Health Insurance - US proposes payment changes - 01/07/2008

The U.S. government has proposed payment changes in the Medicare health insurance program that could have an effect on reimbursement of medical imaging, diagnostic testing and dialysis providers.

The wide-ranging, 834-page proposal is an annual update of how Medicare pays for the treatment of 44 million elderly and disabled individuals in the federal health plan.

One of the changes proposed is an expansion of diagnostic imaging services for which the government will trim payment when multiple procedures are done on the same patient. It also proposes no update to payment for drugs used during dialysis.

On pricing for the drugs, JP Morgan analyst in Washington Ipsita Smolinksi said:  “We believe the dialysis industry will object to the sudden change in assumption.” The major dialysis providers are DaVita Inc and Germany's Fresenius SE. The biggest medical imaging companies are General Electric Co, Philips and Siemens AG.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs Medicare and the Medicaid program for the needy, is expected to spend nearly $800 billion on health care services this year. At the same time, it is thought that the proposal could impact payment for free-standing radiation therapy and pathology lab tests, according to analysts.

Additionally, the government is also put forward suggestions requiring doctors who perform diagnostic tests to be subject to certain new performance standards, as well as increasing financial incentives for doctors to report quality measures.

CMS acting administrator Kerry Weems said in a statement: “We are taking a multi-pronged approach to improve how Medicare pays for health care services.”

Bookmark with:
  print Print Preview   email E-mail to a friend
 
Comments
Not comments have been posted yet.
 
Do you have something to say? (maximum comment length of 250 characters)

Post your comment
 
 
 
Related News
  02/07/2008 - Health insurance company cuts outlook. UnitedHealth Group has announced that it is cutting its full-year earnings outlook because of...
25/03/2009 - Health insurers lead way for reform. In America, two major health insurance players said this week that they would consider...
18/03/2009 - Veterans criticise Obama’s health insurance bill. Obamas new health insurance plan has been criticised by several veteran group representatives, after...
 
Related Guides
  Health Insurance. What is health insurance? How much does health insurance cost? What types of...
 
Related Articles
  Lawmakers in America struggle with health insurance care and costs. With President Obama reforming the health insurance sector, many states in America are being...
American public hesitant of health insurance trade – offs. In Washington, a poll created by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School...
Health insurance more relevant to travellers that travel cover. A recent report, found that for people, such as gap year travellers who are...

Health Insurance News
31/10/2010 - Woman’s victory in public liability compensation appeal. A woman who was seriously injured in a car...
Read More
14/04/2009 - Increase health coverage in the Philippines. In a move that will benefit hundreds of Filipinos,...
Read More
08/04/2009 - Health worries for workers. Bupa heath care has expressed worries for the British...
Read More
06/04/2009 - New policy introduced. Bupa has introduced an improved critical illness scheme whose...
Read More
More News >>