Latest Medicare Update July 31, 2008 at 05:10 PM

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July 31, 2008

Medicare Part D - Workshop, Q&A at Annenberg Center in Rancho Mirage to focus


Workshop, Q&A at Annenberg Center in Rancho Mirage to focus on Medicare Part D plan (The Desert Sun)
Medicare Part D (prescription drug plan) is the topic of a free workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 1 at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower. A question-and-answer session is included.

House Committee Report Finds Medicare Pays Up To 30% More For Medications Under Part D Plans (Medical News Today)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on Thursday released a report that found the Medicare drug benefit in its first two years has paid about 30% more for prescription drugs than Medicaid would have paid for the same medications, costing the program about $3.7 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

Prime Therapeutics Supports CMS Proposal to Limit Spread Pricing in Medicare Part D Administration (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Prime Therapeutics today commented on CMS's recently released proposal to require "spread pricing" by pharmacy benefits managers to be appropriately accounted for and reported as administrative costs to plans.

Medicare program gets funds (Mobile Press-Register)
A state Medicare program will be funded through October after receiving $6.3 million from federal sources, but 4,000 participants will temporarily lose coverage.

Medicare Part D - Medicare Part D a boon for drug companies, House report


Medicare Part D a boon for drug companies, House report says (Los Angeles Times)
Taxpayers pay up to 30% more for prescriptions under the privately administered program than under Medicaid, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform finds. U.S. drug manufacturers are reaping a windfall from taxpayers because Medicare's privately administered prescription drug benefit program pays more than other government programs for the same medicines, a House committee ...

Dealing with the doughnut hole (Creston News Advertiser)
Iowans on Medicare who have Part D drug coverage are starting to reach the doughnut hole, or coverage gap. That s the point where Medicare drug plans stop paying benefits or have a gap in coverage.

Glitch mixes up Ga. Blue Cross mailings (Moldova.org) A major


Glitch mixes up Ga. Blue Cross mailings (Moldova.org)
A major Georgia health insurance provider is warning policyholders about the risk of identity theft posed by benefits letters being sent to wrong addresses.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia said about 202,000 routine explanation-of-benefits, or EOB, letters were sent to incorrect addresses last week and contain personal information that could, as a result, fall into the wrong hands.As soon ...

Blue Cross Blue Shield Mixup (FOX 24 Macon)
The largest health insurer in the state...announces 200,000 Georgians may have had their personal information exposed. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia mailings were mostly explanation of benefits letters containing the patient s name, id number, and in some cases, Social Security number.

No co-pay for some Blue Cross customers (KARE 11 Minneapolis-St. Paul)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota is interested in making your one stop shop for health care free of charge.Beginning this month, 25

Medicare Part D - Informational workshop on Medicare Part D at center (The Desert


Informational workshop on Medicare Part D at center (The Desert Sun)
A free workshop on Medicare Part D will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 1 at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower.

County Supes to demand report on Medicare funding (Los Angeles Daily News)
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will likely demand today that the Department of Health Services deliver a report on Medicare funding that was requested almost a year ago.

Medicare changes threaten clinics' survival (KTVZ Bend)
Rural health care clinics in La Pine, Madras and Prineville warn they could be forced to shut if proposed Medicare rules are approved.

Medicare Part D - Medicare program gets funds (Mobile Press-Register) A state Medicare program


Medicare program gets funds (Mobile Press-Register)
A state Medicare program will be funded through October after receiving $6.3 million from federal sources, but 4,000 participants will temporarily lose coverage.

House Committee Report Finds Medicare Pays Up To 30% More For Medications Under Part D Plans (Medical News Today)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on Thursday released a report that found the Medicare drug benefit in its first two years has paid about 30% more for prescription drugs than Medicaid would have paid for the same medications, costing the program about $3.7 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

July 30, 2008

Medicare Part D - Informational workshop on Medicare Part D at center (The Desert


Informational workshop on Medicare Part D at center (The Desert Sun)
A free workshop on Medicare Part D will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 1 at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower.

Medicare Part D a boon for drug companies, House report says (Los Angeles Times)
Taxpayers pay up to 30% more for prescriptions under the privately administered program than under Medicaid, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform finds. U.S. drug manufacturers are reaping a windfall from taxpayers because Medicare's privately administered prescription drug benefit program pays more than other government programs for the same medicines, a House committee ...

Medicare program gets funds (Mobile Press-Register)
A state Medicare program will be funded through October after receiving $6.3 million from federal sources, but 4,000 participants will temporarily lose coverage.

Your Medicare Owner's Manual (Kiplinger.com) Learn the rules and deadlines


Your Medicare Owner's Manual (Kiplinger.com)
Learn the rules and deadlines to get the most out of your health coverage.

GM aims to aid retirees' search (Lansing State Journal)
General Motors Corp. is rushing to assure salaried retirees it is working to ease the pain of a plan to cut health benefits.

Genesee County GM retirees fear what's next after company's cutback announcement (The Flint Journal)
FLINT, Michigan -- General Motors' recent round of cuts has retirees such as Robert Scott saying, "What's next?"

Delay in Medicare's New Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program


Delay in Medicare's New Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program Affecting Certain Areas of the Country
What's Changing Congress has acted to delay the new competitive bidding program that started on July 1, 2008. What You Need to Know You now can continue to get your Medicare-covered equipment and supplies from any Medicare-approved supplier. If you changed your supplier when this new program started, you can continue to use the new supplier, or choose another supplier. Medicare is continuing to make sure you can get the supplies and services you need. We will post more information about the new program in the future. For the most up-to-date list of all Medicare-approved suppliers in your area, visit Find Suppliers of Medical Equipment in Your Area. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

Medicare Part D - Informational workshop on Medicare Part D at center (The Desert


Informational workshop on Medicare Part D at center (The Desert Sun)
A free workshop on Medicare Part D will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 1 at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower.

Dealing with the doughnut hole (Creston News Advertiser)
Iowans on Medicare who have Part D drug coverage are starting to reach the doughnut hole, or coverage gap. That s the point where Medicare drug plans stop paying benefits or have a gap in coverage.

It's Legal to Discriminate Against Grandma and Grandpa? (Carteret County


It's Legal to Discriminate Against Grandma and Grandpa? (Carteret County News-Times)
(ARA) - According to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) it is now legal to discriminate against senior citizens in this country.

Retiring overseas for the adventurous spirit (Bankrate.com via Yahoo! Finance)
Retiring abroad can be a great move, but consider tax, health, property and other issues before taking the leap.

Medicare Trigger Ignores Real Problem Of Skyrocketing Health Care Costs - Medicare's Troubles Can Only Be Solved By ... (Medical News Today)
AARP's Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Advocacy, issued the following statement on a scheduled vote today in the House of Representatives to consider a bill brought on by the Medicare "trigger": "The Medicare trigger is an unfortunate and misguided effort that could do more harm than good.

How is Hawaii doing on long term health care coverage? (KHNL News 8 Honolulu)
HONOLULU (KHNL) -- Island lawmakers recently passed legislation to look at solutions for Hawaii's lagging long term health care coverage. But will it be enough as our population ages?

Glitch mixes up Ga. Blue Cross mailings (Moldova.org) A major


Glitch mixes up Ga. Blue Cross mailings (Moldova.org)
A major Georgia health insurance provider is warning policyholders about the risk of identity theft posed by benefits letters being sent to wrong addresses.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia said about 202,000 routine explanation-of-benefits, or EOB, letters were sent to incorrect addresses last week and contain personal information that could, as a result, fall into the wrong hands.As soon ...

N.Y. Blue Cross, Blue Shield offer equal benefits (Planet Out via Yahoo! News)
SUMMARY: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York, under legal pressure from two New Yorkers wed in Canada, will begin covering married gay couples.

Blue Cross extends same-sex benefits (Moldova.org)
A New York health insurer says it will institute coverage of same-sex couples married in Canada as a result of a civil rights lawsuit. The New York Civil Liberties Union announced Monday that Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York, based in Buffalo, will begin extending spousal benefits to legally married same-sex couples, Canwest News Service reported.The decision comes after the group ...

Medicare Part D - Medicare Part D a boon for drug companies, House report


Medicare Part D a boon for drug companies, House report says (Los Angeles Times)
Taxpayers pay up to 30% more for prescriptions under the privately administered program than under Medicaid, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform finds. U.S. drug manufacturers are reaping a windfall from taxpayers because Medicare's privately administered prescription drug benefit program pays more than other government programs for the same medicines, a House committee ...

House Committee Report Finds Medicare Pays Up To 30% More For Medications Under Part D Plans (Medical News Today)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on Thursday released a report that found the Medicare drug benefit in its first two years has paid about 30% more for prescription drugs than Medicaid would have paid for the same medications, costing the program about $3.7 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

Medicare Part D - PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt Testifies Before House Oversight


PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt Testifies Before House Oversight & Government Reform Committee on Medicare Part D (PR Newswire via Yahoo! News)
Merritt: Part D Plans Delivering Broad Access, Deep Savings for Seniors & Disabled, While Reining In Overall Program Costs

Medicare Part D a boon for drug companies, House report says (Los Angeles Times)
Taxpayers pay up to 30% more for prescriptions under the privately administered program than under Medicaid, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform finds. U.S. drug manufacturers are reaping a windfall from taxpayers because Medicare's privately administered prescription drug benefit program pays more than other government programs for the same medicines, a House committee ...

Workshop, Q&A at Annenberg Center in Rancho Mirage to focus on Medicare Part D plan (The Desert Sun)
Medicare Part D (prescription drug plan) is the topic of a free workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 1 at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower. A question-and-answer session is included.

Dealing with the doughnut hole (Creston News Advertiser)
Iowans on Medicare who have Part D drug coverage are starting to reach the doughnut hole, or coverage gap. That s the point where Medicare drug plans stop paying benefits or have a gap in coverage.

July 29, 2008

Medicare Part D - Prime Therapeutics Supports CMS Proposal to Limit Spread Pricing in


Prime Therapeutics Supports CMS Proposal to Limit Spread Pricing in Medicare Part D Administration (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Prime Therapeutics today commented on CMS's recently released proposal to require "spread pricing" by pharmacy benefits managers to be appropriately accounted for and reported as administrative costs to plans.

House Committee Report Finds Medicare Pays Up To 30% More For Medications Under Part D Plans (Medical News Today)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on Thursday released a report that found the Medicare drug benefit in its first two years has paid about 30% more for prescription drugs than Medicaid would have paid for the same medications, costing the program about $3.7 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

Workshop, Q&A at Annenberg Center in Rancho Mirage to focus on Medicare Part D plan (The Desert Sun)
Medicare Part D (prescription drug plan) is the topic of a free workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 1 at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower. A question-and-answer session is included.

PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt Testifies Before House Oversight & Government Reform Committee on Medicare Part D (PR Newswire via Yahoo! News)
Merritt: Part D Plans Delivering Broad Access, Deep Savings for Seniors & Disabled, While Reining In Overall Program Costs

Fresh bird flu outbreak in Nigerian poultry (AlertNet) Source: Reuters


Fresh bird flu outbreak in Nigerian poultry (AlertNet)
Source: Reuters ABUJA, July 28 (Reuters) - An outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in two Nigerian poultry markets, the first discovery in almost 10 months in Africa's most populous nation, the ...

Fresh bird flu outbreak in Nigerian poultry (Times of Malta)
An outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in two Nigerian poultry markets, the first discovery in almost 10 months in Africa's most populous nation, the agriculture ministry said.

HCC Life Insurance Company Appoints Rolland Regional Executive Vice President


HCC Life Insurance Company Appoints Rolland Regional Executive Vice President (PrimeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance)
HOUSTON, July 28, 2008 -- HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. announced today that Neil J. Rolland has been named Regional Executive Vice President of HCC Life Insurance Company with responsibility for its Northwest Regional Office in Minnetonka, MN.

ICICI Prudential Life joins hands with IIM-Calcutta (New Kerala)
Kolkata, July 29 : ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Tuesday announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) to start a new course focussing on the insurance sector.

CSC Signs Insurance BPO Services Contract With Americo (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
CSC today announced that Americo of Kansas City, Mo., has signed a 15-year contract for CSC's business process outsourcing services. Under the contract, CSC will manage a closed block of approximately 100,000 individual life and annuity insurance policies that Americo gained through the acquisition of Financial Industries Corporation .

Medicare Part D - Editorial: Congressional Delegations Respond To Medicare Part D Concerns (KAUZ


Editorial: Congressional Delegations Respond To Medicare Part D Concerns (KAUZ Wichita Falls)
KAUZ General Manager Mike DeLier is unhappy with the response. Or lack there of from Texas and Oklahoma congressmen. That's the topic of his weekly editorial.

D-158 board: Contract proposal would raise costs 30 percent (Northwest Herald)
HUNTLEY The most recent teachers contract proposal would boost costs more than 30 percent over the next three years in District 158, board members said this week.

House Committee Report Finds Medicare Pays Up To 30% More For Medications Under Part D Plans (Medical News Today)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on Thursday released a report that found the Medicare drug benefit in its first two years has paid about 30% more for prescription drugs than Medicaid would have paid for the same medications, costing the program about $3.7 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

Dealing with the doughnut hole (Creston News Advertiser)
Iowans on Medicare who have Part D drug coverage are starting to reach the doughnut hole, or coverage gap. That s the point where Medicare drug plans stop paying benefits or have a gap in coverage.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield to Cover Same-Sex Couples (The


Blue Cross and Blue Shield to Cover Same-Sex Couples (The Advocate)
Less than three weeks after a legally married New York lesbian couple filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York for denying them spousal health care benefits, the health insurance company has announced it will begin covering married same-sex couples, according to OutcomeBuffalo.com.

Nexidia Propels Blue Cross NEPA's Contact Centers to New Heights (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Nexidia, the market-leading provider of audio search and speech analytics solutions, today announced that Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania selected Nexidia's award-winning speech analytics solution to drive service quality and member satisfaction to new heights.

Regence Drives Successful EMR Pilot Portland, Ore.-based Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer Regence demonstrated the ... (Finance Technology Network)
DEMONSTRATING the potential for payer-driven electronic medical record (EMR) solutions, Regence has conducted a one-year pilot project to test the feasibility of connecting an entire medical community with a single, Web-hosted electronic health records system.

American Imaging Management Partners with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
American Imaging Management , an operating subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. , and leading imaging benefit management and technology company with health plan clients representing over 25 million consumers, announced that it has reached an agreement to provide diagnostic imaging management services for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont .

Medicare Part D - Editorial: Congressional Delegations Respond To Medicare Part D Concerns (KAUZ


Editorial: Congressional Delegations Respond To Medicare Part D Concerns (KAUZ Wichita Falls)
KAUZ General Manager Mike DeLier is unhappy with the response. Or lack there of from Texas and Oklahoma congressmen. That's the topic of his weekly editorial.

House Committee Report Finds Medicare Pays Up To 30% More For Medications Under Part D Plans (Medical News Today)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on Thursday released a report that found the Medicare drug benefit in its first two years has paid about 30% more for prescription drugs than Medicaid would have paid for the same medications, costing the program about $3.7 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

Medicare Part D - Editorial: Congressional Delegations Respond To Medicare Part D Concerns (KAUZ


Editorial: Congressional Delegations Respond To Medicare Part D Concerns (KAUZ Wichita Falls)
KAUZ General Manager Mike DeLier is unhappy with the response. Or lack there of from Texas and Oklahoma congressmen. That's the topic of his weekly editorial.

Democrats see drugmaker windfall from Medicare (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
U.S. pharmaceutical companies benefited from a $3.7 billion "windfall" during the first two years of Medicare's prescription drug coverage, according to a report from Democratic congressional staff released on Thursday.

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