” and Senate Democrats will investigate why equal pay legislation known as “The Paycheck Fairness Act” has stalled.
Posted inHealth
Courtney hopeful Congress will address Medicare “observation status”
After years of trying, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd district, said Tuesday that he’s optimistic that Congress will take action to address a technicality that has left thousands of Medicare patients without coverage for nursing home care after leaving the hospital.
Posted inHealth
Medicare Part B premiums remaining level for 2014
Monthly premiums for Medicare Part B will remain stable in 2014 at $104.90 for most beneficiaries, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced this week. The premiums paid Medicare recipients with higher incomes — less than 5 percent of the beneficiaries — will also remain level in 2014.
Posted inHealth
Amid Obamacare marketing push, confusion about Medicare
There’s a major marketing campaign under way for Access Health CT, the new insurance marketplace opening Oct. 1 as part of the federal health reform law. But some officials and others who work with seniors are trying to get out a separate message: If you’re on Medicare, the new marketplace is not for you.
Posted inHealth
Two years after passage, Courtney still selling health reform
While many of his colleagues have stopped talking about the federal health law, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney has been on a campaign of sorts to promote it.