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Senate and House conferees on the Medicare prescription drug bill agreed Sept. 9 to include a one-year moratorium on the $1,590 outpatient therapy cap for 2004. But dont give a sigh of relief yet. The moratorium was among the less controversial items discussed in conference to clear the way for issues still in dispute, which means that if the entire bill doesnt go forward, neither does the moratorium.
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Rehab advocates have seen the future of inpatient rehab in a new proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and they say it doesnt look bright. Comments on CMS proposed changes in the criteria for classifying hospitals as inpatient rehabilitation facilities range from disappointing to disastrous.
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Youre busy with a dozen other issues when you get a phone call notifying you that a visitor has fallen in the lobby and broken her arm. Do you chalk it up to just another fall and get back to work, or do you spring into action? The answer may depend on how well youve prepared for the moment and how seriously you take slips and falls in your institution.
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Once again, a controversial ergonomics rule has come under fire; but this time, voters in Washington state will be the ones to decide whether to keep the rule or repeal it. The outcome of Initiative 841 on the Nov. 4 ballot could have implications for ergonomics efforts across the nation.
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If you think your hospital doesnt have a problem with denials, then you arent doing anything to track them, says Christine Collins, CHAM, director of patient access for Brigham & Womens Hospital in Boston. The heart of successful denial management, she emphasizes, is a denial database that categorizes the bills that are denied and the reasons why.
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Despite new data that show Medicaid plays a small role in states fiscal problems, Medicaid programs in all states remain a significant target for budget cutting, according to another study.
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Oklahoma officials like the numbers theyve heard about: The state could save more than $20 million through 2007. The states new Medicaid claims processing system, which recently won Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services certification and entitles Oklahoma to enhanced funding, is the savior.
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While Medicaid and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program have done much to bring health care services to people who need them, those efforts can be in vain if there arent enough physicians available and willing to participate. A new report provides a framework through which states can assess factors that promote or hinder physician access and identify actions to improve access.
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The March of Dimes in White Plains, NY, says that while every baby born in the United States undergoes some level of newborn screening, many parents dont realize that states determine the disorders to screen for, and most do not meet the recommendations made by the March of Dimes medical specialists.
