Ending overpayments to private insurance companies that cost all Medicare beneficiaries

The federal government pays private insurance companies on average 14 percent more for providing coverage to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries than it would pay for the same beneficiary in the traditional Medicare program.

New Tips to Prevent Medical Identity Theft and Medicare Fraud

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Attorney General Tony West today highlighted the Obama Administration’s work to fight Medicare Fraud and released new tips and information to help seniors and Medicare beneficiaries deter, detect and defend against Medical identity theft.

Medicare: Transparency and Open Government by President Obama

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

HHS Highlights Innovative New Open Government Initiatives

Part of Open Government Commitments in Service of National Priorities Programs Are Result of Accessible Federal Decision Making Process — HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today three innovative HHS ideas that have been developed as a result of a more open and accessible federal decision making process in collaboration between the public, private sector and the federal government.

Medicare Health Plan Enrollees Receive a Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage

Medicare health plan enrollees receive a Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage (NOMNC) prior to termination of Medicare-covered skilled nursing facility (SNF), home health (HH), and comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility (CORF) services

Medicare Part B Drug Average Sales Price – Help and Assistance

Manufacturer reporting of Average Sales Price (ASP) data: A manufacturer’s ASP must be calculated by the manufacturer every calendar quarter and submitted to CMS within 30 days of the close of the quarter. Each report must be certified by one of the following: the manufacturer’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO); the manufacturer’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO); an individual who has delegated authority to sign for, and who reports directly to, the manufacturer’s CEO or CFO.

CMS Home, Medicare, Medicare Contracting Reform, Overview

CMS’ mission is to ensure health care security for beneficiaries. A major component in achieving this mission is the successful administration of Original Medicare, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare. Medicare Contracting Reform (or section 911 of the Medicare Prescription Drug,

Medicare Help for Flu Like Symptoms

Persons with Disabilities: The term “disability” refers to limited physical or cognitive capacity. It includes people with neurological and neuro-developmental conditions, such as disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle (e.g., cerebral palsy, epilepsy/seizure disorders, stroke, intellectual disability/mental retardation); moderate to severe developmental delay; muscular dystrophy; and spinal cord injury. These chronic conditions interfere with functional capacity. “Disability” also includes people with other chronic health conditions that interfere with functional capacity.

Medicare beneficiaries will not see a Part B monthly premium increase

Most Medicare beneficiaries will not see a Part B monthly premium increase as a result of a “hold harmless” provision in the current law. This allows for 73 percent of beneficiaries to be protected from an increase raising the 2010 Part B monthly premiums from $96.40 to $110.50.

Medicare: New Standards for Tougher Error Rate

For 2009, CMS improved how it reviews Medicare claims for inpatient hospital services and eliminated the use of past billing records as part of a complex medical review. As a result of this heightened scrutiny and more complete accounting of Medicare FFS claims, CMS is reporting a 2009 FFS error rate of 7.8 percent, or $24.1 billion, compared to 3.6 percent in 2008. In addition, for 2009:

Medicare Expands List of Covered Preventive Services to Include HIV Screening Tests

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced its final decision to cover Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection screening for Medicare beneficiaries who are at increased risk for the infection, including women who are pregnant and Medicare beneficiaries of any age who voluntarily request the service.