Archive for January, 2006

NEW Report: Tracking Medicare Health And Rx Plans

January 17, 2006
By jbaker

January 6th, 2006 – Monthly Report for December 2005 The Kaiser Family Foundation releases a great monthly update on activites that impact Medicare Advantage and PartD businesses. Credits: Prepared by Stephanie Peterson and Marsha Gold, Mathematica Policy Research Inc. as part of work commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation Download MA Plan Tracking Report
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Posted in Enrollment, General, Part C, Part D | No Comments »

2 million more join Medicare drug plan

January 17, 2006
By gadams

WASHINGTON — More than 2 million people have voluntarily enrolled for the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit in the past month, exceeding projections by … Two Million Enrolled in Medicare Drug Program FOX News Medicare Drug Plan Update Today Could Get Heated SeniorJournal.com White House: 1M Sign Up for Dug Program Washington Post
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Posted in General | No Comments »

Bush Administration: “Plans Must Provide A 30 Day Supply”

January 16, 2006
By jbaker
Bush Administration: “Plans Must Provide A 30 Day Supply”

Over the weekend the Bush Administration directed all health plans contracted under Medicare to “provide a 30-day supply of any drug a beneficiary was previously taking after tens of thousands of people were unable to get medicines promised by Medicare, the New York Times reported on Monday.” The directive further stated all plans must...
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Posted in CMS, General, News, Part D | No Comments »

Medicare and Pay For Performance

January 14, 2006
By jbaker
Medicare and Pay For Performance

P4P is already on its way and most organizations that manage Medicare lines of businesses are not preparing for the changes in data collection and reporting. Here is a good article outlining the P4P programs already in demonstration with CMS and where they are headed. Now is the time for us to pay attention...
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Posted in Compliance, FFS, Home Healthcare, Part A/B, Part C, Part D, Pay For Performance (P4P), SNF, SNP | No Comments »

In the News…

January 13, 2006
By gadams
In the News…

Hillsboro Times Gazette Don’t let Medicare drug plans become a prescription for … San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 5 hours ago As the Medicare prescription-drug program debuts this year, many older adults have felt a mixture of worry, confusion and frustration. … State Orders Help for Elderly as Medicare Glitches Spread Los Angeles Times Internet-Savvy...
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What 2007 Holds For Risk Adjustment Reimbursements?

January 12, 2006
By jbaker
What 2007 Holds For Risk Adjustment Reimbursements?

Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans are beginning to plan for all of the anticipated changes in payments and reimbursements and there are many planned in 2007. Here are just a few factors that will determine who wins and loses on the battle for MA plan reimbursements: 100% Risk Adjustment – 2007 will be the first...
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Posted in Part C, Part D, Risk Adjustment | No Comments »

In the News…

January 12, 2006
By gadams

New Medicare law trips up the poor San Diego Union Tribune, United States  … Medi-Cal. But her new Medicare prescription drug plan doesn’t cover anywhere near that many, and she can’t find a plan that will. “I … Medicare glitches lingering Arizona Republic Medicare problems persist Newsday, NY - … and diabetes, said she spent hours every...
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CMS: Serving Pharmacists Is Serving Beneficiaries

January 11, 2006
By jbaker
CMS: Serving Pharmacists Is Serving Beneficiaries

As we continue to address Medicare drug benefit implementation issues with Plans, one message we are trying to instill in everyone is that the best way to serve plan beneficiaries is to make the process easy for pharmacists. To that end, we hope that you will take a moment to read these tips from...
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Posted in CMS, Enrollment, Part D | No Comments »

Medicare | MedPAC Votes To Adopt Final Medicare Payment Recommendations for 2007

January 11, 2006
By jbaker
Medicare | MedPAC Votes To Adopt Final Medicare Payment Recommendations for 2007

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Tuesday voted to adopt several final recommendations to Congress for fiscal year 2007, including a plan to increase Medicare hospital inpatient and outpatient payments by the market basket increase minus 0.45%, CQ HealthBeat reports. The recommendation would result in a payment increase of 3.55% for inpatient care, with...
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Posted in FFS, General, News, Part A/B, SNF | No Comments »

Part D In the News….

January 10, 2006
By gadams

Medicare Rx benefit still leaves many in fog Dianna Johnson hit the ultimate Catch-22 trying to get her medications amid the maze of questions surrounding the new federal Medicare Part D prescription drug … Medicare Part D Preparedness Study Conducted by Delta Marketing … Research concludes that there is a minimal level of preparedness...
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Posted in News, Part D | No Comments »

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