Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., wants to boost payments to primary care physicians in the physician payment package he aims to take to the Senate floor in mid-May, lobbyists say. Read more »
When overhauling the health care system in coming years, Americans should consider European models, a panel of international health experts said. But U.S. health care system authorities cautioned that the country probably could not adopt European practices wholesale because of differences in government structure and public attitudes. Read more »
A House subcommittee approved legislation to block for a year Bush administration moves to cut federal Medicaid funds for specific purposes, shifting costs to the states. Read more »
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted to recommend a pilot program testing the feasibility of issuing single payments for episodes of treatment that would be shared by both the hospital and the doctors involved in delivering care. Read more »
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to recommend to Congress that it revise Medicare payments for treatment in skilled nursing facilities and increase payments for primary care. The panel also was headed toward approval of a recommendation that Congress establish a pilot program in Medicare to provide beneficiaries with a "medical home" to oversee their care. Read more »
Medicare is overpaying for chronically ill patients but getting lesser quality care than other health care institutions, according to a new report. Read more »