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Medicare is the federal health care system that covers about 36 million people age 65 and older, plus 7 million disabled. It has four parts:
Financed by a 2.9 percent payroll tax divided equally between employees and employers.
Financed by beneficiary premiums and federal general revenue. Current monthly premiums are $93.50. Starting this year, individuals whose taxable income is more than $80,000 will pay a higher premium.
Financed by Medicare and beneficiary premiums, which vary among plans.
The plans are private and financed by Medicare and beneficiary premiums, which vary among plans.
-- Larry Lipman
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All the entries posted on June 04, 2008.
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Home > Medicare Monitor > Archives > 2008 > June > 04
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
GOP Medicare package unveiled
Sometime this month, Congress will return to a Medicare package to avert a 10.1 pay cut for physicians that is scheduled to begin July 1.
Bipartisan negotiations have broken down in the Senate, so Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, today released the GOP provisions for a proposed deal.
Instead of the scheduled 10.1 percent pay cut, doctors would continue receiving a 0.5 percent pay raise through December and an additional 1.1 percent increase for 2009 as recommended by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
See the full proposal here.
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New rights for hospice patients
For the first time in a quarter-century, Medicare hospice patients would get new rights about their end-of-life care under a proposed rule scheduled to be published Thursday.
Under the rule, which would take effect Dec. 2, Medicare hospice patients would have greater rights to effective pain management, the right to refuse treatment, and the right to choose their own physicians. Patients also would be entitled to participate in their treatment plan.
Although many hospices allow patients to participate in their treatment decisions, this is the first time Medicare has explicitly outlined those rights as part of its regulations.
Nearly one million Medicare beneficiaries receive hospice or palliative — pain management — at more than 3,000 Medicare-approved hospices nationwide.
“As more patients and their families come to understand and select hospice care, we felt it was critical to outline what rights patients have to control the care they receive in their final days,” Kerry Weems, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement.
“End-of-life care has changed markedly in the past 25 years and it is time to update our regulations to reflect advances in medicine and hospice industry practices as well as patient rights,” Weems said.
Unlike traditional health care aimed a curing patient, hospice care is chosen by some patients with terminal illnesses who wish for forgo further curative treatment in favor of pain management and services aimed at comforting the patient and family.
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Lawmakers urge delay in bid program
Two letters signed by 132 members of Congress this week urge a one-year delay in Medicare’s implementation of a competitive bidding program for home medical equipment such as oxygen, wheelchairs and hospital-style beds.
The competitive bid program is slated to begin July 1 in 10 metropolitain areas: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Kansas City, Miami, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Riverside, and San Juan. Next year, another 70 cities are scheduled to be added.
The letters, authored by Reps. John Tanner, D-Tenn., David Hobson, R-Ohio, and Jason Altmire, D-Pa., question the conduct of the recent bidding round in which numerous bids were thrown out because the Medicare contractor said some pages were missing.
“At the very least, an internal review should be conducted to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of the criteria for future bidding. We all agree that it is of the utmost importance that we protect access to quality medical supplies for all of Medicare beneficiaries and people with disabilities. Therefore, we urge that the implementation of Round 1 be delayed for at least a year,” the letters said.
Tyler J. Wilson, president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare, hailed the development.
“This bidding program has been ill-conceived, poorly planned, and a wholly mishandled effort on the part of CMS,” Wilson said, referring to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “It will put thousands of good home care providers out of business and patients’ access to quality home medical equipment and services will suffer as a result. We are pleased that so many members of the House recognize the magnitude of these problems and have gone on record to urge delay and review of the program.”