Part B News | Editors' Blog

HHS reveals volunteer-based initiative to improve patient care

by: Lauren C. Williams Apr 12, 2011

HHS unveiled the 10-year Partnership for Patients initiative, as means to prevent complications during patient care in a conference call Tuesday. Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the program could “help save lives by stopping preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.”

2012 Budget proposal takes Medicare for a spin.

by: Lauren C. Williams Apr 6, 2011

The federal government is days away from a shutdown if Congress can’t agree on a 2012 budget. And one of the proposals puts Medicare on the chopping block. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) furnished a budget Tuesday that would save the government over $4 trillion over the next 10 years, CBS News reports.

Medicare's annual wellness visits get strong start

by: Lauren C. Williams Mar 16, 2011

The new annual wellness visits for seniors received acclaim on Capitol Hill Wednesday and its success could mean a revenue boost for your practice. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) boasted of the Medicare program’s success and potential overall cost reduction in a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the progress of new benefits and programs enacted by The Affordable Care Act, according to a media release.

Help get rid of burdensome federal regulations

by: Charles Fiegl Feb 10, 2011

Politicians from President Barack Obama to House Republicans want to get rid of burdensome federal regulations. Eliminating regs (including rules about salmon or r ed meat) is a hot topic in Washington.

Lawmakers have solicited input from various stakeholders and groups. The AMA has responded by creating a new survey to funnel physician input on how federal rules impact their practices.

CMS chief gets warm reception at AMA conference

by: Grant Huang Feb 10, 2011

I listened to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, give a speech on the Medicare physician pay fix and the future of the payment model earlier this week at the AMA's annual advocacy conference in downtown Washington. Before a crowd of physicians, Dr. Berwick -- a former pediatrician -- said he was "committed" to a permanent sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix. While this earned the expected applause, Dr. Berwick spent much more time discussing a dramatic overhaul of the Medicare fee-for-service system, a major change that he painted as being inevitable.

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